Known from movies

Mortal Kombat (1995)
as Liu Kang

Mortal Kombat: Destruction (1997)
as Liu Kang

Death Race (2008)
as 14K

Beverly Hills-Ninja (1997)
as Gobei



Introduction

If you’re a fan of combat video games, you’ve probably heard of titles like ‘Mortal Combat’, ‘Dead or Alive’ and ‘Street Fighter’. Do you know the name of the man who acted in film adaptations of these popular games? How much money has Chinese-American actor Robin Shou made from his acting endeavors?

Early life and education

Shou Wan Por was born on July 17, 1960 in Hong Kong (then known as British Hong Kong), the People’s Republic of China.

He is the fourth child of a housewife and a tailor. When he was 11 years old in 1971, his family moved to Los Angeles, California, USA, and lived in a two-bedroom apartment in the area known today as Koreatown. Little is known about his early training, but it has been revealed that he only started practicing martial arts at the age of 19, which was considered quite late by the standards. He enrolled at California State University, while also taking Kenpo (Karate) classes. However, he was not satisfied with karate, so he quickly quit it, and a year later came across a group of Wu Shu practitioners who had come to Los Angeles from Beijing.

He immediately thought that this was what a’real Chinese’ would have to train, so he took a break from college just before starting his senior year in 1981, sold his car, and spent the earnings on a flight to China, where he was able to study Wu Shu for several months. He didn’t even tell his parents where he was going – his aunt had to send a letter to his mother to let her know that Shou was safe in Nanjing, China.

When he finished Wu Shu classes, he returned to California and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

He worked in the field for a year and a half when he realized he needed a career change as he was bored with electronics and computers. He went back to Hong Kong, hoping to spend some time learning martial arts, when he was offered a stuntman position in a movie. He accepted and eventually his short vacation turned into two years, during which he was a stuntman in several films. When he returned to the US, he adopted his stage name Robin Shou, thinking it was more suited to Western audiences.

Career

During the last years of the 1980s, Shou made small appearances in several movies, such as “The Big Brother”, “The Big Heat”, “In the Line of Duty III” and “Long Arm of the Law”.

However, his roles usually portrayed a bodyguard or an assassin, who would only get a few minutes of screen time.

His real feature film debut came in 1990, when he co-starred with Melissa Gilbert in the TV drama film “Forbidden Nights”, about a woman who came to China to become a teacher, but fell in love with one of her students. People immediately noticed Shou, but he decided to return to Hong Kong and work as an actor there.

He appeared in several movies, such as “Tiger Cage II”, “Fury in Red”, “Forbidden Arsenal” and “Honor and Glory”, but in 1994 he returned to the US to pursue a career in Hollywood. him to a casting call for the movie “Mortal Combat”, inspired by the famous video game of the same name. Soon after, Robin Shou was cast as the lead character, Liu Kang – the film premiered in 1995.

In 1997, Shou played Gobei in ‘Beverly Hills Ninja’ and that same year reprized his role of Liu Kang in ‘Mortal Kombat: Annihilation’. In 1998, he appeared in the TV series “The Outer Limits”, playing Major Ronald Neguchi.

Moving on, in 2006, Shou appeared in “DOA: Dead or Alive”, the action movie directed by Corey Yuen. Two years later, he starred alongside Jason Statham, Joan Allen, and Tyrese Gibson in the sci-fi movie “Death Race”, reprising that role in the movie’s sequels that aired in 2010 and 2014. In 2009, he starred in another video game adaptation. , “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li”, in which he played Gen, appeared in an episode of the TV series “Cold Case” that same year.

Shou played the role of Sunny in the action movie “Mortal Enemies” in 2011, before making his voice acting debut in 2012, voicing Conroy and Roland Ho in the video game “Sleeping Dogs”.

He also appeared in the short film “Black Tiger: Hunter Hunted” which aired in 2014.

It has been announced that Shou will play a character simply named ‘Boss’ in Lou Pizzaro’s TV movie “Way of the Empty Hand”, which still has no release date as of May 2020.

Private life

He was the International Forms Champion and a member of the National Wu Shu Team in the 1982-1983 season. He won several gold and silver medals in Wu Shu at various competitions held in China, and also won a gold medal in weapons. He won the Traditional Form Grand Championship held in California four times.

Shou trained fellow actress Mila Jovovich for her role in the ‘Resident Evil’ saga.

When he’s not working on movies, he enjoys ceramics classes, painting, welding and even woodworking!

On 19^e In September 2009, he married his mysterious long-term girlfriend known simply as ‘Anne’. Whether the couple has children has not been disclosed.

According to the Chinese zodiac, he was born in the year of the Rat.

Shou keeps his life private and he is not active on any social media platforms.

Net value

Robin Shou has made a lot of money from his successful acting career, as well as from Wu Shu competitions and classes he held. His ability is estimated around $8 million, as of mid-2020.

Physical Characteristics

Shou is 1.83 m tall and weighs about 75 kg; he has dark eyes. He takes good care of his long black hair, which is even joking said possess mystical powers and be able to defy gravity.

General information

First and last name	Robin Sho
Height	1.83 meters
Profession	Actor, martial artist
Education	California State University, Los Angeles

Family

Performance

Movies

Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Death Race, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Beverly Hills Ninja, Death Race 2, Death Race 3: Inferno, Tiger Cage 2, Red Trousers – The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen, Death Cage, Forbidden Nights, DOA: Dead or Alive, Pirate Brothers, 18 Fingers of…

Links to social profiles

Facts

#	Fact
1	Starred in three movies with the word “Mortal” in the title.
2	Has starred in 4 video game adaptations, which means he has a bond with Zach Ward for the actor who has starred in most of the video game adaptations. He has had roles in Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, DOA: Dead or Alive, and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.
3	Performs most of his own stunts.
4	Regular appearance at the annual Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker 5k/10k Run/Walk.
5	The role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat (1995) was very unique to Robin. It was rare at that time to find Asians starring in Hollywood movies. That kind of movie was also uncommon at the time because the hero and the villain were both Asian.
6	Some of his martial arts stats: 1982-1983 International Forms Champion, member of the national WuShu team, gold and silver medal in China competitions, gold medal in weapons, 4-time Traditional Forms Grand Champion in California.
7	Education: Civil Engineering degree from California State University

Pictures

Movies

Actor

Title	Year	Status	Character
Away from the empty hand		Post-production of TV movies	Boss
Black Tiger: Hunter hunted	2014	Short	Pacific ‘Pac’ Fong / Black Tiger
Death Race: Inferno	2013	Video	14K
Sleeping dogs	2012	Video game	Conroy / Roland Ho (voice)
Deadly enemies	2011		Sunny
death race 2	2010	Video	14K
Cold case	2009	TV serials	Bo Lin Chen ’83
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li	2009		Gene
death race	2008		14K
DOA: dead or alive	2006		Pirate Leader
18 fingers of death!	2006	Video	Jackie Chong
Lost time: the movie	2003	Short	Eva
The outer limits	1998	TV serials	Major Ronald Neguchi
Mortal Kombat: Destruction	1997		Liu Kang
Beverly Hills Ninja	1997		Gobei
Mortal Kombat	1995		Liu Kang
Long hu xin feng yun: Zhi tou hao tong ji fan	1994		Gang leader
Long kua si hai zhi zhi ming qing ren	1993		Joi Gam Seui / Chin Shui
Angel the kickboxer	1993
Honor and glory	1993		Dragon Lee
Kakambal ko sa tapang	1993		Allan (as Robin Shaw)
Zhi fa wei lang	1992		Allan Lung / Inspector Dragon
Zhi zun te jing	1992		Co Chi Pang
Soldier Soldier	1992	TV serials	Journalist Feng
Hei mao zhi ci sha Ye Li Qin	1992		robin
Di xia bing gong chang	1991		Paul
Eastern heroes	1991		Nocturnal monster
Hong tian long	1991		Night monster
Magdaleno Orbos: Sa kuko ng mga avalan	1991		robin
Dong fang lao hu	1990		Tomoriki Jiono
Sai hak chin	1990		Waise Chow
Forbidden nights	1990	TV movie	Liang Hong
Yellow wire street	1990	TV serials	Tony Siu
Chi se da feng bao	1990		Wai Loong
Triads: the inside story	1989		Coffin rope man
Zhi zun wu shang	1989		assassin
Long zhi zheng ba	1989		iron club
Saang gong kei bing 3	1989		966
Zhan long	1988		Lan Si Han (as Robin Chou)
City war	1988		Killer
Huang jia shi jie zhi III: Ci xiong da dao	1988		Bodyguard (uncredited)
Seng thick roof went	1988		Hospital killer
Yat gosh	1987		robin
Dead Mule Suitcase			Jack Lamb

Director

Title	Year	Status	Character
Red Pants: The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen	2003	Documentary
Lost time: the movie	2003	Short
Dead Mule Suitcase

author

Title	Year	Status	Character
Red Pants: The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen	2003	Documentary screenplay
Hei mao zhi ci sha Ye Li Qin	1992	English dialogue

Mixed

Title	Year	Status	Character
resident evil	2002	trainer: Milla Jovovich – uncredited
Mortal Kombat: Destruction	1997	fight choreographer
Mortal Kombat	1995	fight choreographer: extra action sequences, extra crew

Producer

Title	Year	Status	Character
Red Pants: The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen	2003	Documentary producer

stunts

Title	Year	Status	Character
Mortal Kombat: Destruction	1997	fight choreographer
Mortal Kombat	1995	fight choreographer: additional fight sequences

Thank you

Title	Year	Status	Character
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance	2002	Video Game Special Thanks: Artistic Contribution

Yourself

Title	Year	Status	Character
Man with a thousand faces	2008	Documentary	Himself
Red Pants: The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen	2003	Documentary	Evan / Narrator / Himself
Mortal Kombat: Behind the Dragon	1995	Documentary about TV movies	Himself
Mortal Kombat: behind the scenes	1995	Video short	Himself

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia