# Mark Dacascos

Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. A 4th-degree black belt in Wun Hop Kuen Do, he is known for his roles in action films, including as Louis Stevens in Only the Strong (1993), the title role in Crying Freeman (1995), Mani in Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, the antagonist Ling in Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Sharish in Nomad (2005), and as the assassin Zero in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).
On television, Dacascos is known for his portrayal of Wo Fat on Hawaii Five-0 (2010–2020), and for serving as "The Chairman" of Food Network's Iron Chef America series since January 2005, a role he reprised in 2022 on Netflix's Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. Dacascos' other roles include Kung Lao in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Eric Draven on The Crow: Stairway to Heaven and Eubulon on Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight. He also competed in the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars.
In 2023, he was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame.

## Early life

Dacascos was born February 26, 1964, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Al Dacascos, was born in Hawaii to Filipino parents; he is a martial arts instructor and the founder of Wun Hop Kuen Do. He was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame in 1999. His mother, Moriko McVey-Murray, is of Irish and Japanese ancestry. In the History Channel presentation Samurai, Dacascos revealed that many members of his mother's family were killed in the bombing of Hiroshima. His stepmother is award-winning martial artist Malia Bernal. He attended Los Angeles Valley College, where he was on the gymnastics team. He also attended Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. He is proficient in his father's style of martial arts, Wun Hop Kuen Do, and holds a 4th degree black belt. He has also extensively studied Muay Thai, capoeira with Amen Santo, and Wushu. Growing up, Dacascos was inspired by Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
During his upbringing he lived a time in Hamburg, Germany, where he learned to speak German.

## Career

Dacascos became an actor after being discovered walking down the street in San Francisco's Chinatown by Chris Lee (assistant director) and Rexall Chinn (hairstylist), who at the time were working for director Wayne Wang. He was cast in Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, and though his scenes were cut from the final film, he went on to establish a film and television career primarily playing martial artists. He was originally set to play as the Red Ranger, Victor Lee, in Bio-Man, an adaptation of Choudenshi Bioman produced by Haim Saban. The show was not picked up at the time, but the concept evolved into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
His breakout role was in the 1993 film Only the Strong, in which he played Louis, a capoeira master who takes a high school's struggling students and turns their lives around by teaching them the Brazilian martial art based on the ritual combat technique of Angola. In the following year, Dacascos co-starred with Party of Five's Scott Wolf as Jimmy and Billy Lee, respectively, in the film Double Dragon, based on the video game with the same name.
He plays the role of the Chairman on Iron Chef America, Iron Chef Australia and Iron Chef Mexico. In the series' backstory, Dacascos's character is the nephew of the original Iron Chef Chairman, Takeshi Kaga.
He has been featured in many action films such as Drive, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Crying Freeman and Cradle 2 the Grave, in which he squared off against Jet Li. He also performed in three video games: voice acting in Stranglehold, live acting in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom and digitally recreating The Chairman in the Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine video game for Wii.
Dacascos was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2002 for his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf. He also appeared in the television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, which was a follow-up to the 1994 film The Crow. He also appears in the children's television show Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, where he portrays Eubulon, also known as the Advent Master, mentor of the Kamen Riders and creator of the Advent Decks.
Dacascos played the recurring role of Wo Fat on the CBS series Hawaii Five-0. He portrayed Kung Lao in the second season of the YouTube series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. He had a recurring role in the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Mr. Giyera, an Inhuman servant of Hydra who can manipulate inanimate objects.
In May 2019, Dacascos played Zero, a lead antagonist in the action thriller film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. He starred in a recurring role on the Netflix series Wu Assassins. He has reprised his role as The Chairman of the Iron Chef series in Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, which was released on Netflix in June 2022.

## Personal life

Dacascos is married to actress Julie Condra, who starred with him in the 1995 action film Crying Freeman, and also the 2020 film One Night in Bangkok. They have three children: two sons Makoa and Kapona, and a daughter Noelani.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart | Fighter | Deleted scene |
| 1990 | Angel Town | Stoner's Driver | |
| 1992 | American Samurai | Kenjiro Sanga | |
| 1993 | Only the Strong | Louis Stevens | |
| 1993 | Roosters | Filipino's Son | Cameo |
| 1994 | Double Dragon | Jimmy Lee | |
| 1995 | Deadly Past | Leo | |
| 1995 | Redemption: Kickboxer 5 | Matt Reeves | Direct-to-video |
| 1995 | Crying Freeman | Yo Hinomura / Crying Freeman | |
| 1996 | The Island of Dr. Moreau | Lo-Mai | |
| 1996 | Sabotage | Michael Bishop | |
| 1996 | Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom | Troy 'Catscratch' Carter | Interactive film |
| 1997 | Drive | Toby Wong | Direct-to-video |
| 1997 | Sanctuary | Luke Kovak | |
| 1997 | DNA | Dr. Ash Mattley | |
| 1997 | Deathline | Merrick | |
| 1998 | Boogie Boy | Jesse Page | |
| 1998 | No Code of Conduct | Paul DeLucca | |
| 1999 | The Base | Major John Murphy / Corporal John Dalton | |
| 2000 | China Strike Force | Tony Lau | |
| 2001 | Brotherhood of the Wolf | Mani | |
| 2001 | Instinct To Kill | J.T. Dillon | |
| 2002 | Scorcher | Colonel Ryan Beckett | |
| 2003 | Cradle 2 the Grave | Ling | |
| 2005 | Final Approach | Kato | |
| 2005 | Nomad | Sharish | |
| 2006 | Only the Brave | Steve "Zaki" Senzaki | |
| 2006 | The Hunt for Eagle One | Lieutenant Matt Daniels | Direct-to-video |
| 2006 | The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point | Lieutenant Matt Daniels | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | Code Name: The Cleaner | Eric Hauck | |
| 2007 | Alien Agent | Rykker | |
| 2007 | I Am Omega | Renchard | |
| 2008 | Gideon Falls | Set | |
| 2009 | Serbian Scars | Peter Olsen Obilich | |
| 2010 | Shadows in Paradise | Lieutenant Max Forrester | |
| 2010 | Secret of the Sultan | | |
| 2013 | The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone | "King Cobra" | |
| 2014 | Roger Corman's Operation Rogue | Captain Max Randall | Direct-to-video |
| 2014 | The Extendables | Mark | |
| 2016 | Showdown in Manila | Matthew Wells | Also director and producer |
| 2017 | Maximum Impact | Tony Lin | |
| 2017 | Ultimate Justice | Gus | |
| 2018 | The Legend of Hallowaiian | Pono | Voice |
| 2019 | John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum | "Zero" | |
| 2019 | The Driver | The Driver | |
| 2019 | Lucky Day | Louis | |
| 2020 | One Night in Bangkok | Kai Kahale | |
| 2021 | Batman: Soul of the Dragon | Richard Dragon | Voice, Direct-to-video |
| 2022 | The Ray | Brando | |
| 2022 | Blade of the 47 Ronin | Lord Shinshiro | |
| 2023 | Knights of the Zodiac | Mylock | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Bio-Man | Victor Lee / Biorhythm Red | Pilot |
| 1986–1997 | General Hospital | Police Cadet | 4 episodes |
| 1990 | Doogie Howser, MD | Julian | Episode: "The Grass Ain't Always Greener" |
| 1990 | The Flash | Osaku | Episode: "Child's Play" |
| 1990 | New Dragnet | Kevin Chow | Episode: "Queen of Hearts" |
| 1991 | Dead on the Money | Martial Arts Teacher | Television film |
| 1994 | Dragstrip Girl | Johnny Ramirez | Television film |
| 1994 | Tales from the Crypt | Felix Johnson | Episode: "The Pit" |
| 1995 | One West Waikiki | Moku | Episode: "Rest in Peace" |
| 1998–1999 | The Crow: Stairway to Heaven | Eric Draven / The Crow | 22 episodes |
| 1999 | Martial Law | Steven Garth | Episode: "Ninety Million Reasons to Die" |
| 2002 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Ananda | Episode: "Felonious Monk" |
| 2004–2018 | Iron Chef America | The Chairman | 236 episodes |
| 2006 | Solar Attack | Lucas Foster | Television film |
| 2007–2008 | Stargate Atlantis | Tyre | 2 episodes |
| 2007–2012 | The Next Iron Chef | The Chairman | 16 episodes |
| 2008 | The Legend of Bruce Lee | Thai Boxer King Charles | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | The Middleman | Sensei Ping | Episode: "The Sino-Mexican Revelation" |
| 2009 | Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight | Eubulon / Advent Master | 9 episodes |
| 2009 | Dancing with the Stars | Himself | 7 episodes |
| 2009 | Wolvesbayne | Von Griem | Television film |
| 2010–2020 | Hawaii Five-0 | Wo Fat | 17 episodes |
| 2014 | Chicago P.D. | Jimmy Shi | Episode: "Different Mistakes" |
| 2015–2016 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Giyera | 11 episodes |
| 2016 | Lucifer | Kimo Vanzandt | Episode: "Weaponizer" |
| 2017 | The Perfect Bride | Daniel Counter | Television film |
| 2019 | Wu Assassins | Monk/ Kun Zi | Recurring role |
| 2022 | Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend | The Chairman | |
| 2023 | Warrior | Kong Pak | Main Role (Season 3) |
| 2023 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Guru Greasetrap | Episode: "Spatula of the Heavens" |

### Web

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Mortal Kombat: Legacy | Kung Lao | 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Blue Eye Samurai | Bloodsoaked Chiaki (voice) | Recurring cast |

## Awards

| Year | Work | Award | Result |
| 2002 | Brotherhood of the Wolf | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |