‘I felt possessed’: Singapore’s Chin Han on being Mortal Kombat villain Shang Tsung
How does a first-fourth dimension characteristic filmmaker convince Singapore's only bona fide Hollywood blockbuster star to play one of the most iconic villains in video game franchise history in a motion picture reboot?
If you're Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid, you entice Singaporean actor Mentum Han with a sneak peek at the costume design of soul-stealing sorcerer Shang Tsung.
"I don't know if y'all realise this, merely Shang Tsung's breastplate and his shoulder armour – they all have faces of the souls he has taken on the actual armour!" Mentum Han shared.
"And so when I saw that, that was the thing that sealed the deal for me."
Chin Han, whose Hollywood credits include strong supporting roles in massive films like The Dark Knight, 2012, Contamination, Captain America: The Wintertime Soldier, Independence Solar day: Resurgence, Ghost In The Beat out and Skyscraper, told CNA Lifestyle that he "didn't think that (he) would exist doing Mortal Kombat".
"And and so Simon McQuoid wanted to speak to me. He basically came to the conversation armed with all this concept pattern, artwork and stuff that was so amazing!" he gushed. "He's one smart director. He knew that if he showed me all that stuff, I hateful, it was just incommunicable to say 'No'!"
It was such an elaborate costume, according to Chin Han, that it required a team "that is the village to put it on".
"It had to exist (washed) slice-by-piece because only (doing it) piece-by-slice are we going to be able to move in the way that was necessary. And to exist able to fight it in it as well," he explained.
He added: "On the first day, when we put that on and nosotros did some test shoots and stuff, I felt possessed basically. Information technology was completely emotional for me, in terms of character, because it is so heavy. But you feel so fierce and you feel so powerful."
Indeed, taking on the honey franchise'southward much celebrated baddie Shang Tsung is no minor feat – particularly since the fan favourite demonic shapeshifter who absorbs the living souls of those he defeats to maintain his youth and power is one of the original Mortal Kombat characters in the first arcade game, and helped cement its notoriety throughout the franchise'southward history.
Other actors who have taken on the mantle include Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in Paul WS Anderson's 1995 movie of the same name and Bruce Locke in the TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest 1998-1999.
But information technology was McQuoid's quest to cast the entire Mortal Kombat cast appropriately that was most important for Chin Han.
Compared to 1995'south controversial version that had white actor Christopher Lambert playing Japanese thunder god Raiden, this reboot boasts a diverse Asian bandage, hailing from all corners of the world including international stars like Indonesian Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero and Chinese-Canadian Ludi Lin every bit Liu Kang.
"Information technology is such a warm feeling when you go on set and you run into Asia represented in such a diverse fashion. I remember a lot of people say 'Asia', still missing the nuances of what that means," shared Chin Han.
"Asia is a big place… information technology'south a diaspora of cultures. And so, stepping on set, it felt wow. Nosotros are like this contingent from the southern hemisphere, arriving on this giant Hollywood movie. And there is a bang-up sense of community. I mean information technology felt like the Olympic Village really, when nosotros were there," he said.
"And then, it was very important. At that place was a feeling that was very important in putting this movie together. Because that's what the movie is about right? I mean, Mortal Kombat is all about groups of champions from dissimilar realms, fighting each other, but none of them can do it alone, correct? They all have to do it in a group. And so I think the grouping of us every bit cast and crew kind of reflected that."
Mortal Kombat is screening in Singapore cinemas now.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/entertainment/mortal-kombat-chin-han-shang-tsung-245126
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