Quotes

[on action movies] It's like a kid playing, all the things you got in trouble for.

I didn't come from the typical martial arts background and then became a movie actor. It's sort of the other way around. I'm looked upon as a theater actor who happened to know martial arts before I got into the movies. So people tend to look at me in a different light.

I became addicted to Tae Kwon Do. It was a great sport to have on the side while I was working as an actor in New York.

I'm not real big socially. I've never been one for going out to parties. I do my own thing. I'm more for a one-on-one relationship. I prefer spending time with my girlfriend.

No matter what happens, I will always be the same person.

[on movies in general] I want to do things with character, passion, heart.

[on being typecasted] Genre karate movies don't interest me.

Kids are always infatuated with the action in martial arts films. Let me tell you, there is nothing better for kids than the Arts. That is what kept me straight and decent. I always had a place to go. That was the dojo. I always had something to look forward to doing.

I think audiences like to see their favorite actor handle himself physically on screen, however he does it. He can wrestle, or box, or he can know karate. That is attractive to the types of people who enjoy these (martial arts) movies. Plus, as an actor, it's a blast being able to do it.

I like to keep it mixed up. After The Karate Kid Part III (1989), I didn't want to do another movie like this. So I got the lead role in the film Rock Hudson (1990), just to break it up. I love doing the action, and I love doing the karate stuff but, at the same time, I like doing the drama as well, and I try to keep it in balance. I enjoy doing martial arts films, but I like the straight stuff, too. I'd like to go back and do some Shakespeare, and maybe knock out a play or two. It's all about keeping balance.