Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast

Max Huang's turn as Kung Lao - the deadly, hat-throwing, Shaolin-trained kung fu cousin of Liu Kang - in the 2021 reboot of Mortal Kombat was a delightful surprise; a scene-stealing performance complete with comedy, drama, action, and an almighty 'fatality' which just about steals the movie. But the notion of Max being something of an 'overnight success' could not be further from the truth. The German wushu wunderkind has been planning this career from the moment his dad first introduced him to Bruce Lee movies on VHS as a child. His training took him to Asia and, eventually, the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, where his childhood hero would personally oversee his development from a young, eager stunt performer to an assistant stunt coordinator on films like The Foreigner (2017) and Bleeding Steel (2017). Max's short film, No Way Out (2020), is a masterful expression of his many talents: he acts, directs, writes, produces, handles the action and even sings the theme song. We now find Max at an interesting crossroads