While the Dark Knight certainly plays a major role in the new DC animated movie Batman: Soul of the Dragon, one of the real protagonists in the story is the martial arts superhero Richard Dragon. Portrayed by Mark Dacascos, the character is introduced as a former student alongside Bruce Wayne during the Caped Crusader's intense training. Dragon comes back into Bruce's life to take on a threat that has the martial artists team up with the other pupils that trained with them under O-Sensei on a mission to save the world.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Dacascos talks about bringing martial arts philosophy into his performance, embracing the '70s time period for the film and what it's like to face down Keanu Reeves.
So Richard Dragon, a little bit of James Bond, a little bit of Bruce Lee. How was it bringing this character to life for this animated movie?
Mark Dacascos: I loved it and it's exactly what you said: Bruce Lee, James Bond. I think [screenwriter] Jeremy Adams did a fantastic job with the script and it was sort of easy in that everything was in the writing. I just had to find Richard's heart and go there. It was all there: The sexy, the action, the intensity, the sense of humor, his moral compass; I loved it.
As someone that has a background in martial arts from a young age, how has that aptitude and philosophy shaped not just your performance here but a lot of your roles overall?
Dacascos: Thank you, yes -- my mother and father were my two first martial arts teachers and so much of what James Hong's O-Sensei teaches in the training [is] very similar; I lived with those things with my parents and my various teachers over my life. I felt like I had a very deep connection with Richard and his past and his heart. And what they say is teaching can transcend and translate into so many aspects. What I love about the writing in this, especially when it comes to the martial arts training, is that it's so much more than just about the fighting: Who are you? What are you here for? How are you going to achieve it? And then, of course, dealing with the whole yin and yang; evil versus good. That day-to-day challenge is all there in this story.
In speaking of the yin and yang, Richard is identified by O-Sensei very early on as someone of great importance while having light and dark within him. How do you find that balance in your performance?
Dacascos: All I have to do for me is open the heart up and acknowledge my humanity. In real life, I feel like every day is a challenge, no matter what I've learned in the martial arts and all the experience I've had, every day brings something new that I need to deal with. And it's great because maybe I was successful in accomplishing a task last week or last year and, when something similar comes up, because of the way I've evolved or devolved, and maybe I'm not successful. So everything is a challenge and Richard knows that, he does that and, better than I, he is able to deal with this with his sense of humor and retain his open and soft heart and still be badass with his adaptation. I would like to be more like Richard Dragon. [Laughs] To be quite honest, I would like to be Richard Dragon. [Laughs]
This is set in the '70s when martial arts finally hit the American mainstream, back when the Shaw Brothers and Bruce Lee were as ubiquitous as Shaft and James Bond. As someone who got to experience that time period yourself, how was it getting to immerse yourself in that world here?
Dacascos: I loved it! I was born in '64 and I got to see the Bruce Lee movies in the movie theater and I got to see Five Fingers of Death the first time in the theater. And then of course Enter the Dragon, holy smokes, it blew my mind! When we recorded, I don't remember if I saw any of the visuals and I hadn't heard any of Joachim Horsley's music but when I saw our [film] for the first time with all these elements, it just brought me right back. You start hearing that rhythm of the music and you're transported back to that time...I remember when some of that music was coming out. For me, it just set the tone. I heard those first bars and you see those bell-bottoms and the clothes and it's just like "Wow!" I loved it and what I love about it is that, yes, it is set in the '70s but, like any good story, the writing and dynamic relationships are still so profound.
Without going into spoilery detail, this does leave the possibility of a sequel. Would you be open to reprising your role as Richard Dragon?
Dacascos: Yes, yes, yes, Sam Stone, 100%! I would love a sequel, I would love a series. I love this [film], I don't know if you can tell from my voice but I love this [movie]!
Just to change gears a bit, you got to appear in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum as Zero, a character who was happy at the opportunity to fight against John Wick. How was your experience on that project?
Dacascos: I found that all these great things that we've heard about Keanu Reeves, I found them to be 100% true. Working with Keanu on the [film] in New York for almost three months, he was obviously working more than any of us, being #1 on the cast list, but he still made it to fight rehearsals. Between camera setups, he would go out of his way to work the choreography, if we had new choreography, and rehearse. He was so humble and collaborative and kind and welcoming.
When we did that couch scene, a lot of that we did at rehearsal and we had a wonderful director who said, "Do what you guys want," and we got to play. I know it wasn't what they actually had in mind from the script, but he gave me the opportunity to do my input and let it run. And I'll always feel incredibly privileged and grateful to work with Keanu on that.
In terms of creative input and potential future stories with Richard Dragon, what direction and philosophies would you like to see him go next?
Dacascos: I would love to see what Richard does when we don't see him. What is his private life? Who are his relationships outside of O-Sensei and his classmates? What does he do? Does he have family? Is there a significant other? And how does he deal with his own personal life and how does that connect with his professional life?
What are you most proud of about this film and getting to bring Batman deep into the martial arts world?
Dacascos: I am so grateful to be a part of this because I love this [movie]. It has heart, it has a deep wisdom, it's sexy, it's funny and it has lots of love in many different ways and that I love.
One last detour and I know this is a sharp detour but...how much fun was it to introduce the secret ingredient on Iron Chef America?
Dacascos: It was a blast but also very challenging because how could I make it a little bit different. Of course, the producers and the audience wanted that energy but how can I make each one different? So that, for me, was a challenge, but the joy in the show, for that one hour of cooking, sometimes we had eleven or twelve cameras running at the same time. Of course nothing was rehearsed because we didn't know what the chefs were going to do and that energy was palpable. I got nervous, and I wasn't even competing, because it meant so much to them and, yes, the food was really that great! I loved it!
Directed by Sam Liu and executive produced by Bruce Timm, Batman: Soul of the Dragon stars David Giuntoli as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Mark Dacascos as Richard Dragon, Kelly Hu as Lady Shiva, Michael Jai White as Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger, James Hong as O-Sensei and Josh Keaton as Jeffrey Burr. The film arrives Jan. 12, 2021 on digital HD and on Jan. 26 on Blu-ray and 4K UHD.