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Robin Shou Wikipedia

Image:Robin Shou1.jpg|frame|right|Robin Shou

Robin Shou (born July 17, 1960 in Hong Kong), has made a name for himself in the United States|American film|movie industry. He is most known for his portrayal of Liu Kang (Mortal Kombat)|Liu Kang in the blockbuster movie Mortal Kombat (film)|Mortal Kombat.

Shou has had humble beginnings. He was the fourth son of a Shanghai tailor and a homemaker. His family moved to the United States in 1971. Their first home was a 2-bedroom apartment near Olympic and Vermont, now known as Koreatown, Los Angeles, California|Koreatown.

Shou didn't start attending martial art|martial arts classes until he was 19. He took Kempo (Karate) while attending California State University|Cal State. He soon realized that Karate did nothing for him so he decided to quit. A year and a half later, he saw a demonstration by a group of Wu Shu practitioners from Beijing. He said, "This is China|Chinese!" He was so inspired to train in this discipline that in 1981, just before starting his senior year at Cal State, he sold his car and used the money to spend a quarter studying Wu Shu in China. His parents did not know his true whereabouts until his aunt wrote Robin's mother telling her that her son was in Nanjing.

Shou returned to Cal State and got his B.S. in civil engineering. He spent a year and a half in this field and he was convinced he needed a different career. He found computer and electronics boring. He was always trying to follow the ideal; finishing school, getting a job, getting married??? He was unhappy and the only thing that kept him going was martial arts.

At 25, Shou looked at his 37-year-old supervisor; he had a belly, was out of shape and had dandruff. Robin thought to himself, "Will I look like this when I am 37?" Shou soon took off to Hong Kong. Not planning to do anything but vacation and think. However, this was short-lived. Soon after his arrival, he was offered a chance to appear in a movie as a stuntman. He was offered job after job, and for his first two years in Hong Kong, he played bit parts in action films. He lived in a little Kowloon rooftop apartment for $250 a month.

Shou's first real dramatic role was in Forbidden Love in 1989, where he played opposite Melissa Gilbert. Though only a TV film, this was his first American debut, any surly a catapult for Hollywood, California|Hollywood. However, Shou went back to Hong Kong and continued making movies there. By this time, he was more choosy about the roles he would play. He wanted other roles besides that of a bodyguard or a stuntman. He began turning down roles and after nine years he was bored and ready to quit acting.

In 1994, Shou returned to Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles to start an import/export business. Then he got the call from his agent, ranting about a perfect role for him in a movie called Mortal Kombat. Robin was not interested, he assumed he'd be playing a villain who gets killed in the end. His agent begged him to audition. He did, along with other top contenders; Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), Russell Wong (The Joy Luck Club), and Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street). Seven auditions later he was Mortal Kombat's Liu Kang.

The role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat was a unique one for Robin. It was rare to find Asia|Asians starring as heroes in martial art films nowadays. Also very uncommon about this movie was that the hero and villain were both Asian.

When Shou is not making films he takes ceramic classes, paints, welds and does woodworking. He likes to do anything that involves working with his hands.

Shou also reprised his role as Liu in the unpopular sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, unlike most of his fellow cast members who followed director Paul W. S. Anderson and refused to be involved in it. He is slated to appear in the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Devastation which is believed to replace the unpopular Annihilation as the "true" sequel, featuring original cast members such as Chris Casamassa (Scorpion (Mortal Kombat)|Scorpion), Linden Ashby (Johnny Cage) and Keith Cooke (Reptile (Mortal Kombat)|Reptile/Sub-Zero).

Category:1960 births|Shou, Robin
Category:Chinese actors|Shou, Robin
Category:Film actors|Shou, Robin
Category:Martial arts practitioners|Shou, Robin

Last Modified:   2005-11-07