By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
October 22, 2000
Who would’ve thought that a turtle could go up against Jackie Chan and hold his own?
Not long after battling evil as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, former Chicagoan Ho-Sung Pak found himself playing the heavy opposite Jackie Chan in “The Legend of Drunken Master.” That was in 1993. The movie, which was a smash hit in Asia, has finally been released in the United States, and is in its opening weekend at local theaters.
“I never really thought that it would be released here, so this is a very pleasant surprise,” Pak says during a recent trip to Chicago, where his parents still reside. “It was great working on the picture with Jackie and [director] Lau Ka Leung in China. Jackie and I had several fight scenes together, which were really fun to do. For an acting novice like me, it was a great learning experience.”
Pak may’ve been a novice actor, but he was a master of martial arts. A student of kung fu since the age of 8, Pak traveled to China when he was 18 to train with Jet Li’s instructor.
Numerous championship titles later, Pak was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame in 1991.
Growing up as the youngest son of Korean immigrants, Pak, 32, says his dreams were more academic than anything else. After he graduated from Sullivan High School, Pak headed to the University of Illinois, where he received a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s in business.
Then fight choreographer Pat Johnson asked him to audition for the part of Raphael in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II.”
“He said he’d fly me to Los Angeles to audition, so I thought, `Hey, free vacation,’ ” Pak says, laughing. “I didn’t expect anything from it. But then I got the role.”
When the actor who was playing Donatello was injured, Pak suggested his older brother Ho-Young for the role. The brothers ended up working together on the second sequel as well.
Pak has carved a niche for himself in action-oriented projects. He starred in Fox’s “WMAC Masters” along with Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon and played the character of Liu Kang for the “Mortal Kombat” arcade games.
Sure, there’s a certain amount of stereotyping going on. But Pak says it’s not all bad.
“Like a lot of other Asian-American men, I am not really considered for roles other than specific Asian characters,” Pak says. “And a lot of people really do assume that if you’re an Asian male, you must know martial arts. It just so happens that I do.
“And I happen to be one of those people who just loves action movies. I love choreographing some of my own fight scenes and working with other actors and [martial artists]. So I feel very fortunate that I get to act and showcase my skills as an athlete, and get paid for it. That’s not a bad deal.”
Thanks for this wonderful article. I remember him from his U of I days.