Thanks to the amazing Bruce Lee, there is a permanent intersection between martial arts and cinema. It is now standard practice that, when cast in action films, actors receive some form of training in order to showcase accurate technique in all different forms of martial arts. Whether it's a film about martial arts like Ip Man, or it's simply a killer action flick like John Wick, martial arts have woven their way into cinema, raising the expectations of audience members everywhere for the fight choreography to be not only precise but accurate as well.
It's no secret that an actor's physical abilities affect the roles that they are able to take on. It's difficult to run for your life across a battlefield if you're not really able to run in real life. Many martial artists like Donnie Yen, per Screen Rant, Jet Li, and, of course, Jackie Chan have taken their martial arts skills to the screen in order to not only showcase their skills, but to also help keep the grace of martial arts alive and keep people interested in the many fighting styles in existence. That being said, not every actor was born with a black belt and many needed to learn these skills in order to accurately portray them on-screen. Here are five actors who learned martial arts for a movie.
5 Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes is one of the original actors whose martial arts training shone on-screen. While Snipes has previous martial arts training in Shotokan karate and Hapkido from his childhood, the number of disciplines he's learned has increased dramatically over the years, thanks to his participation in movies. Snipes has shown off his skills in a number of films, but learned even more for films like To Wong Foo, U.S. Marshals, and the iconic Blade franchise. His progressive training on action films has included things like capoeira, kung fu, and Brazilian jiu jitsu. As a result of all this training, Snipes has truly made a name for himself as one of the most talented actors with phenomenal martial arts skills.
4 Keanu Reeves
A veteran in the world of cinematic martial arts, Keanu Reeves has certainly earned his reputation as a Hollywood badass. First learning a variety of karate and kung-fu for The Matrix franchise, Reeves has continued his martial arts training over the years. Films that feature his skills include 47 Ronin, Constantine, and the massively popular John Wick franchise. Considering the fact that Reeves is in his late-50s, you would think that perhaps his martial arts training would be slowing down, but the opposite is true. In 2019, when it was announced that both The Matrix Resurrections and John Wick 4 were meant to be released in 2020, it was clear that Reeves was going to have his work cut out for him as he would be training and filming for two action films. While production for these films was delayed and separated due to the pandemic, Reeves still managed to train for the final installation of The Matrix while also preparing for John Wick 4.
3 Michael Jai White
Michael Jai White is an underrated actor/martial artist who is often overlooked for the bigger names like Reeves and Jason Statham. White's martial arts resume is astounding, being a master of nine different styles of martial arts, blowing away most of his competition. This underrated actor has starred in dozens of action films, showcasing his skills in his first big appearance on-screen in the HBO film Tyson, playing the role of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, before going on to star in films like Exit Wounds alongside Steven Seagal and making a name for himself in films like Blood and Bone and Black Dynamite. White's most recent film Welcome to Sudden Death debuted on Netflix in 2020 and was subject to a great deal of praise. The same age as Reeves, it's clear that White shows no signs of slowing down his acting career or his martial arts training.
2 Jason Statham
Another massive name in the action film genre is Jason Statham. Statham made himself a household name doing films like Snatch and The Italian Job, and starring as the main character in The Transporter trilogy. While he fell off for a brief moment, he saw a revival in his career after starring in The Expendables franchise before going on to play Deckard Shaw in many of the Fast & Furious movies. Not only did these roles revive his acting career, but he trained and improved his martial arts skills, specializing in kickboxing and kung fu. Statham continues to release action-packed films, making his fans exceedingly happy. Statham has a number of films lined up for the future, including a return as Lee Christmas in a fourth Expendables film expected to be released later this year.
1 Tom Hardy
While Tom Hardy is most known for his dashing good looks and his exceptionally charming voice, he is far more than just a pretty face. Making his debut in Black Hawk Down, Hardy continued to explore the silver screen, gaining a great deal of attention for his performance in Inception. Before appearing in the post-apocalyptic Mad Max: Fury Road, Hardy discovered MMA in 2011 when he was training for the film Warrior. Since then, Hardy has continued to take on more physically demanding roles. Starring in films like Legend, Dunkirk, andVenom, Hardy continues to wow the audience with not only his phenomenal acting skills, but also with his MMA skills, with a special focus on jiu jitsu and kickboxing. Hardy's latest film Havoc is expected to be released some time later in the year on Netflix.