It's not often you meet people whose resume includes working as the coach of "Shorty" for the film "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", performing tricks in "Batman" Tim Burton, as well as confrontation with the duo Dolph Lundgren и Brandon Lee в "Showdown in Little Tokyo". However, the legendary Hollywood stuntman Philip Tan has this solid experience behind him, in addition to many other achievements acquired during his long and distinguished career as a stuntman and stunt coordinator.
Starting out in gymnastics and later devoting himself to martial arts, Philip has worked with some of the most notable action stars on the planet, including Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hunga, Jet Li, Jean-Claude Van Damme and his aforementioned colleagues "Little Tokyo".
In addition, he participated in such major blockbusters as: "Tango and Cash","Destroyer", "Start", "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" и "On the edge of the world", and many others. Throughout his career, which spans four decades, Philip has been highly respected in the film industry for his fighting and stunt talent.
Today Philip stopped by to visit KFKMoreto talk about his experience in martial arts and stunt cinema, about working on films like "Death Awakenings" with Van Damme, which was recently re-released on Blu-ray in the UK, and to share his thoughts on his son's rising fame Lewis Tanwho appeared in action films "Mortal Kombat" and the future "Wu Assassins: Fist of Vengeance"! So, without further ado, let's welcome the legendary martial artist and Hollywood stuntman, Philip Tan!
Hi Phil, welcome to Kung Fu Kingdom! It's great to have you with us and we hope you're doing well during the pandemic?
Philip Tan: Hi Brad, I'm doing well, thanks! Actually, it was quite lively just recently. At first this was not the case, of course, but now everything has simply died out, but I coped with the pandemic.
Glad to hear it! Have you by any chance heard of us before? And can we briefly get your opinion on Kung Fu Kingdom's mission to encourage 100 million people around the world to take up martial arts (for all the positive benefits it provides people, physically, mentally and socially)?
Philip: Yes, I heard! Just a fantastic mission. Once upon a time Bruce Lee inspired people to take up martial arts and now you guys are doing the same.
Philip's experience in martial arts
Thank you. This is definitely our worldview! So let's talk about your beginnings in martial arts. What disciplines did you study and how did you get involved in stunt work?
Philip: Well, I started out in gymnastics when I was young and later represented Team GB at the Youth Olympics. I ended up breaking my wrist and then I thought, “So what now?”, so I started training in taekwondo, and by 1985 I was the British national champion.
I was going to train for the Olympics, but they wanted me to train for a year, and then I said: “Well, I’d love to, but who’s going to pay the mortgage for me (both laugh)?” As a result, I never made it to the Olympic Games, although I think that, of course, I had every chance, but you won’t see victory until you knock out the Koreans.
Muay Thai training with Master Skene
At the same time, I started training Muay Thai with master Skene, and my sparring partner was Phil Nurse, he coached Jon Jones, Rashad Evans и Georges Saint-Pierre. I was offered a few fights, but the salary was around £500 and I thought, “Am I going to train for three months for £500?”
It was around that time that I got my first job in the film business in the film "The Devil's Plot of Doctor Fu Manchu", and made some decent money, so I started training as an actor and stuntman, and that's how I became the first British-Asian stuntman in the film industry (both laugh).
About working with Steven Spielberg
Later I worked on a film "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes", I met a guy named Steven on set and he asked if I could choreograph the film. "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", I asked him who the director was, he replied that he was the director, and I told him: “Yes, it can’t be, you’re only 30 years old!” But I still agreed to help him, because I didn’t know then that he was Steven Spielberg!
В "Temple of Fate" I trained Ke Hui Kwana (Jonathan Luke), who played "Shorty," taught him to fight, and then Stephen asked me to come back to "Empire of the Sun", where I also played a Japanese colonel, and there Batman was just around the corner. All this brought huge profits, just at that time I moved to America, and then worked on "Tango and Cash" with Sylvester Stallone, bringing in some Muay Thai elements. So I stayed in America, and the rest is history...!
Street trading: A long-standing acquaintance with Jason Statham...
Classic Hollywood story! And while we're talking about Hollywood... you've worked with many big action stars, as already mentioned, such as Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Wesley Snipes, Gary Daniels, Byron Mann, Cynthia Rothrock and others. Are there any interesting stories you could share about working with any of them?
Philip: Well, I have a story with Jason Statham - one of my favorites. In fact, we have known each other for a long time. He sold watches and perfumes on the street, and I sold shoes, and I was a national champion in gymnastics, while he was a champion in diving.
Of course, then he moved to Hollywood, became famous, we haven’t seen each other for many years, and then they invite me to work on a film "Adrenalin".
And I’m like, “I’ll probably see Jason today, I wonder if he’ll recognize me?” And so he gets out of his limousine, looks at me and says: “Fuck... Phil Tan! What are you doing here?”, I asked him the same question, and he said: “I am the star of this film,” and I told him : "Well, looks like I'm working for you, buddy!" He’s like: “Dude, you still have the same hair. And look at me, there’s no hair left!”, and I told him: “But now you’re much richer (both laugh)!” Then he hugged me tightly, and we began working on the film together.
Working with the late Brandon Lee and Dolph Lundgren
So that's the meeting! You also, of course, worked with the late Brandon Lee and Dolph Lundgren on Rumble in Little Tokyo. What do you remember most about that time?
Philip: Well Brandon was a great guy and we talked a lot about life, his dad and what he plans to do in the future. He also told me about his new film "Crow", such a good, modest guy. We couldn't even imagine that he would be gone very soon, but it was great to listen to his stories about Bruce, I then asked him what he thought about all these conspiracy theories around Bruce's death, to which he replied: “No, the doctors made it clear understand that he died exactly as the report said, no myths."
Dolph also seemed like a great guy and a real martial arts master; he was a real European kickboxing champion, which, by the way, many people don’t know about.
Working with Sammo Hungg and Jet Li
Dolph is without a doubt a decorated athlete. Another legend from the world of kung fu films is Sammo Hong, with whom you had the opportunity to work in the television series "Chinese Policeman" in 1998 - what valuable lesson did you learn while working with Sammo? And also, in the same year you appeared in the film “Lethal Weapon 4”, where, of course, the no less legendary Jet Li shone - what did you like most about working with Jet? What unique insights did you gain from this experience?
Philip: Oh, this is incredible, you watch all their films and this is the first time you meet them and Yuen Woo-Ping. You try to act calm and not bother them!
Jet Li was very nice and humble on set, and when he gets ready for the fight scene, you say to yourself: “Okay, now he’s going to hit you, he’s gotten into character!”
And it’s the same story with Sammo. I'm doing stunts, so I know I'm going to fight Sammo, and you don't want to hit the actor, but we're doing a fight scene, and I'm doing a back kick, lightly touching him, and then he says, “Philip, hit me! " I didn’t want to hit him with all my might and injure him, but he said: “Look at me, I have 110 kilograms! Strike boldly, nothing will happen to me!” In general, I carry out a rear kick, it flies off, the command sounds: “Cut!” Then I go up to him and say: “I’m sorry, please!” And he was like: “Philip... very good, very good, but too harsh (both laugh)!”
We became very good friends, then we often went out to eat together, he told me many stories about Jackie Chan, a wonderful person, incredibly talented.
Working with Jackie Chan
Later I worked with Jackie on "Rush Hour 3", and he kept telling me about Sammo, and each of them had their own versions of these stories. For example, Jackie says: “Sammo loves to get hit!”, and Sammo is like: “Nothing like that (both laugh)!” Jackie also told me a lot about how he received from Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, who was my sensei when I first came to America.
Working with Jean-Claude Van Damme
Cool stories! You also appeared in the 2004 film Death Waking, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, which was recently re-released on Blu-ray in the UK. What do you remember most about working with JCVD? Did you give him any advice regarding the fight scenes?
Philip: Well, they asked me if I could help with the fight choreography and also play a role in the film, to which I replied: “Yes, it’s a Van Damme film, after all.”
When I met Jean-Claude, he began to explain to me his vision of fighting, he wanted to demonstrate his signature splits, then hit his opponents from this position. And I said, "It's a gangster movie, it's about an ex-gangster going after people who are threatening his family, it's not going to cut it."
I also told him, “If someone kidnaps my daughter and I want to take revenge on him, I won’t do the splits, you know?” And Jean-Claude was like, “You’re right, you’re right.” So we agreed on it, and I told him, “The action is going to be very, very brutal and simple, and it's going to be something that audiences have never seen in a Van Damme movie. All these slow-mo spins are just not going to do.” face of such a film."
I wanted to stage a fight that was somewhat reminiscent of a fight in an alley with two swords from "Batman", only in this case, with two knives in my fight scene with Tony SkienoyWell, the rest is history. It was a completely atypical and very tough Van Damme film, and we did a great job on it.
Hong Kong Action School vs Hollywood
Yes, "Waking Death" was completely different from Van Damme's other films, and the film, oddly enough, looks good even today. So, you've worked with legends of the Hong Kong film industry, while also being a British stuntman who has worked on Hollywood films, how would you characterize these two schools of action and what are the differences between them?
Philip: Well, if we consider Hong Kong or specifically films with Jackie Chan... this cannot be surpassed. The guys from the Hong Kong film industry are simply masters of their craft. But all representatives of different schools of action occupy their niche, and they are all good in their own way.
And the films themselves are also different, so you need to decide what is best to use. When working on Hollywood films, I sometimes introduced some elements of Hong Kong style into them. For example, when I was working on "Willow", I needed to train Val Kilmer, and so I was able to add a pinch of characteristically Chinese style to this film, due to his fencing technique.
Training with Chad Stahelski and David Leitch
Therefore, sometimes it turns out to be such a peculiar mix of different styles. I trained with Chad Stahelski и David Leitch, and also, by the way, directed Chad on the set in "Bloodysport 2" (I was the stunt coordinator and director) and they both have photographic memories, so they can do almost anything, and of course they showed what they could do afterwards. Every film is different, so you have to think about what style you use and try to show something new.
Son like father: About Lewis Tan in "Mortal Kombat" and "Wu Assassins"
Definitely. Now let's talk about your son Lewis, who played Cole Young in the reboot of Mortal Kombat, and very soon he can be seen again in the new film Wu Assassins: Fist of Vengeance. How do you feel about the fact that Lewis is gradually becoming a rising action star?
Philip: Well, you could say that Lewis got into the movie business when he was just two years old, that's when he got his ticket to the world of cinema (both laugh)! I needed a child for one scene in a movie "China's Cry: The True Story", and he was just the right age. But I didn’t know if he would eventually want to follow in my footsteps, I just wanted him to do what he liked, but he literally fell in love with cinema from the age of two!
Asians only make up about two percent of the film business, and of those, only about twenty percent have stable jobs. I hope this situation in Hollywood changes soon.
Lewis is diligent in Taekwondo, Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu
Lewis trains very, very hard in a variety of disciplines from Taekwondo to Muay Thai to Jiu-Jitsu. And since his character Cole Young is an MMA fighter, he has to have a little bit of everything, and he does a great job.
He recently finished filming a film based on the series. "Wu Assassins", and my wife and I also saw him working on "Mortal Kombat". He was the first to show up and the last to leave, he trains so hard even when he's working.
Upcoming projects with David Leitch and Brad Pitt, as well as Terry Crews, Michael Jai White and Frank Grillo
A real workaholic, just like his father! It's definitely great to see Lewis making progress. And finally, tell me Philip, what other projects do you have coming up?
Philip: I have one movie "Commando" с Michael Jai White и Mickey Rourcom, it's coming out later this year and I'm also working on another film in India with Lewis and hopefully Frank Grillo will also join us, it’s called "MR-9". I also have a killer movie coming out soon that (fingers crossed) I’ll be working on with Terry Crews. By the way, he also practices martial arts, which not everyone knows about. I also recently worked with David Leitch и Brad Pitt over "By high-speed train".
We are looking forward to seeing all these films. So, what special message would Philip Tan like to leave for Kung Fu Kingdom followers and his fans around the world right now?
Philip: Just keep doing what you guys are doing and practice martial arts!
Thanks Phil, we've enjoyed your work on films for years and it was surreal to reminisce with you about all the classics we grew up with and to know you're still going strong! It was a pleasure and we wish you success in your upcoming action projects in 2021.
Philip: Thanks Brad, it was a pleasure to chat with Kung Fu Kingdom today!
Official source: kungfukingdom.com
Date of publication: 17.05.2021
Translation: Black Dragon
Home » The Interview »
Tags: Brandon Lee, Jason Statham, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, David Leitch, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lewis Tan, Sammo Hungg, Philip Tan, Chad Stahelski
Tags: Brandon Lee, Jason Statham, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, David Leitch, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lewis Tan, Sammo Hungg, Philip Tan, Chad Stahelski
And again, thank you very much for the translation! A very informative interview.
Danil Chupakhin,
Please! There will be more material in the near future. Only this time it’s an article/review about Korean cinema in the USA from the 70s to the 90s. It was once posted in the group, so I’m working on it now.
Black Dragon,
Great! Interesting article. It's great that it will be in Russian for our readers!