The Undisputed King of Direct-to-Video Action Cinema
I guarantee you’ve seen a Scott Adkins film that isn’t John Wick 4.
Scott Adkins has worked with the world’s most iconic action stars and through an unbeatable work ethic, he has become the undisputed king of direct-to-video action movies.
He’s squared off (or fought alongside) against the likes of Donnie Yen (twice!), Jackie Chan (twice!), Wu Jing, Jean-Claude Van Damme (thrice!), Dolph Lundgren (twice!), Jet Li (twice!), Michael Jai White (twice!), Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Iko Uwais, Keanu Reeves, and Tony Jaa.
Even if he regretted taking a roll in Doctor Strange, Scott Adkins’ resume stands among the best.
Humble Beginnings
Scott Edward Adkins was born on June 17, 1976 in Sutton Coldfield, England to a middle-class family of butchers. Idolizing Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott began training in judo at the age of 10. After being mugged on a bus at the age of 13, Scott (like many who take up martial arts training to empower themselves) began cross training in Taekwondo and kickboxing. After dropping out of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art for financial reasons, Scott would sporadically appear in British TV roles and Cory Yuen-led teaser trailer for Black Mask 2 (2002).
His first action role would be in a Hong Kong martial arts film called Extreme Challenge (2001). This led to an opportunity as a villainous henchman in the 2001 Jackie Chan film The Accidental Spy which, on an unrelated note, features one of Jackie’s most creative action sequences where he fights nude in a Turkish bazaar.
But this would just be the start of his journey.
Becoming an Undisputed Icon
A major figure in Scott Adkins’ story is Isaac Florentine. In fact, his trajectory in the history of action cinema would’ve been completely different without the Israeli film director.
A fellow life-long martial artist, Florentine cast the Adkins in a starring role in the 2003 military action film Special Forces after receiving a demo tape. This would be the start of a partnership that would continue to this day.
To-date, Florentine and Adkins have collaborated on 9 films: Special Forces (2003), Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006), The Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008), Ninja (2009), Undisputed III: Redemption (2010), Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2014), Close Range (2015), Boyka: Undisputed (2016 - uncredited producer role), and Seized (2020).
Adkins’ role as Yuri Boyka in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing alongside Michael Jai White (aka Spawn) would propel him to stardom in the eyes of hardcore action movie fans.
While the Bourne films popularized shaky cameras and fast cuts and 13 cuts were used to show Liam Neeson climbing over a fence, there was an unparalleled degree of clarity in the brutal, jaw-dropping action sequences showcased in the Undisputed franchise. They were incredible callbacks to the stunts seen in Hong Kong action cinema.
Mainstream Roles
Scott would soon reunite with Jackie Chan in The Medallion (2003), playing a henchmen with a minor fight sequence.
You may not like this movie (I certainly don’t blame you), but Scott served as the stunt performer for Wade Wilson/Weapon XI in critically derided X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).
This would be followed by a major role in The Expendables 2 (2012) and a minor role in the critically acclaimed Zero Dark Thirty (2012).
Scott would then co-star in Wolf Warrior (2015) alongside Wu Jing as the villainous “Tom Cat”.
One of his best mainstream roles was in Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019), where he played as the lead villain Barton Geddes - a corrupt and racist US Marines Corps gunnery sergeant. This movie not only has incredible action sequences, but is also a fantastic story about the Chinese diaspora. Accented Cinema made an incredible video essay about how racism is depicted in the film.
His role as Diran Nazarian in the Jamie Foxx-led vampire action comedy The Day Shift (2022), would really foreshadow the style of action seen in the John Wick franchise.
With the massive critical and financial success of John Wick 4 (2023), it’s time that mainstream cinema finally give Scott Adkins the respect he deserves. I hope his recent showing in John Wick 4 as Killa propels him into more mainstream leading roles. The dude has range!
Many of his movies are available on streaming platforms and deserve a larger audience! Scott also hosts a podcast called The Art of Action on his YouTube channel where he interviews action stars from around the world!
We talked about action movies on episode #3 of No Dice, No Problem!
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