The best Mark Dacascos action movies to watch at home

Many people know Mark Dacascos as The Chairman in Food Network’s Iron Chef AmericaHe returns this week to the role of, which he played last year. Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend Netflix. But Dacascos is also one of the best screen fighters we’ve ever been blessed to see gracing our screens, delivering some quintessential action performances in the ’90s and beyond that remain remarkable to this day.

Dacascos’ unique combination of charm and skill coupled with his laid-back attitude made him stand out from other martial arts stars of his era, like the much more intense Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme. While he never got the shot at major stardom that those other two did, he’s seeing a wonderful little career resurgence recently, playing the lead villain in John Wick: Chapter 3 – ParabellumThe main role of Batman animator movie is played by. Batman: Soul of the DragonAnd reportedly joining the cast of Cinemax’s excellent martial arts television show Warrior For its third season.

Dacascos was also one of the best interviews on Scott Adkins’ excellent Art of Action interview series, diving into his life and career. It’s well worth your time.

Some of his most memorable movies (including Capoeira Drama) are still available. Only the strongthe live-action adaptation Crying freeman) are not currently available to watch at home, these three are, and they all rule while also providing terrific displays of Dacascos’ talents.

Drive

Image: Simitar Entertainment

This is my personal favorite of Dacascos’ movies, and it made our list of our favorite martial arts films you can watch at home. This is In DriveDacascos portrays the role of a superhuman trying to escape a group deadly assassins. He is a great choice for the bionic role because of his laidback charm and excellent martial arts skills. In an initial role, he team up with Kadeem, a low-skilled songwriter, and Brittany Murphy as a motelier. —Pete Volk

DriveYou can stream it for free, with no ads, on Vudu and Tubi as well as Pluto TV.

Brotherhood of the Wolf

Universal Pictures

Dacascos stars opposite Samuel Le Bihan in Christophe Gans’ 2001 martial arts-action-horror period film Brotherhood of the Wolf as Mani, the formidable and ever-loyal Iroquois companion to Sir Grégoire de Fronsac, a knight and royal naturalist of King Louis XV. When the province of Gévaudan is besieged by a mysterious rash of murders perpetrated by some unknown creature, Fronsac and Mani are dispatched to investigate. They discover a conspiracy which threatens the lives of the residents and could lead to the fall of the French monarchy.

Dacascos’ Mani is a noble warrior of few words and swift actions, the kind of guy who’s not afraid to go toe-to-toe (and blow-for-blow) against a gang of devious combatants or a horrifying armor-plated monster. Seriously, this guy could’ve given the Predator a run for his money. If you love swashbuckling sword duels, martial arts fight scenes, tricorne hats, and Monica Bellucci (’nuff said), Brotherhood of the Wolf is a must-see installment in the canon of Dacascos’ best performances. —Toussaint Egan

Brotherhood of the WolfShudder allows you to watch it live.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Dacascos wasn’t initially slated to be the lead villain in this movie. His interview with Adkins, linked above, revealed that he was working as a Shakespeare teacher with Chad Stahelski when he asked him if he would consider a brief appearance in John Wick’s new movie. Dacascos agreed and, when the original villain actor quit, the movie’s lead was now our guy.

In many ways the Wick series redefined modern combat, and Wick’s third installment was the most heavy-handed in martial arts. It’s a shift for the series that suits Dacascos well — he plays Zero, an assassin hunting Wick, and has a showstopper of an ending fight scene on a floor filled with glass panes. That scene took three to four weeks to shoot, Dacascos estimated, and he said he nearly walked into one of those glass panes about a “half a dozen times.” —PV

John Wick: Chapter 3 – ParabellumYou can rent it on Amazon, Apple, or Vudu.