Shou Wan-por (, born July 17, 1960), known professionally as Robin Shou, is a Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist and stuntman. Born in British Hong Kong but raised in Los Angeles, Shou's interest in martial arts developed during his years as a University student. This led him to win several championships as a martial artist, both in China and the United States. He entered the Hong Kong film industry as a stuntman in the late 1980's, and went on to star in films such as City War (1988), opposite Chow Yun-Fat, and Tiger Cage 2 (1990), opposite Donnie Yen. In 1994, Shou landed his first American leading role as Liu Kang in the martial arts fantasy action film Mortal Kombat (1995). He reprised the role in the 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation. That same year, he appeared alongside Chris Farley as Gobei in the action comedy film Beverly Hills Ninja. In 2003, he directed the documentary film Red Trousers - The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen. He went on to play Gen in the American action film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009), and 14K in the Death Race film series (2008-2013).

Biography

Shou's interest in martial arts developed during his years as a University student. He began practising wushu after watching Jet Li's film Shaolin Temple. He soon became a Hong Kong stuntman. As a martial artist, Shou was an International Forms Champion in 1982 and 1983 and he won several gold and silver medals at prestigious competitions in China. He was also a traditional forms Grand Champion in California. Shou's first dramatic role was in Forbidden Nights in 1990, with Melissa Gilbert. Though only a TV film, this was his American debut. However, Shou went back to Hong Kong and continued making movies there such as Tiger Cage 2 and Fatal Termination. In 1994, Shou returned to Los Angeles when he landed his first American leading role as Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat (1995), based on the popular video game of the same name. He reprised the role in the 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation. That same year, he appeared opposite Chris Farley in the action comedy Beverly Hills Ninja. Shou also appeared in a minor role in another fighting video game adaptation, DOA: Dead or Alive, based on Tecmo's video game series of the same name, produced by Mortal Kombat director Paul W. S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt. He played 14K in the Death Race series, and also appeared as Gen in 2009's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Shou trained Milla Jovovich for her role in Resident Evil. He is fluent in English in addition to his native Chinese.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games