Deron McBee: "I'm Malibu Bro, What's Up?"

The Fisch Bowl's next interview is with athlete and actor Deron McBee, known for many roles including Malibu from American Gladiators, Motaro from Mortal Kombat Annihilation, and even makes an appearance as a thug in Batman Forever and Batman and Robin! Dive back into the bowl and listen to our conversation with McBee as we discuss his experiences, career, and of course our favorite movies and TV shows along the way!

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Uh attention, all you fishes in the sea.

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Welcome to the fish.

SPEAKER_01 0:09

What's up, all my fishes in the sea? Thanks for tuning in for being a subscriber. I'm your host, Sam Fish, and today's guest is the infamous Darren McBee, aka Malibu from American Gladiators. Also known for his work, most notably in Mortal Kombat 2 Annihilation, just in time to check out before the release of Mortal Kombat 2. He's also known for his work in Batman Forever and Batman Returns. Tune in and check it out. Darren McBee on the Fishbowl. Welcome. How's it going, my friend? Finally got it together. We finally did it. Thank you for taking the time to swim in the fishbowl with me.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Yeah, I was ready to dip for a while and finally got my act together so I could make it on with you, man. Glad to be here.

From Law Enforcement To Acting

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Absolutely. Well, we're both diving in head first. Well, first, let me just say I I've literally been a fan of yours since I've I was a kid. I grew up watching American Gladiators. Of course, Mortal Kombat Annihilation is big on the uh the list of things to talk about, among some other TV stuff and film stuff. But my first question for you is actually what got you interested in film and then like a segue, what kind of led to American Gladiators and stuff like that?

SPEAKER_00 1:32

That's a good question. A lot I don't get a lot of that that asked of me, by the way. That's a good question. Actually, I I don't share this lot, but I used to be an LA County uh deputy sheriff. And got injured on the job and made some stupid decisions while I was injured. And during that time I was recovering, and I kind of just, like I said, made a couple stupid decisions. I uh walked away from the department, which I you know sometimes regret to this day because uh our police officers and and sheriffs and firemen they do such an amazing job and there's so much pressure on them and what they do. So I have I I look back with uh bittersweet thoughts about it. Obviously, my career kind of took off in the other direction, but when I left, I uh wasn't really happy with the person I was becoming, to be honest with you. I was turning into kind of a jaded person and just didn't like me. And I was always the kind of guy who wants to go out and help people, and I went into the department thinking I was gonna help all these people and I was gonna be this force for good, and and I realized it's just it's a dark world, and those guys have one of the toughest jobs in the world out there. And uh so at any rate, I I also was a an athlete, profess kind of a professional athlete before. I played a lot of racquetball and I'd gotten really good at racquetball, and I love performing for the crowd. That was one of the highlights of my life is seeing people smile when I was playing the game. And so I just decided I want to be an actor. And so it really was. It was just that kind of a snap decision. I started modeling first, and I enjoyed modeling, but it wasn't for me. I like being like moving and and you know, being a lot more physical. So I decided to throw my hat into the acting and stunt career.

Landing American Gladiators As Malibu

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Awesome, awesome. Well, it's it's so cool because like you know, you were kind of at like the the dawn of where like you know, the muscle men stunt guys kind of really started to shine, you know, and pave the way to kind of like become that that like character actor kind of cult actor status. And now you have like you know, a whole kind of genre and almost like roles built and and written for people like yourself that are in like the stunt, more more like the stunt, you know, muscle man category genre, whatever. And it's it's really cool to see that like you know, you were one of the, I guess, like the pioneers for what is like a big, you know, entertainment thing now. I mean, movies like Fast and Furious seek out like people like that. You know, I think what's his name on Tate Fletcher is a big one now. I started seeing him pop up and started immediately following him with that that recognizable beard. And now like he has that whole role that was written for him on the boys, you know. So it's it's like very cool to see like you know, roles are and the evolution of film TV is like being written for you know the uh the you know the the incredible men, the you know, incredible Hulk analogy. Like, you know, so what was American Gladiators like and any stories, experiences like that that was one of the highlights of I would you know watch when I was a kid. So I'm very kind of interested and excited to hear about that.

Real Injuries And Relentless Filming

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Sure. Just it the way it happened, I mean, it really happened kind of by the grace of God. I was sitting on a life cycle one day, just pedaling away, working out like I normally do, and I just started trying to get into the business. My first acting job ever was a show called Married with Children. That was my first job I ever did, and I had a blast on that show. And the guy next to me was reading a trade magazine called Variety, or maybe it was backstage. But he says, Hey Darren, you got this new show that they're coming out with, and they're looking for athletic guys, they're looking for a guy that's kind of like a surfer type. It looks like you fit the bill. And uh I go, what's the name of the show? And he goes, Well, it's a show called American Gladiators, and I go, Okay, what's the deal? So he showed me a trade paper and it says tryouts at such and such a park tomorrow. And so, of course, I went down there, I had my hair was already long at the time, and I went in there and I just I nailed they had an obstacle port there, and they had how many sit-ups you can do in a minute, and I like I did like 83 or something, it was crazy. And you know, I just had a really, really good physical audition. And so they love the look because of the blonde hair and everything, and so they asked me to do a in-person interview, and so I'm walking in this room, and there's like you know, a director, producer, and so and so and so and so, and they're all sitting around and you're looking at me, and there's a table with you know a bunch of junk on it, like you know, coffee mug and scripts and all. It was a big messy table. And they just said in this in a chair. And he goes, Why don't you sit down there and just tell us a little about yourself? Your character's name is Domino, because that was the original name. And so I I looked at him go, Domino, dude, that's a that's a pizza delivery guy. My name's Malibu. And I cleared the table off and I jumped up there and I crossed my legs in the sat on the table and go, I'm Malibu, bro. What's up? And they fell, they fell out laughing. They just all started cracking up. And so that's how the name Malibu came to be, because I was gonna be Domino otherwise. And so that's how I got the name. And anyway, so they they want, you know, they wanted guys to be real physical, obviously. And I had the physical look, and the show was obviously full-on, full combat. I mean, the every guy that every guy that was out there, we were like battling. We all got injured off and on over the timer on the show. And all the guys were like ex pro ball players. Mike Porton played football. He was Gemini, Nitro was a great athlete. Jim Starr played laser, another great athlete, pro, pro-level guys. To me, I'm looking at like, okay, my character Malibu, I'm laid back. I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna, I'm gonna have fun. If I get beat, who cares? If I win, who cares? Malibu's just like a rocking dude who just having a you know a party all the time. And I think, you know, that resonated with people all of a sudden. They just like, oh, this guy doesn't care one way or the other. He's just he's out for the brews and the babes, and that's it. And so it just really hit, and people just really, really loved the character. And I'm sure if you uh have seen any of the show, you probably watched the episode where on the human cannonball, I got kicked off by this one guy. And Brian, my name is Brian Hudson. And for the people that don't know human cannibals, we were as a gladiator, it was one of the beginning games. We would sit on this, stand on, sorry, stand on this like disc. It was a three-foot ground disc. We'd have a football blocking pad, and across from us, about 25 feet away, we're 15, we're 15 feet off the ground. The gladiators are, and they're they are 25 feet up in the air, and they swing down on the rope like Tarzan, and they their job is to kick us off. So literally, I mean, it was so such a bad, bad game for the gladiators because if they go by you and a stiff breeze hits you, you're gonna fly off that pad. I mean, the balance. So I'm standing up there, and Brian came down and he he cocked his legs just perfectly. And when he kicked me, he he I literally lifted up off the pad and flew back and hit the pad. And what happened was my left knee came over and hit me in the head with such force that I gave myself a massive concussion, and then I split my head open. I had to go to the hospital. And no, a lot of people don't realize that, but there was a day that I wasn't on the show, and a kid named I think his name was Rich. He came in, he was named Bronco. He came in and filled in for a day. Really nice guy. Anyways, I was in the doctor's office, and orthopedic surgeon just finished stitching me up. And the doctor came up, emergency doctor said, Listen, you can't go back to work. You've got a concussion concussion, and if you get hit again, even moderately hard, he said, You could be in a wheelchair or dead because your brain's swelling. And I'm like pleading with this guy. I go, Doc, look, I I gotta go back. I I this is my life. I'll never get a chance like this again. He said no. I asked him again, he said no, and I said, Look, how many years do you go to medical school? Oh, well, eight years and this and that. I said, How would you like it if you did your first surgery and someone came up to you and says, You can't ever do a surgery again? You I said, How would you feel? Right. And he said, I'd be pretty bummed. I said, Well, that's what you're doing to me. You're clipping my wings. I I've trained for this my whole life. I've been an athlete. I've been waiting for this moment. I said, Don't take it from me, please. So he goes, Okay, you're you're an idiot, Darren, but I'll I'll sign you off. And so he signed me off, and I went back there and and I competed. I had a great time competing. I was scared out of my mind because I kept hearing this word in the back of my head, you get hit again, you're you're done. But I just had a blast and it was really, really fun. So I made some good friends there and and had one of the best times of my life. Obviously, it was it was something that kind of changed my life because American Gladiators tended up uh ended up being this massive iconic hit in the 90s because there was just nothing like it. And you know, if you know Sam, that was that was like when reality TV just kind of started.

unknown 11:08

Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

So we kind of kicked it off.

Wrestling Comparisons And Athlete Requirements

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Exactly. And and I mean, I was even gonna, I guess one of my follow-up questions to the American Gladiators thing is like what I mean, there's obviously some very similar analogies with wrestling and even you know uh martial arts and stuff like that, like everything that goes into potentially what you know an American gladiator is, you know, and going back to the the you know Roman sense of of gladiators, you know, they had to be in top physical form, hand-to-hand combat. I mean, you know, w what are your thoughts on like the comparisons and those industries on their own, not just industries, but practices, like stuff like that. And did any of that like correlate uh with developing Malibu and the personality and the persona and you know, so you know, so on and so forth kind of thing?

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Yeah, I think it's it's interesting. I mean, the one thing about our show that was was unique is because is that it unlike wrestling, ours was 100% legit. Now, I'm not saying wrestling isn't legit. I I did a couple matches of pro wrestling, those guys get hurt so bad all the time. They're some of the best athletes, bar none, in the world, incredible athletes. But you know, some of the moves obviously are you know, you have to be choreographed because you could they could be killing each other out there, literally. Right. So, but I mean a lot of them, I mean, a lot of the moves, boy, I tell you what, if you've been body slammed before, it's crazy, man. I mean, I I talked to one of these guys, he's an old-time famous wrestler named Terry Funk, and he's super famous back in the day. And he said, Listen, Darren, he goes, I got body slammed some so hard one time, I literally pooped my pants. So I said, I believe you broke. I said, Hopefully it never happens to me. But and I'm hoping he didn't wear white shorts that day, but he laughed. And so, I mean, a lot of that's real, and and our show is real. I like I said, I got a concussion, and through the rest of the season, I I broke a couple ribs, I broke a finger. I didn't know a lot of the other athletes, yeah, gladiators were injured as well. So we were going out of there against these contenders, and a lot of times the people would say, Well, hey, you gladiators, you're way bigger, and this and that. The truth of the matter was these contenders that came on, most of them were great college athletes. Some of them had played pro ball before, but they were just smaller. And so these guys were smaller, but they were faster. They were pound for pound, stronger than a lot of us. And to be honest with you, when they got out in front of Cameron and they knew their hometown was rooting for them, they were out for blood, man. They wanted to crush the gladiators. And so we were going against these guys, and it was like, okay, man, this is no joke. These guys are serious. And the thing about it was that people didn't realize is that we would film anywhere from four to five shows a day, complete shows. So that meant five games of Powerball in one day, where every time we faced a new Powerball game, it'd be new contenders. So we as gladiators were going up against contenders that were fresh five different times. So by the end of the day, we're just beat up.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Only the the game show contestants don't have to, you know, they have to just stand there. You know, it's it's nothing is physically demanding about that. So now that I just kind of heard that and found that out, like that is like in extreme, like you and and the rest of the American Gladiators have to be in such like fit physical condition, not just you know, with weights, but aerobics, like everything to keep going for that amount of time, and just you know, one opponent after the other.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

Can I ask you? And I just want to add one thing because you made a really good point there. The guys that were just strict bodybuilders, like there are some guys that come in, they look phenomenal, but they were just you know bodybuilders and they weren't agile and they weren't able to move really fast or have strong cardio, so they they would lose in events like so quickly because their muscles weren't prepared. You needed muscles that were used to you know running and getting hit and having the physicality of not just weight training, but you know, boxing or martial arts or football or whatever it may be. In my case, it was racquetball and martial arts. So we were also super coordinated athletes going into that. So you're absolutely right. To your point, it it takes more than just a good-looking bodybuilder guy. It takes a lot of things to make up a gladiator for sure.

Gladiators Reboot And Hollywood Body Standards

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Absolutely. And even even going back again to ancient Roman times, like you know, those those guys would have to be, you know, in the the again the top physical shape in every area, because you know, they were literally fighting for their lives, you know, which ups the stakes, you know, pretty much the you know, to the top, because your life is on the line. And that almost brings up like another thing of like the whole gladiator persona and you know, like the like the the the superstar, but also like the warrior, you know, which is like a whole interesting kind of concept in itself, which you could say helped, you know, chip away the hero archetype in film, and you know, even probably could have been some of what paved the way for the original, you know, muscle guy, Schwarzenegger and Stallone, you know, to uh usher in like that era of you know like like a film icon, icons. And if you look at like film today, like everybody has to be ripped. You know, if you're gonna be a leading man, especially in you know action, whatever, like everybody has to be ripped or in some you know excellent physical shape. And it's all and it's almost like if you're not, you know, then there's there's only like there's there's the fit, you know, men, and then there's the overweight men. And you know, there's only been like a few overweight men that can carry their own and not be laughed at in like the comical sense, you know. And I I always thought that was like an interesting, you know, like I guess whatever Hollywood is, you know, prone to to casting for specific type roles. But I mean, like John Goodman, when he, you know, was younger, was one of the only you know, overweight actors that wasn't a comedian that you know could hold his own and and legitimately act. Phillips the late, Phillips Seymour Hoffman, I thought was another excellent one that was on the heavier side, but could was an ex phenomenal actor. You know, I mean, Chris Farley, while he was he did some earlier roles like Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, where I thought it was more like laugh at him because he's you know overweight, but you know once he branched uh away from you know getting like casts, you know, with David Spade all the time. Not that you know they weren't an excellent team like Dan Aykroyd and John Belucci, but if you look at you know his standalone stuff and also his character roles where he's like not the main person in the movie, I thought he was always funny and had the capability to, if he would have lived, to to do much more, you know. So I just think it's a very interesting, you know, how Hollywood body image and everything, but at the same time, you know, you guys kind of like, you know, and you yourself ushered in like that, the the the stunt, you know, muscle man era, you know. So I think it's it's very cool. And it also, you know, goes to show that you know working out and you know, staying fit and everything pays off. And you know, you know, you can do a lot of stuff with it among a lot more than just being healthy, you know. But I I I believe you we were starting to talk about before we did the interview that that American Gladiators was coming back. Um reboot.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

Yeah, they're doing a reboot. Johnny Ferraro, who is the creator of it, and a friend of mine, super cool guy. He's gone, he's been working his tail off since the original gladiators went off, and now he's brought back to show. And from what he's telling me, it's gonna be spectacular. My talk to one of the new gladiators, I I forgot his name, but I think his name was Steel or something. But it's just funny because he's like, Hey, Malibu, man, I had to I had to call you because you were like my favorite. And I said, Well, how old are you? He goes, Man, I was five back then. Like, I'm old. I'm a dinosaur, you're right. But to me, he was really he's really cool. And so Johnny said it's gonna be a lot of fun, and these guys are super athletes, which I'm sure they are. And to your point earlier, Sam, which is really interesting, is that you're right. I would go on auditions all the time, obviously, when I was an actor, and you didn't see very many guys in great shape back in the 90s that worked out, it just wasn't a big deal. Even WWE, they had some guys that were in good shape, but very few of the guys are like ripped. And now, like you said, you can't get an audition as a young person unless you're in shape. It you just can't. And so you you're to the point that you made, you're absolutely right. With this whole genre of superhero movies that's coming out and all that, you you can't be a one-dimensional actor anymore. You you gotta be you gotta be fit, you gotta be in shape, and you and you've got to have the right look. So I'm thankful to be on the you know, kind of the like you said, the the beginning of how things have changed and how the countries changed and and all that. So it's really, really neat to be a part of every all of this stuff.

Mortal Kombat Auditions And Motion Capture

SPEAKER_01 21:34

That's very, very, very cool. And also, I mean, it's it's like because of that point that you could say that's probably what led to being a big contributor to getting to you cast as uh now in Mortal Kombat Annihilation, which you know I I definitely want to talk about because uh I I grew up playing those games, and and I my my friend he lived Down the street from me as a kid. He had two older sisters. So he had like all the video game systems, like where I was like, you know, trying to say to my parents, I need to get these. They're like, why? What is it? You know, but anyways, it would be like a regiment after school. We would go over to his house, play Mortal Kombat. I remember exactly the theater that's no longer there, where I saw the first one and with my dad and one of his friends. And I remember seeing Annihilation at a different movie theater with my dad as a kid. He's really responsible for like getting me into pretty much everything I'm into, which has just like grown and surpassed anything he ever could have imagined. I guess it looks good, man.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

That's really good.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

I'm I'm very excited. And I I also know like a lot of people, especially the the younger generation, you know, that has grown up in the age of like, you know, CG and effects and everything, it doesn't appreciate what you know us 80s and 90s people had to, you know, work with before the kinks were worked out with CG stuff. So I know Annihilation gets a little like a little bit of a bad rep with some of the the CG that was used, but yeah, I also know that from you know reading up on it that there is a lot they want to do with the script. But I'll tell you about that. Yeah. Right. But with with technology restrictions and budgetary stuff, a lot of it had to get cut and rewritten. And right, right. Um you know, it's it's only like now, you know, almost 30 some years later, that we're at a point technology-wise, where they can do a lot of stuff that they initially wanted to do with the original first two installments.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

And I do have you can admit it I'm gonna tell you something about that because that you made a really good point. So go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

The only thing I was gonna say before we get into it is that I I I have pros and cons with the new one versus the originals, or the original, I should say. I haven't, you know, we have to wait and see with uh the sequel, which looks phenomenal just off the bat. But I with that being said, let's let's let's get into annihilation.

Reboots Versus Originals In Game Movies

SPEAKER_00 25:00

Sir, I must everything you said was spot on. What I found that was fascinating, just to to kind of retrack, well, just to talk about the the whole auditioning process for me. To me, I'm I'm almost more proud of that, the fact that I was on that than anything I've done because I had to go through five different auditions to book that role. Because it originally they were looking for somebody like really massive to play Motaro. And what got it for me is just my acting abilities just outshine the other guys, basically, and and my martial arts. So you got a lot of guys who were big guys that that that couldn't move, you know, they just couldn't do the fights correctly or just couldn't handle the dialogue at all. And so five different times I had to uh audition for it, and then when I finally booked it, man, I I gotta tell you, it was like a dream for me because I remember two years prior to that, I would be training on the life cycle listening to Mortal Kombat. Go, man, I would love to be in a Mortal Kombat movie. That'd be so cool. And the next thing you know, man, I ended up getting to be Motaro. And when I got, I met this guy, we we went to Amsterdam to to prepare for the film. And the guy who he was an Israeli guy, and he was doing motion cap photography, basically, called motion capture photography. And basically, what that is, is you know, you're a live actor, and you have a 10-foot square that you can do your acting in. And as you're doing the fight scene, everything gets put into the computer, and the computer pixelates everything. You've got these iridescent balls on your knee, on your shoulder, everywhere. And so it pixelates that and turns it into kind of a moving stick man, if you will. And from the stick man, they built the character over that, inlaid the character with the computer-generated graphics. But believe it or not, back at that time, what we did was state of the art. Like my character was a was on screen. It was a million million dollars a minute for my character to be on screen back then because it was so state of the art. And I remember the guy, I was talking to the guy, I can't wish I can remember his name, but he said, Darren, 20, 30 years from now, they're gonna be able to be so good with CGI that you can do a picture of a guy's face or his body, and you're gonna put it in a computer, and it's gonna be like you'll never, you don't even recognize the difference between the real guy and the computer-generated guy. Like, in other words, he goes, We could bring back, say, Errol Flynn from back in the 40s, he was a swashbuckling actor, or Humphrey Bogart, and we could put him in a movie with Brad Pitt today, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. He goes, 30 years from now. And like, there's just no way. Come on, you gotta be kidding me. He goes, You watch, it's coming. And I I look down, it's like they they can do it. You can do with a computer, uh like not expensive computer software, you can do a deep fake where you could make you know our president, you know, jump a naked into a swimming pool. You know, it's you know what I'm saying? And so that's that's how far we've come along since back then. But to me, it's just amazing to see that evolution to be a part of it. And also the the whole genre to me was just a lot of fun. I had great fun with the cast and crew, and uh one of the best experiences of my life. I get to travel and meet some great people, and it's just it's been just a like just a blast. So, and you're right, as far as the script goes, the script was written and I'd read it. It was phenomenal. They had to cut like 13 or more pages out of it, and the fight with me and Jack's was supposed to be insane. My tail was supposed, my tail was supposed to knock these Roman pillars down, and it was really super cool, and and a lot of dialogue that would have made that movie make more sense was cut out. So that unfortunately hurt the movie. I mean, we came out number one in the box office, but then it fell off really quick. And the only other thing I thought about it that I didn't care for was there was just too many flips in the movie. It's like every other fight guy had to do a flip, and I thought you just you're utilizing that way too much, you know. And and it that's I think it hurt the choreography a little bit, but other than that, to me, it was one of the best experiences of my life. I really had a great time doing it.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Well, one one I have to say, I really liked Brian Thompson as Shao Kahn. Um like he he I mean, going back to the 80s with his his first kind of role opposite Schwarzenegger who kills him in Terminator, uh and then you know, him him getting, you know, because if you look at him in Terminator, then you see him go up against Stallone and Cobra, he goes from being kind of like a little like fit scrawny to being like totally ripped, and that's been his like physique ever since. And then another 90s show I gotta mention because it's one of his his key roles, the X-Files. I'm uh I I grew up on the X-Files, the X-Files is one of the best TV series ever made. Right, and you know, I wish Hollywood would just like look back at that show, and there is so many source material ideas that you could you know make into a uh a feature-length film that that has no relation to the X-Files, just solely inspired by the X-Files. Um, I mean it's it's it's an it's a bottomless pit of uh of source material ideas to work with, you know, and then see him in there as that alien bounty hunter, you know, character, and all the other roles that he's he's done over the years. He just has that like that that he's one of those guys that just has a signature look that is is meant to be a villain. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_00 31:03

You know, one thing about Brian, great guy. I actually I did the Conan show at Universal Studios for years, and uh Brian was played one of the characters there as well. Super cool guy. We had the best time in Thailand together. Uh, I can't say enough about the guy. He's he's a super cool guy, fun. He's got it, he's just got this aura about him. I mean, you talk about somebody who's cool, but he's just got this aura, larger than life aura about him, and he's got a genetic condition where from his body, his lower body up, he he can't keep the fat in his body. So he's if you see his chicks, no his cheeks are always sucked in and his face is like it's right. He can't keep his fat in his face, and that's why he's ripped to shreds all the time. Of course, he works out like a fiend. But when I was sitting on set with him, going, bro, how do you do that? I mean, you're you got this freakiest skin, it's like paper thin and super muscular and and a great actor. I mean, nobody could have done a better job at that than than Brian. I just there's no way he was awesome in that.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

I I I agree with that, and same same goes for Carrie. Oh, I can't pronounce his last. Yes, yes, he played the original Shang Sun, which which I I will also say as as a pro and con with the original Mortal Kombat to the the reboot they did. Now there that's that's where I'll I'll get into here. There there were some things I really really liked about the the reboot, and I thought it was in terms of like I thought a major issue all throughout like the 2000s and 2010s with video game adaptation movies is that they made the movie like a video game instead of making a movie based off a video game filmed like a like a movie, if that makes any sense. You know, you had such potential to like make a awesome like uh thriller action movie type of film, but instead they totally dropped the ball and they made it like just campy and goofy, like like like as if the film was a video game, where like m movies in the 90s with video games, I thought you know they they started off right. You know, they didn't try to make the game into a movie, they tried to make the movie its own thing based on the video game material. Now, Mortal Kombat, the the reboot that the first one they did, one one of the major issues that I always had with the originals is that they were PG 13 and not R, you know, but they still encompass like some unique qualities that I think just hasn't been recaptured or at least shown to us to date because I know you know they're planning to do like one or two more after this next one that's supposed to come out. So then it seems like the way the first one was built up, they're like planning on introducing a lot of stuff with the sequels, so it still remains to be seen, and I can't say so much until I see the the finished final product. But with the first one, the biggest thing that I loved about it was one, the way the movie opened with the fight with Scorpion and Sub-Zero. How that was like more truer to the the games, that whole fight scene, the actors that played both Sub-Zero and Scorpion, phenomenal martial artists. Uh the the one who played uh Sub-Zero, I loved him in uh the the Cinemax show, uh Warrior, you know, which is talk about you know modern, you know, TV cinema and mixing martial arts being based on Bruce Lee and all that. Um that show was phenomenal. He plays such a good villain, and and like they they nailed Scorpion and Mortal Kom uh and uh Sub Zero in the reboot better than the originals, but Goro, at least in from what I've seen with the first one, they totally dropped the ball with him. The original he had more screen time and more lines than he had in the uh the reboot. I did think Kano in the reboot was much better and developed and almost like stole the show in terms of like dialogue and you know character development. A lot of the characters I think were just better developed, but again, you know, Brian Thompson as Shang Sun, Carrie, you know, as as uh as Shang Sun, just those those two actors with the look, their looks, and uh personas that they brought to the screen with Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat Annihilation, just they can't recapture that. I don't care who they cast. It's like it's like if they try it, it's like Disney trying to reboot Blade. You know, you can't do it without Wesley Snipes.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Never gonna happen, man. Ain't gonna happen. No, that was amazing.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

Right, right, right. Those were just my my overall kind of thoughts on the the first reboot compared to the the the original Mortal Kombat movies, and I'm still really excited to see where they're gonna go with the second one. Um it looks like they based a lot of at least the reboots off of the animated movies, which I'm not sure if you've seen or not.

SPEAKER_00 37:08

But I've got them. I haven't seen I haven't seen the the movies, no, but I've seen parts of them, so I know what you're talking about, basically.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

Yeah, yeah. The animated ones are definitely worth watching. Okay, because the one there there are, so it's like it's like uh you know they're actually more bloody, bloodier, gorier than the the live action movies with what they can do with animation. But you want to talk about uh Scorpion being like a really well-developed character. I mean, I think I may not be 100% on this, but I think the writer for the animated movies is also the writer behind the live action reboots, which would make sense with how they're like kind of building up, you know, they're not the the first movie, they didn't do anything with the tournament, you know. That's that's being introduced in the next one. And also some of the shots where they showed in the trailer where Johnny Cage is fighting, I forget which character, but he was in Annihilation in the the scene with uh where Shiva gets killed. Uh the guy with like the the monster guy with like the knives and stuff. I forget the case.

SPEAKER_02 38:19

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:23

Yeah, yeah, Barack, I think, is what it what it is.

SPEAKER_02 38:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

But either way, I'm I'm definitely stoked. I'm excited to see what they're gonna do with it. And I thought the casting of Johnny Cage with Carl Urban was great.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

But you know, again, I don't think anybody can replace Robin. What's his last pronounced last name? Shu Shife. Shu, yeah, but as Lou Kane. I'm I'm I'm sorry, he was Luke Kane.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

Um really uh did a good job too. You're right.

SPEAKER_01 38:56

So, you know, there's I mean, I mean, you know, obviously everybody ages, you know, you know, we can't stay young forever, you know, and and there will always be uh with material like this reiterations as long as Hollywood and franchises exist. But you know, I I I think there's something to be said about you know the the the first to do it, you know. It's like it's the reason I say Sean Connery is the best uh 007.

SPEAKER_02 39:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Batman Stunts And On-Set Stories

SPEAKER_01 39:31

Same thing with Michael Keaton as as Batman.

SPEAKER_00 39:35

Um, that was amazing. I I've worked in two Batman movies that done stunts in the Latin in two Batman movies, and Michael Keaton just I'm sorry, he his face. I didn't buy it. I didn't I didn't want to buy it in the beginning. I thought you got to be kidding me. I seen his comedy stuff right when he came out as Batman, I was sold 150, man. It was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 39:55

Yeah, yeah, and that's actually a good segue because I wanted to talk to you about the stunt work you did on as like the the thug characters, I believe. One was for uh Batman Forever and Batman and Robin.

SPEAKER_00 40:07

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I got a funny story about Batman and Robin, then I'll go back to Batman Forever. But I was I was in a scene where Poison Ivy was she was walking up this kind of a stairway up to the top of this precipice at this kind of 12-foot high precipice, and she was in a gorilla suit, and she strips out of this gorilla suit and she falls backwards. And I was just one of the stunt men that caught her. Wasn't her stuff basically, but and I forgot the stunt girl I actually worked with on Mortal Kombat. She was a stunt girl for I I can't remember. I want to I'll think about it, but she she was uh in that one also. But so she did the falls 12-foot fall. We caught her, and so all of us, the I guess it was four or five of us, were painted gold from head to toe. And we were wearing these black wigs that had this like little sprout coming up the top. It looked looked like something out of the flintstones. And we were a couple of us are sitting in in a room waiting to do our scene, and here comes Arnold Schwarzenegger with the with his entourage, and of course, he's leading, he's just smoking a cigar, you know, Arnold and he's stuck in the room. And of course, when when Arnold goes anywhere, you can feel the atmosphere change. It's really wild, man. He's got a presence about him, and he walks up and he's looking down at me. I'm gold head to toe, this stupid bam bam wig on my head. He goes, You look like a stupid transsexual. He walks off. Thanks, Arnold. I think he met transvestite. I don't know, but we all started laughing so hard. I go, why'd you have to look at me? We've got five other guys around me. Um, but it was funny, man. He's a funny guy, man. He had great, great sense of humor. And the guy who played Bane, Jeep, neat guy, he passed away, but legitimate 25-inch arms. That guy's one of the biggest dudes I've ever seen. Wow. Super, super nice guy, but his arms were just, I mean, give you an example. Mines are, you know, the biggest they ever were 20 inches. And he's got a guy that got five inches bigger arms than me. It's just massive, massive guy. But yeah, so that was my that was my Arnold thing when I did Batman Forever. I had a ball on that too. It was I the neatest part was if you watch the beginning, I get a solo shot on this thing. It's like it was amazing, like the grace of God or something. The beginning, Two Faces robbing a bank, right? And goons find out Batman is coming up a staircase or I mean the elevator. And so there's what about 10 of us goons there, and so they're like blasting when he comes through the staircase. I mean, sorry, the elevator. So Batman comes through, he beats up all the guys, and at the very end, the last guy comes jumping in into the scene and got two big long spikes coming out of his gloves. That's me. And so I'm crossing these gloves, doing like this kind of wolverine thing, and I charge at him like a bull going at him at or he just does, you know, steps out of the way and uh grabs me by the collar at the last second and throws me into this other stunt guy. So I was like super proud of that scene, man, because it was just me doing a one-on-one with Val Kilmer, who was a really interesting guy. We had a good time with him. Talk about an amazing actor. Wow. Anyways, yeah, so that was fun. And then I had one scene where there wasn't a scene, it was off on uh outside of the set, and I literally was walking face up to Tommy Lee Jones, who isn't a very nice man, to be honest with you. But I was walking towards him. My grandma is a huge fan of his, like massive fan of Tommy Lee Jones. Now, mind you, I've been working next to this guy, literally next to him for three weeks. Right. So he knows who I am, he knows who I am without a doubt. And So uh I literally run straight into him. He's walking with somebody talking to him, and I said, uh, hey, uh Mr. Jones, I'm sorry to bother you, but my grandma's a super cool, big, huge fan of yours. Is there any way I could get a picture with an autograph? And Tommy Lee Jones, he like, he looks at me right in the eyes, then he looks down, he looks up, and he goes, and he walks right past me. And I'm going, what a queener? I mean, it's like, dude. Right, right. You and not only did you bl just blow me off, you went out of your way to let me know you blew me off, you know, and like what a weight. And then I was around the same day, maybe a day later, five of us guys are sitting around just talking about whatever we're we're talking about. And across the way, this little guy comes out of a sound stage next door and he's wearing camo fatigues, tiny, and he's carrying a big gulp. And a big gulp makes him look small. And he walks up and he goes, Hey guys, what are you doing? It's Dustin Hoffman. And so Dustin Hoffman just comes over to just share this, share the shoot the stuff with us. And I'm thinking, man, what a difference. He's a super cool guy. He just wants to talk with us about what's going on. And there's Tommy Lee Jones going out of his way to give me the big, you know, FU middle finger after I've been working with him. And somebody came to me later and said, Don't even worry about it. The guy is super jealous of people that are muscular and tall. And he said, You just you're just intimidating him. And I said, Well, the guy's one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. What does he care about me? So, anyways, those are those are some of my stories in a set. But I had a wonderful time, both movies. I did get injured on Batman and Robin. And here's something another story. My mom is a hairdresser, and so she happened to be one of the hairdressers on Batman and Robin. So it's really cool. Yeah, I got to work with my mom. So we're doing this one scene where Mr. Freeze throws a stunt man through this giant stained glass window, and we're down at the bottom, excuse me. So when he when the stuntman hits the ground, there's this big pad, and we want to make sure that he hits the pad and not hits the concrete. So the guy goes through the window, and it's it's a real real window. He's coming sideways. One of our guys had to bump him, so he hit the pad, and all of a sudden I felt like someone slapped me right in the face. And I'm shaking my head, going, What the heck was that? Then all of a sudden I feel this warm stuff running down my face. Well, a piece of the window, the wood window, wow, so broke off and hit me right square in the forehead and like punched a hole the size of a pencil lead, not a pencil, maybe a pencil eraser, and blood just starts coming down. So forehead cuts are nasty. They look, they bleed like crazy because you know you're sweating. And anyways, I wasn't I wasn't hurt. I was a little bit stunned, but call goes out, you hear him, stunt man injured, get the pair mixed blah, blah, blah. And and so I'm sitting there and I'm fine, and all of a sudden, here comes my mom running, and she sees me, and she goes, Oh, it's Sonny, it's you, and I go, Don't call me Sonny in front of all these people, mom. And so I said, I'm fine, mom, I'm totally fine. But of all people, you know, I have to be you know injured right in front of my mom, and it was a lot, it wasn't a big deal, but that's that's a day I'll never forget, man. So so it was kind of bittersweet there because I was I had a little scar there, but my mom was really super cool. We had a great time working on it together. So those are a couple of my memories from those two movies.

SPEAKER_01 47:34

Awesome, awesome. That's so so cool. Those those were like some of my top just favorite, you know, childhood stuff growing up with. And actually, to this day, I I have a diehard Batman film because of Keaton, because of Kilmar, because of as bad as George Clooney was Schwarzenegger, uh, made makes you and Schwarzenegger make that movie watchable.

SPEAKER_00 48:01

Oh, thank you, man. Yeah, it was uh Clooney was a nice guy, he just was terrible for Batman. He and you could tell he didn't he didn't want to be there, he was phoning it in. It's like, dude, why we even do the movie if you're gonna be like that? You know what I mean? At least Val Val kicked butt. I thought Val did a great job.

SPEAKER_01 48:18

I I thought Val was great. I mean it, I mean, you can definitely tell there's a big difference between the Keaton versus Tim Burton versus the Schumacher. You know, I mean it's it's it's now, you know, looking back as an adult, I basically, you know, categorize them as like there's the two Tim Burton, Michael Keaton ones, and then there's the the two that came after. Right, right, right, right. I agree totally, totally agree. And in Batman Forever, you know, I I really enjoyed it. And I was even gonna comment on something when you were talking about uh the story with Tommy Lee Jones that uh I remember reading that and and hearing like trivia stuff that Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones really did not get along on set. And from what I kind of heard more specifically is that Jones really was not impressed with Kerry's antics.

SPEAKER_00 49:22

Matter of fact, he I don't mean to interrupt you, but he was having dinner. Did he tell you that? So I I was he was having dinner at this place. Jim Carrey was, and Tommy Lee Joan was over there, and so Jim thought, hey, I'm gonna go over and say hi. And so he he goes over and and Tommy Lee snubs him and he goes, Hey, what's the problem? He goes, I can't stand your buffoonery. It was like he just had to cut him down, you know. It's and that's how much of that guy is, man.

SPEAKER_01 49:48

Right, so I it's it's I mean, I guess the face kind of like I mean, he he looks kind of like like like a like a bulldog. He does, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 50:00

Only now, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:02

So I I guess you know, me, you know, I don't I they you know, I don't like to say judge, you know, judge a book by its cover, but you know, I guess in that case uh you know, and don't get me wrong, I think he's a phenomenal actor. Oh great, great. There's there's been, I mean, one of my favorite movies from like the to the 2000s-ish was The Hunted, him and him and Benicio del Toro.

SPEAKER_00 50:27

Well, great movie, great movie.

SPEAKER_01 50:30

Uh, you know, I I I think that movie really goes under the radar, even though it gets played a lot on like the movie channels or streaming or whatever. But that movie in terms of military presence and showing one of my favorite uh genres of film, which is survival, yeah. You know, showing what you can do and how you know quick and easily you can make you know weapons, you know, to survive, you know, and in that case it was knives and you know navy seal stuff and special hops and stuff like that. But uh it was it was the the fight at the end between Del Toro and and Jones is brutal and one of the coolest choreographed hand-to-hand you know combat sequences in film. Another one, I gotta give it to the Cohen Brothers, No Country for Old Men. Yeah, oh my gosh, excellent in that. And I'll even go back to the 90s, uh uh probably what's considered Steven Seagal's best film, Under Siege, you know, and and also what is it, a fugitive and U.S. Marshalls, which is great. You know, I mean he's he's has a huge you know repertoire of film, you know. But I guess, you know, whereas where Clen Eastwood has that kind of like intimidating, you know, look, I've heard he's a very nice guy. Right. Um and I've I've interviewed people that have worked with him and have said you know the same thing, and actually not just a nice guy, but a standoff guy. Um I heard you know in the interview I did that you know when he directs his movies, he waits till till everyone eats first when they break for lunch and stuff before he eats, you know, which really shows a lot of character.

SPEAKER_00 52:32

Yeah, that's rare, but that's awesome now.

SPEAKER_01 52:34

That old school, you know, mindset. You know, and when he goes, it'll be a sad day because you know, uh losing Gene Hackman last year, um, you know, was in like almost you know, I think the last kind of like actors of like that generation. You still we still got the Robert Duvall, one of the greatest. Yeah, you know, so big fans, you know. Obviously, I'm a fan of cinema in general, and you know, the Duvall is one of my favorite actors.

SPEAKER_00 53:13

I I watch him and I'm blown away the stuff he pulls out from in internally. You can't be doubled. Him and him and uh Christopher Walker. What wait, what's his name? Christopher Walken? Walken, yeah. Oh, there's another one. Blows me away the acting choices he makes.

SPEAKER_01 53:28

He's yeah, unbelievable. And also also how Walken can go from like doing like one of the most like sinister villains to doing some of the most driest comedy, you know, which I think is more of his natural personality, is is is the dry humor. And and again, going back to the 90s, if I ever have a bad day, all I gotta do is put on YouTube uh the Fat Boy Slim uh music video. What's the song? The name of the song is miss absent from my mind right now, but he dances in the music video, you know, and they have on wires, so like he's flying around and stuff. That's right. It's really really hysterical. But artist is Fat Boy Slim. And you know, it's the choices he makes and seeing some of the roles. One of my what I what I think is one of his most underrated roles, especially because he plays a really sinister villain. It's a movie called uh things to do in Denver When You're Dead. Uh he plays a paraplegic uh mob boss. And there's a lot of stars in that. William Forsythe, Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd. So many people, but great little, like more indie gangster film from the 90s. But another class, the late treat treat Williams was in it, played a Joe Pesci psychotic, you know, type character. But you know, there's just so many movies, and and you know, I feel like, you know, while we we still have great stuff coming out, it's gotten like less and less, and you know, the the older days were I I think were a little more you know full of more films more like that are you know that that are lasting.

SPEAKER_00 55:34

Oh absolutely the timeless, right?

SPEAKER_01 55:36

Really exactly exactly, you know, like Terminator 2 still holds up to this day.

SPEAKER_02 55:43

Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 55:45

And all the Terminator sequels they've done since don't. You know, some are already dated, some you know, just the the budget choices they chose to make with certain stuff, having some characters versus others. I I I feel like the the the the closest that we got with Terminator was and everybody hates this one, is the one where it's in the future, like uh after the uh the bombs drop was the one with Christian Bale and Sam.

SPEAKER_02 56:14

Well, yeah, yeah, yeah. I saw that one.

Classic Cinema Talk And Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_01 56:15

I saw that one. You know, it's and it's the only one that doesn't have Schwarzenegger in it. I think it's the only one that like I mean, if you if it were me and I was thinking how do I continue the Terminator franchise without having to completely reboot it, just shoot it in the f in the future, you know, during the war. I think that's what everybody really is like waiting to waiting and wants to see. I know they've had video games about it going back to like video games, Mortal Kombat, and all that. So like the source material is there. For sure. You just need like proper studio and budget to to green light it. But I think we are almost at about the time here. Um so I am gonna cut the conversation here. But Darren, it has been a pleasure having you on the show. I still have like a lot of questions to ask.

SPEAKER_00 57:12

Let's do another one. Let's just do another one. Yeah, there's tons of stuff we can talk about too. I got a lot to share with you, so yeah, let's just do another one.

SPEAKER_01 57:19

That would be awesome. I think like we're we're out of about an hour here, so I figure that's like a good good like, good luck, little cutoff point. But I mean, Valentine's Day for me. I gotta be with my wife, or she's gonna hang me out to drive. I that's another thing I figured. So, you know, I was I was gonna let you uh swim out of that one easy. Yeah, I better if you're gonna drown me, one of the you know, Darren, thank you so much for taking the time to swim in the fishbowl with me. It's been a pleasure. It's this has been a great conversation, a childhood, you know, interview dream come true. So I have I have your number. I will definitely be in touch, uh, and I will let you know when I'll be up. And we will definitely do a uh round two, three, four, five, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 58:14

I'd love to. I'd love to. You're a great guy, Sam. Thank you.

Merch Partnership And Final Thanks

SPEAKER_01 58:17

So thank you so much. Hey there, all my fishes in the sea. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode and for being a subscriber. Your continued listenership and support means the most and helps keep the show growing to deeper and deeper depths. I want to let all my guppies in the sea know the fishbowl has now officially partnered with fastcustomirts.com, where they're now selling custom fishbowl t-shirts under their podcast and website section. Every t-shirt that's purchased helps and goes a long way to keep the show growing to deeper and deeper in higher, higher depths. I also now have custom hats, beanies, handbags, pens, mouse pads, everything to make you look like the coolest looking fish in the sea, which you can DM me directly on Instagram at thefishbowl8 or on Facebook at just the fishbowl, or you can friend request me, Sam Fish, directly and get yours today. Your continued listenership and support again means the most. It's the most important fishes that flock together. We are a school of fish and we keep the unit going. Let's all keep swimming upstream.