Ho-Sung Pak (; born November 6, 1967) is a South Korean-born American martial artist, actor, stuntman, and filmmaker. He is known for portraying Liu Kang in the Mortal Kombat video game series, and for his role as "Superstar" on the 1990s television series WMAC Masters. He has also been a stunt performer, coordinator, and fight choreographer on numerous film and television productions.
Early life and martial arts Pak was born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Master's of Business Administration in Engineering and Business.
Pak began studying Taekwondo at the age of 8, and later studied kung fu (Northern Praying Mantis, Shaolin, Tibetan White Crane), and wushu under Wu Bin. He was a Professional Karate Association (PKA) and North American Sports Karate Association (NASKA) forms champion, and won the 1991 Diamond Nationals Grand Championship in Men's Forms. That same year, he became the youngest entrant to date into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame.
Life and career Pak was a stunt coordinator for the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze as well as a stunt double for Raphael; he later reprised his role of stunt double in the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.
In 1994, he was cast by director Lau Kar-leung as a villain in the Jackie Chan film The Legend of Drunken Master.
In 2002, he played the leading role in the martial arts movie Book of Swords. In it he portrayed Lang, an Asian cop who after witnessing the death of his brother during a drug bust gone wrong, leaves town only to come back three years later for revenge. The movie also starred MK actors Daniel Pesina, Katalin Zamiar and Richard Divizio. In a nod to his Mortal Kombat alter ego Liu Kang, Pak is shown wearing a red headband during the final part of the movie, while the other three actors are also seen in similar MK clothing/roles throughout the movie.
In 2009, Pak produced and starred in the martial film Fist of the Warrior, directed by Wayne A. Kennedy, also starring Roger Guenveur Smith, Peter Greene, Rosa Blasi and Sherilyn Fenn. The film was produced together with the film company GenOne.GenOne Films Lionsgate Publicity: February 2009
In the 1995-1997 TV show WMAC Masters, his ki-symbol was "Superstar", which is a translation of his given Korean name. The show featured his older brother, Ho Young Pak ("Star Warrior"), as well as fellow Mortal Kombat actors Chris Casamassa ("Red Dragon") and Hakim Alston ("The Machine").
Mortal Kombat Pak played lead character Liu Kang in the first Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II, as well as the original elderly version of Shang Tsung in the first game. Pak, along with other actors from the first two Mortal Kombat games, refused to appear in Mortal Kombat 3 due to a royalty dispute with developer Midway over the use of their likenesses across various console versions of the first two games, resulting in the casting of new actors for some of the returning characters. This also led Pak to lose the opportunity to audition for the game's 1995 film adaptation.
In 1995, Pak and fellow Mortal Kombat actors Daniel Pesina, Katalin Zamiar, and Phillip Ahn lent their likenesses to a fighting game produced exclusively for the Atari Jaguar titled Thea Realm Fighters, but it was cancelled after Atari discontinued the failed system later that year.
Filmography Year Film/television RoleNotes1991Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze RaphaelStunt double / Stunt coordinator1992Mortal KombatLiu Kang / Shang TsungVideo game 1993Mortal Kombat IILiu KangVideo gameTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III Raphael Stunt double 1994The Legend of Drunken MasterHenryAlt. title: Jui kuen II, Drunken Fist IICommon EnemyShort / unreleased1995Thea Realm FightersPrince Pak / fight consultant(game / unreleased)1995-97WMAC MastersSuperstar / Himself / Stunts1999AngelStunts2000Epoch of LotusMortis / Action choreographerShort 2001Madonna: Drowned World Tour 2001ChoreographerDocumentaryAliasStunts2003Batman: Dark TomorrowMotion capture teamVideo game 2004Fight Club - video gameAction choreographerTorqueStunts 2005EntourageStunt gangsterepisode: ChinatownBloodRayneKagan Vampire Guard #4Alone in the DarkAgent Marko 2006Dead and DeaderSuperstar Merc / Stunt coordinator18 Fingers of Death!Young Buford 2007Fist of the WarriorLee Choe / Fight choreographer / Writer / Producer / EditorAlt. title: Blood Money / Lesser of Three Evils / Manhattan SamoeraiBook of SwordsLang / Fight choreographer / Writer / Producer2008PongAlt. title: Chinaman's Chance 2010The Last AirbenderStunt fighterGame of DeathAgent #2 / Big mental 2011Chicago CodeStuntsFemme FatalesSuperstar Assassin / The Ghost / Fight choreographer6 episodesTransformers: Dark of the MoonStuntsA Very Harold and Kumar ChristmasStunt double: John Cho 2012VampsStuntsJinnStuntsRed DawnStunt soldierThe CitizenMotel workerLegend of the Red ReaperSpecial thanksYou Can't Kill Stephen KingSpecial thanks2013BodyWeapon: The Black RyuLove and HonorStuntsAlt. title: AWOLOlympus Has FallenStunts2015Chicago P.D.Stunts2 episodes2018 Westworld Stunts / Stunt Performer 4 episodesProject X - Marks The SpotHenchman / Stunt Performer2022 Bullet Train Stunts2022Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Stunt Performer 2025Protector Producer / Stunts 2027 Producer / Stunt coordinator Post-production TBA Jason
References
External links
The Book of Swords (2003) Lost Games: Thea Realm Fighters Ho-Sung Pak-interview on (re)Search my Trash