Until Enter the Dragon was released in 1973, karate movies were only really popular in Asia. But that all changed when Bruce Lee hit the scene. Though he never got to see his success, having died just before the movie was released, he would be proud to see how popular martial arts have become around the world.
Hollywood seeing the potential of the genre, jumped on the bandwagon, and many new actors suddenly became stars. Though many of them were not actors in the true sense, but rather martial artists whose acting was okay, but their fighting was brilliant.
To this day almost all of the big martial arts star came from Asia. The likes of Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Stephen Chow sell out cinemas globally, but there have been some from America and Europe who broke through in karate movies.
Chuck Norris, a karate world champion, had appeared in early Bruce Lee films, but in the late seventies and early eighties he became a superstar, thanks to American karate movies. Today he is still a household name, thanks to his TV Show, Walker Texas Ranger.
One of the few who have competed at the box-office with action stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger is Belgian karate champion, Jean-Claude Van Damme. He broke through in movies like Kickboxer and Bloodsport, and for a few years he ruled the karate movies scene, but his star waned and soon his movies went straight to DVD.
Steven Seagal rose to fame in films like Under Siege. Physically imposing, he also had a brief brush with superstardom in the nineties, but it did not last long, and soon his movies were easier to find on DVD than at cinemas.
The problem is that many of these films are B-movies, with low budgets and someone like Cynthia Rothrock, considered the queen of karate movies, never had big budget film releases. Despite that, she is highly respected and she has appeared in dozens of films.
He may be more familiar to audiences now as the host of Iron Chef, but Mark Dacascos is another who rose to stardom through martial arts. His father was a martial arts instructor and it was in movies like Only The Strong, Crying Freeman and Double Dragon that he was first noticed.
Even Julia Roberts' brother, Eric Roberts, had his brightest moment in a martial arts film. He was the star of the very popular film, The Best of The Best, and its sequel.
There are many action film stars who never quite make it into mainstream cinema, but are respected in the martial arts world including performers like Gary Hudson, Loren Avedon, Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Billy Blanks. Billy Blanks is of course more famous for his Tae-bo exercise regime than any movie he ever appeared in.
There are of course a few stars who have started in karate movies, and used them as a stepping stone to a much brighter career. A good example of this is Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank, who many may remember as the girl who succeeded Ralph Macchio in the Karate Kid movies.
Hollywood seeing the potential of the genre, jumped on the bandwagon, and many new actors suddenly became stars. Though many of them were not actors in the true sense, but rather martial artists whose acting was okay, but their fighting was brilliant.
To this day almost all of the big martial arts star came from Asia. The likes of Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Stephen Chow sell out cinemas globally, but there have been some from America and Europe who broke through in karate movies.
Chuck Norris, a karate world champion, had appeared in early Bruce Lee films, but in the late seventies and early eighties he became a superstar, thanks to American karate movies. Today he is still a household name, thanks to his TV Show, Walker Texas Ranger.
One of the few who have competed at the box-office with action stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger is Belgian karate champion, Jean-Claude Van Damme. He broke through in movies like Kickboxer and Bloodsport, and for a few years he ruled the karate movies scene, but his star waned and soon his movies went straight to DVD.
Steven Seagal rose to fame in films like Under Siege. Physically imposing, he also had a brief brush with superstardom in the nineties, but it did not last long, and soon his movies were easier to find on DVD than at cinemas.
The problem is that many of these films are B-movies, with low budgets and someone like Cynthia Rothrock, considered the queen of karate movies, never had big budget film releases. Despite that, she is highly respected and she has appeared in dozens of films.
He may be more familiar to audiences now as the host of Iron Chef, but Mark Dacascos is another who rose to stardom through martial arts. His father was a martial arts instructor and it was in movies like Only The Strong, Crying Freeman and Double Dragon that he was first noticed.
Even Julia Roberts' brother, Eric Roberts, had his brightest moment in a martial arts film. He was the star of the very popular film, The Best of The Best, and its sequel.
There are many action film stars who never quite make it into mainstream cinema, but are respected in the martial arts world including performers like Gary Hudson, Loren Avedon, Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Billy Blanks. Billy Blanks is of course more famous for his Tae-bo exercise regime than any movie he ever appeared in.
There are of course a few stars who have started in karate movies, and used them as a stepping stone to a much brighter career. A good example of this is Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank, who many may remember as the girl who succeeded Ralph Macchio in the Karate Kid movies.
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