Northwest Asian Weekly
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By Andrew Hamlin
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The paths to acting onscreen run diverse and multifarious. Just ask two of the leading performers in the new movie, “Masters of the Universe,” the latest re-launch of the sprawling fantasy series dating back to 1982.
Jon Xue Zhang stars as Ram Man in MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.
“I have a martial arts background, and I always wanted to get into film, because I would watch movies with Jackie Chan and Jet Li,” explained Jon Xue Zhang, a Chinese English actor, fighter, and stunt performer who plays the warrior, Ram-Man, in the new movie. “So it was always an inspiration for me.
“Martial arts splits into three categories: You have fighting, health, and performance. I didn’t want to compete anymore, [but] I’ll still train for self-defense, I’ll still train for health. But I wanted to perform for a living. After reading comic books with my older brother, watching cartoons, and playing with all the action figures, my dream was always to be a superhero. And if I couldn’t be a superhero in real life, I would settle for playing one in a movie. Or failing that, enjoy the tax-free incoming of a supervillain,” he finished with one of his many warm laughs.
Christian Vunipola
In the case of Christian Vunipola, the half Cambodian, half Tongan actor who plays Hussein, roommate to the young fellow who becomes He-Man, acting fell his way as he tried to impress a female.
“I grew up in Chino, an hour east of L.A. and the Inland Empire. My first dream was basketball, [but] a girl that I knew in a drama class I was taking, Jenny Flores, here’s a shout-out to her, she had a scene [reading], and she asked, ‘Would you do this with me?’ and I said, ‘Maybe I’ll do this thing,’ and the rest is history. I have a poor man’s Troy Bolton story (from ‘High School Musical’), basically, except I was worse at basketball, and also not as attractive.
Asked about his acting for “Masters of the Universe,” Zhang emphasized with another laugh, “You gotta use your head. I think Ram-Man uses his head in the most direct way, maybe not in the most diplomatic or tactful way. But he’s very direct with it, so he has springy legs, which facilitates an accelerated head-butt.
“Ram-Man was always described as a super-strong, super-magical, dense, and a little dim-witted, superhuman. He has really big arms, the armor, the helmet, the legs, they all just blend in together.”
Preparing for the role also presented some challenges. “The contract came, it said ‘Do not change your appearance. You must maintain your weight.’ So I think at the time, I weighed 198 pounds. I normally like to sit right about 205. So I had to maintain 198 for six months, and that isn’t so easy. I definitely did a lot of ‘arm days,’ definitely developed some tendonitis in my arms from doing so many bicep curls in between takes, and there’s only so many bicep curls you can do in a 12-hour shoot.”
Vunipola recalls a simpler approach to his own character. “I’d say the most important part of this character, in relation to He-Man, is his groundedness, his quality that brings Adam (He-Man’s secret identity) back down to Earth. The only problem with this is that [He-Man] is literally not of this Earth, and Hussein is the one who has to learn that lesson. But that’s the biggest thing he brings to the film and within the story, too, to Adam.”
As for future projects, Vunipola doesn’t seem to have anything further lined up for now. Zhang signed off with, “I just hope we get to do all of this all over again, so we’ll see how well everything goes.”
“Masters of the Universe” is currently playing theatres in and around Seattle. For prices, showtimes, and other information, consult local listings.
Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment
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