Greetings and salutations fellow Space Cadets! I have something special for you tonight. I was given the opportunity to view some recent films that starred the legendary Don “The Dragon” Wilson, which were very good. I was also given the opportunity to ask Mr. Wilson ten questions. He was gracious enough to provide some answers. Before I go on, I would like to thank Mr. Wilson for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to answer some of my questions. I would also like to extend my gratitude to David J. Moore, who allowed me to screen The Martial Arts Kid and Paying Mr. McGetty. Without Mr. Moore, none of this would have been possible. So thank you to both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Moore for giving me this opportunity.
As some of you may or may not know, Don “The Dragon” Wilson is an 11-time world champion kickboxer with an impressive record of 72 wins, 5 losses, 2 draws and 47 wins by knockout. That is a very impressive resumé. His filmography is just as impressive with Bloodfist being his first real lead role. So, with that in mind, let’s have a chat with Don “The Dragon” Wilson.
Q: Looking back at your professional kickboxing career, which is extremely impressive, what was your most memorable match and why?
A: I had so many “memorable” fights against other Champions that it is impossible to decide which one is the “most” anything. They all had elements of challenge and difficulty which made them stand out and uniquely satisfying. I think my fight with Branko Cikatic, because I fought with 2 broken hands and my bout with Dennis Alexio because I had the Flu, stand out as especially tough. Those 2 opponents became Champions of the K-1 and the ISKA World Heavyweight Champions respectively. Neither were “walks in the Park” if I were at 100% but being diminished in both fights, I had to call upon “internal” strengths which defy physical limitations. Or, as I sometimes say, “I got Lucky!”
Q: Has there been a competitor that you would have loved to have gone up against, but didn’t get the chance to?
A: There were many opponents I would have enjoyed fighting but never got the chance….Rob Kamen, Bob Thurman, Ernesto Hoost, Rick Roufus, and later, Cung Le are just a few names that come to mind. The different rules, weight divisions, etc. would have been part of the negotiations but, unfortunately, none of these bouts materialized during my 28 year career.
Q: There are few nicknames as awesome as “The Dragon.” How did you earn such a nickname?
A: In my first Pro fight in 1974, the ring announcer came in the locker room to get everyone’s “Nick Name or Ring Name”. I spent 10 seconds thinking about it and since I studied the Dragon Style of Kung Fu, said, “Don the Dragon Wilson”. That was in 1974 and it’s followed me ever since that time. I tell people, “Be careful what you say because it could be with you until you die!”
Q: When you started doing movies, you were still actively competing. How difficult was it to keep your fighting career and your movie career separate?
A: It was VERY difficult to be Professional Athlete competing at the 12 round or Championship Level and maintain and successfully Star in up to 5 Martial Arts Action Films in 13 months. I made so much more money acting that I began to look at my “fight career” as a hobby. I knew then, it was time to retire for the 3rd time and hang up the gloves and kicks forever.
Q: The movie that really put you on the map was Bloodfist. How many opportunities did you start getting for action movies after that film? How many did you end up turning down?
A: At one point in my career after Bloodfist, I had a dozen producers send me scripts to consider and I was already committed to do 6 films in advance with Pay/Play guarantees. Which means, I get paid even if they don’t make the movie! I was riding the “Video Monster” and it had to be fed with 90 minutes of action every week from all the 80’s-90’s Action Stars. I did my best to feed the monster and with 4 HBO World Premieres, had my picture in TIME Magazine for being one of the top 4 Direct to Video Stars in the World. At one point, I had 5 films successfully released in 13 months. I have made millions of dollars as an actor but probably turned down at least that amount in projects I “Passed On”. I have many regrets…although I did make a few correct decisions in the “Biz” over the last 35 years.
Q: You’ve gone up against some pretty big names in martial arts movies like Richard Norton, Cynthia Rothrock, and Billy Blanks. Was there somebody that you would’ve loved to work with but didn’t get the opportunity?
A: I have ALWAYS wanted to work with Chuck Norris in a MA Action film and believe with the right script we could make a tremendous “Billy Jack” meets “Enter the Dragon” Classic! It’s a dream, but many important successes in my life have started as “dreams”.
Q: How did you end up in Batman Forever as a gang leader? That was a pretty wild scene, by the way.
A: Joel Schumaker called my agent Ray Cavaleri to set up a meeting about me appearing in “Batman Forever”. 2 friends of mine, Russ Fokes and Tim Baker also worked as contacts with Mali Finn and Joel to help find a place for the Dragon in “Batman Forever”. At first Joel considered that I would be a henchman for Tommy Lee Jones but I had too many contractual commitments to work 3 months on the film. So, we decided I would do a 1 scene “Cameo” with Chris O Donnell (Robin) and that turned out to be the “Neon Gang Fight”. It was fun to appear in the highest grossing film of the year and my son Jonathan loved going to the Premiere and sitting FRONT ROW! When my scene started, he screamed, “That’s my Dad!”
Q: The Martial Arts Kid was a pretty good film with a good message about martial arts. You also co-produced the film. What was it like working side-by-side with Cynthia Rothrock, both in front of and behind the camera?
A: Cynthia and I have been close friends since the mid 80’s. We lived on the same street in Beverly Hills when I first moved to LA and, later, she lived up the street from my home in Woodland Hills, we both got our Black Belts in the same style of Kung Fu, Pai Lum , and we have had the same agent throughout our careers. What are the Odds of these complete coincidences? We’ve discussed these strange similarities and realize that there are many reasons we are very comfortable working together on movie sets. As far as, behind the camera, we have been friends for over 30 years.
Q: For Paying Mr. McGetty, which was a pretty funny film, a good chunk of the humor came from you. How much of that was improvised?
A: Well, I do not recall saying or doing anything which I would find funny or comedy. My character Shota is a “Hit Man” and I did not portray him as going out of his way to “make a joke”. If it was funny, it was the Director Michael Baumgarten as the writer, Director and working with the Editor making my character “amusing”. I did think his line, I think it goes, “20 seconds, a lot longer than I thought it would take” in reference to the “all night ass kicking” was meant to be funny though. If audiences enjoy this film and my performance I may continue to seek work as an actor and not just the “good guy” or “lead” in a film. It was fun and I enjoyed the experience. But, it’s up to the audiences….if they like seeing a different “Dragon” once in a while, I will have more opportunities to continue as an “actor” and not just MA Action Actor.
Q: What was it like playing a character that started off as a villain, but kind of changed over the course of the film? Would you actually consider playing a full-on bad guy at some point?
A: I would love to play a really EVIL bad guy and, as I said earlier, if audiences will support my performances, then directors will continue to offer me different types of roles-characters to play. So, it’s not ultimately up to me. My Fans and the audiences control what actors are offered. I’d love to do many different types of roles and hope they continue to support me as an actor like they have as an Action Star. Best Wishes and Thanks for this honor to speak to your audience.
As you can see, Mr. Wilson has a great deal of experience and knowledge that you generally don’t see out of most action stars during the late 80’s and early 90’s. Once again, I would like to thank Don “The Dragon” Wilson for taking the time to talk with us and share a little bit of his careers in both sports and film making. Mr. Wilson has a new movie coming out in September that I believe everyone should go see. Paying Mr. McGetty hits the big screen on September 15, 2017, according to IMDB. I have reviewed the film in question and you can check out my review by clicking the Reviews tab at the top of the page. Meanwhile, here’s a trailer and a poster to get you excited:
