In an era when martial arts action films and action stars are in danger of becoming extinct, several notable stars are keeping the genre alive and kicking—men like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Dolph Lundgren. Lundgren, who thrives as a star, supporting actor and director in the "B" movie market, has been passionate about a long-brewing project; and after seven years of stalls and production woes, he is finally bringing Skin Trade to life. Set in the violent underbelly of human trafficking (the "Skin Trade"), the film brings together some of the best action stars legitimately skilled in the martial arts, most notably Lundgren himself (a third-degree black belt), Thai superstar Tony Jaa (known for his Ong-Bak

trilogy, two Tom Yum Goong [The Protector in the U.S.] pictures, and most recently as a supporting villain in Fast and Furious 7), and multi-faceted martial artist Michael Jai White, who has practiced eight different styles of martial arts, including Shotokan Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Gojo Ryu.

"I'd been thinking about some projects to do," says Lundgren about how the film got started. "I read an article about these girls in Mexico who'd been trafficked. They were left by the traffickers in a van, and they all suffocated and died. I hadn't seen anything like that in a movie before, and so I wrote a script, but then I set it aside and never thought it would get made. Years later I came to Thailand to do another film [called A Man Will Rise] with Tony Jaa, and he wanted to make a deal where I could be in one of his movies if he could be in one of my movies. Basically, that's how I rewrote the script." Lundgren explains the complicated process of imbedding such grim—albeit realistic—subject matter in an action film: "The original script was less action and more of a thriller, but I thought the rewritten script married the action fare with good subject matter. Because of the cast and the financing, that's how it ended up."

Lundgren admits he had to brush up on Jaa's films to see what he could do: "I saw that he was very skilled. I've done fights with Jet Li and Van Damme, and guys like that, so I know it's cool to have somebody that can fight because you can actually work with them. You don't have to use a bunch of doubles."

Jaa, who was familiar with his action-star counterpart before ever meeting him, remarks, "I saw a number of Dolph's films, including Rocky IV and Showdown in Little Tokyo. He was very cool. He's a real professional, and he had a real passion for Skin Trade. He is an accomplished martial artist, so we had a lot of fun on our action scenes."

Fans of both Lundgren and Jaa are bound to be pleased with their scenes together, as they begin as enemies in the film and later become allies. "In the movie, we're on opposite sides,” Lundgren points out, “but we're actually on the same side.” Referring to their second fight in the film, he adds, “[The fights] are in the script, but it wasn't written to be such a big fight. We made it bigger. Tony had his ideas, and he had some guys working with him. I had one person working with me. Basically, it came down to us going through it step by step to eliminate the middlemen. Otherwise, you get so many people involved and have so many different moves, and it could have taken us six months. Finally, we just got together on the weekend and worked out the main beats. On the day, it changed as well because Tony likes to do his own stunts."

For Lundgren, watching Jaa in action and working with him was an eye-opener. "It's kinda dangerous," he says. "A lot of times the stunt guy would want to do it, but Tony would show up and want to do it himself. He would do another flip in a different direction. The DP [director of photography] would go, ‘Oh, shit!’ But I think it worked out okay. That fight certainly ranks up there in my book."

Films like Skin Trade really depend on the clashing of the titans, and with several intense fight scenes in the film, the screen explodes with well-choreographed bouts where Lundgren fights Jaa (twice!), and Jaa fights Jai White in the finale.

Jai White, who adapts his own martial arts disciplines to each film role he takes on, explains his process: "The style will change depending on the character—according to the fight within the character's personality. I let that dictate." With so many martial arts films under his belt, Jai White points to several of his recent characters and how he's been able to adapt his own styles for the roles he's played. "I've done eight different styles, and I have my own particular style, a fighting method that I've developed. Depending on my character, I use aspects of what I've learned. With Falcon Rising, my character is a combat veteran, so he fights more deadly and direct. With Blood and Bone, it had more of a sport aspect to it, more street fighting. It all depends on the character."

In going up against on-screen opponents, Jai White likens his adaptability to creating music: "It's like two musicians. You make different types of music, but there're two of you." Talking about his fight scene with Jaa, he explains that most of the fight was created on the spot, without much prep time. "Tony and I created a lot of our fight right before we shot it. There's this whole area where we fought inside this long room, and we created it ten minutes before we shot it."

Jaa calls Jai White "amongst the very best of the best." Having practiced martial arts since he was a child, Jaa adds, "My background is grounded in Muay Thai and Muay Boran, although I have learned a number of other disciplines. I started when I was eight years old, so this has become a way of life for me. I also learned acrobatics, and in the movies I incorporate that into my style." Jaa’s incredible timing and daring stunt-work is on full display in Skin Trade—particularly in his fight scenes with Jai White and Lundgren. "It has been fun having the chance to try to develop my own style, and it is certainly something I have enjoyed doing. [Jai White and Lundgren] and I each had our own style, so it came down to the choreography, and of course we had a great action coordinator with Diyan Hristov."

Jai White adds, "We just had this idea for a fight and we ran with it. We blocked it out and told the cameras to follow us. We just did it."

The fact that Jai White's and Jaa's climactic fight scene was shot without much prep time begs the question: Might the fight have benefitted from more planning? But Jai White is quick to say, "I think we made it as good as it could have been because we created something that was right in the moment. It felt real. Sometimes when you have a lot more time, it's neat, but it feels very staged and organized. Some of the stuff that Tony and I were doing was actually real. It's like you want those happy accidents."

The fight between these two on screen might very well be the highlight of the whole film, and Jai White compliments Jaa by adding, "We can do things on such a level and we have a great deal of control, and even mistakes wind up looking like they were supposed to happen. Just like any good acting scene. When someone does something unexpected, the other person adapts. [The fight] is a little bit more special that way."

Lundgren, who regrettably doesn't face off against Jai White in the movie, says this about his co-star: "Jai White is a great martial artist. We study the same style of Karate. He's a champion. He is tremendous in the movie. He's about my size and he can jump and spin and do roundhouse kicks. I went, ‘Wait a second!’ He shouldn't be able to do that. It's not physically possible! He's one of those guys, and he's very good in this."

Jai White agrees that, story-wise, a fight between their two characters "had to be organic to the story," but he laughingly adds, "Maybe we'll get a chance to do that some other time in the future."

Co-stars Jaa and Jai White had been well-acquainted for years before Lundgren brought them together on this project. When asked what it was like to finally work with his friend, Jai White muses, "There was a time where Dolph considered me as the Tony Jaa character. When we found out that there was a way to do this in the Far East, it made sense to get Tony to play that role, and I was just happy to be a part of it. He's probably the most exemplary example of a martial artist that I've ever known. No only is Tony amazingly talented, but he embodies what the spirit of martial arts is—more than anyone else I've known. That's honesty. He's a fabulous person. It was a pleasure to work with him, and I'm honored to call him my friend."

Jai White pauses before elaborating on the subject of martial arts and how Jaa truly represents the spirit of martial arts: "The martial arts are not supposed to just develop somebody to whip somebody else's ass. It's supposed to develop the whole person. There are spiritual aspects of the martial arts where there's a balance of nature, a humbleness, a discipline. He really embodies that. I don't think I've ever heard him say a bad thing about another human being. How is that not of the highest level of humanity? This is one of the things that the martial arts are supposed to teach you; it's supposed to teach you this. It's supposed to make you an exemplary citizen of the world. I think Tony embodies that."

Jaa, who has had a great year as star and co-star in his first two English-language action films (Fast and Furious 7, and now Skin Trade), is enthusiastic on his transition from his native Thailand and into more Westernized films. "It has been a dream come true. It's also been a challenge, as I've had to learn English over the last two years; but I enjoy the range of stories, style, and production potential that [these] films have." He also points to the fans who have supported him and his success by saying, "People have been very kind to me and very supportive. I feel like I am representing Thailand, and I always want to show what Thais can do and put our best foot forward." Regarding his role in Skin Trade as a detective—named Tony—on the hunt to bring down a human trafficking ring, he compares it to his previous work and remarks, "It was unlike anything I have done before. The action was within my zone of comfort. The acting demands were different and I had a chance to show more of what I could do. Speaking in English was also relatively new for me, and I needed to practice to make sure my acting conveyed the proper emotions."

Ultimately, a film like Skin Trade will find its intended audience, and hopefully it will affect some moviegoers and shed some light on a very serious problem occurring throughout the world. While the movie aims to be entertaining, with great fight sequences and some impressive martial arts choreography featuring some of the best action stars working in the business, Lundgren wants to make clear that he really hopes this movie will help make a difference. "There are some scenes in the film that are memorable, and I hope that in a few years you'll remember the film because of those things," he says.