On April 14, 2015, The Man with the Iron Fists 2 comes out on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD, as well as On Demand from Universal Home Pictures Entertainment. This is the sequel to The Man with the Iron Fists (2012), RZA’s homage to the Kung Fu movie genre, which was featured as the cover story in our NOVEMBER+DECEMBER issue, as well as in a supplementary interview on our ezine. In The Man with the Iron Fists 2, RZA reprises his role as “the Blacksmith” and is joined by longstanding martial arts actor Dustin Nguyen.

Dustin Nguyen is remembered by most American audiences for his television roles in 21 Jump Street (1987–1990), which has recently been remade into a successful movie franchise (in which Nguyen had a cameo), and in V.I.P. (1999-2002), co-starring the bodacious Pamela Anderson. But fans of the martial art genre know a different Dustin. For years he has consistently delivered solid action pictures, particularly since 2007. He was featured in an early Justin Lin film before Lin took over the Fast and Furious franchise, a hilarious send up of Bruce Lee’s unfinished Game of Death (1978) titled Finishing the Game (2007). That same year, Nguyen returned to his native Vietnam to make several high-impact martial arts films starting with The Rebel (2007), and continuing with films like Clash (2009) and Once Upon a Time in Vietnam (2013). Now in his fifties, Nguyen has kept his boyish good looks and continues to deliver hard-hitting fight scenes, now with a Vietnamese flavor.

In The Man with the Iron Fists 2, Nguyen plays Li Kung. He finds the blacksmith Thaddeus (RZA) badly wounded and offers him refuge. As Thaddeus heals, he becomes entrenched in a conflict that pits the townsfolk against the evil Master Ho (Carl Ng), his nefarious Beetle Clan and the terrifying Lord Pi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa). With Thaddeus at his side, the mild-mannered Kung transforms into a deadly warrior in this martial arts epic. We had a chance to chat with Dustin Nguyen over the phone in Vietnam about The Man with the Iron Fists 2.

GC: For our younger readers, please give us the short version of your martial arts background.

DN: The very first thing I studied when I was fifteen was Taekwondo. My biggest influence I would say would be Escrima and Kali – and Jeet Kune Do which is taught by Guru Danny Inosanto. I’m sure you probably know who he is. That was the biggest influence that I had in the martial arts training that I’ve had in the forty-something years plus. That’s kind of the short version.

GC: I’ve really been enjoying your Vietnamese action films.

DN: Oh! Okay. Thank you.

GC: How is that going for you now?

DN: Things are good. I’m actually quite busy now. I do an average of two movies a year. I just had a comedy about poor people winning the lottery here in Vietnam, a special release for the Tet New Year here. And in the middle of a prep for a romantic comedy that I’m directing for the Chinese market with Chinese actors and Mandarin. So that’s kind of a new venture for me.

GC: You are an actor who has a much larger reputation on the Asian side of the Pacific. How is that for you?

DN: Well, for me, it’s really about the work opportunities. I came to Vietnam about seven years ago. I started with The Rebel and then I got invited to do a movie a year here. About three years ago, I sort of decided to make a full-time go at it here, mainly because the burgeoning film industry in Vietnam. It’s growing quite fast here because it was dormant for thirty-something years. So the opportunities for me to do different types of films here in the capacity of an actor as well as writer and producer – there’s a variety of genres that I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do in Hollywood. It’s kind of like the wild, wild West over here because of opportunities. I could write a screenplay and go raise money for it and we could literally be shooting three or four or five months later. So that’s really what it’s about for me. Of course, every once in a while I get the opportunity to do a stateside movie as well. I really think I have a great career in terms of different choices. I think most artists would crave that.

I love action films. Doing The Man with the Iron Fists 2, which is a great ride, it’s been a while since I’ve done an English language film. It’s action-packed. I really enjoyed getting the luxury of being able to do different kinds of films in Vietnam as well as stateside.

GC: How did you get involved with The Man with the Iron Fists 2?

DN: Well, Mike Leeder, who’s the casting director out of Hong Kong, is a bit of a fan of mine as well with the films I do here. I directed my first film, sort of a Vietnamese fantasy action film called Once Upon a Time in Vietnam.

GC: Yes, I know it.

DN: Oh, you know it. It was sold to Lionsgate and so people stateside have seen the film and contacted Mike. He was doing the casting side of it out of Hong Kong. So Mike contacted me and said, “Hey, a lead role and you’d possibly be right for it.’ He was the one that hooked me up with the producers.

GC: What did you think of the original film, The Man with the Iron Fists?

DN: Well, part one was such an extravagant fun ride. It was just massive. It had a big sense of humor about it that you don’t usually see in this type of film. Big is the word. Big and extravagant and colorful. Of course, you got all the stars in there – Russell Crowe and Lucy and etcetera. It’s just a fun, fun ride. It had been a while when that film came out to see that kind of film in the martial arts genre.

GC: RZA is a personal friend and I have a ton of respect for his expertise on the Kung Fu genre. How was working with him?

DN: He’s just a real sweet man, and I mean that in the sense of a human being. We clicked off not so much on the martial arts side, but more the spiritual side. The fact that he’s a very gentle man, in such a way, kind of like that line, if I remember right and I don’t want to misquote him, his character in part two has a line something to the effect, “I on a quest for inner peace” or spiritual enlightenment or something like that. And that to me is my strongest impression of RZA. We talked a lot about being good to one another and how society is changing and the spiritual side, the inner peace, that you need to function in our society these days. We talked a lot about it between set ups. That’s something I really respect and was very attracted to that side of RZA. Of course, his unabashed love for the martial arts too.

GC: You have a unique perspective of both sides of the Pacific. What do you think about the rise of Asian-made film around the world?

DN: Well, our world is getting to be so global. There was a time when everybody just stayed within their borders and certainly with movies. I think since the internet age and the digital age, everything can transcend borders; and Asia is sort of this, certainly China, is this giant that has woken up or risen up and is a huge influence globally. And the kind of films, because of the digital age, and because filmmaking is a lot more affordable than it used to be back in the 35 mm movie days, Asia is coming up with some really interesting films in all kinds of genres. For me, it’s very, very exciting, especially the martial arts genre which has just gone through a bit of a modification, if you will, particularly with films like The Raid. Great exciting stuff is coming out of Asia.

For me, the timing just seems right to be in Asia.

GC: I followed your career since your TV days. I confess that V.I.P. is one of my guilty pleasures. How has Hollywood changed for Asian actors?

DN: Well I sort have been out of touch a little bit for the last four years in the states in terms of what is going on domestically with the kinds of films that have been made, and televisions shows. But for sure, there’s a huge increase in the amount of work that’s available for my peers, if you will. I started out in 1985. It was tough to find a lot of good work, any work period, and then to find good ones, you know, descent roles.

I remember when Lost came out, what they did with the Korean husband and wife characters was quite trendsetting and quite refreshing. Examples like that continue to happen in television. Of course, when you had a lot of martial arts action films being made out of Hollywood, it increased a lot of work for Asian actors. I do think that feature films are behind in terms of sophistication for Asian male characters – Asian characters in general. TV is a lot more daring these days. With the advent of cable, there’s been some incredible shows all around. I think there’s some really great interesting Asian characters being written and being showcased on these shows. So I’ve always been optimistic in terms of the growth of Asian American performers in Hollywood. For sure, since I started, there’s been a huge change. I mean, you got a character like Li Kung in The Man with the Iron Fists 2, even though it’s sort of Asian-centric. The character was infused by the writer, RZA, the producer, and the director collectively with a lot of depth and a lot character – as much as that you could squeeze into an action-packed martial arts film. So the change is happening, starting with the writers and producers making an effort to give some depth to these characters.

GC: How important are martial arts skills for Asian actors in Hollywood?

DN: This is probably a very narrow vision because I’ve always felt that it’s not that terribly important, unless you want to be a martial art action star. I think there’s a lot of good action directors and a lot of good stunt doubles. But if you want to have a diverse career in Hollywood, then martial arts skills are not terribly important. I think it’s more important to establish yourself as an overall actor with good dramatic range. Personally, that’s always been my goal.

Having the skills – sure, great! When a role comes along like The Man with the Iron Fists 2, and you’re playing the lead in it, if you have great martial arts skills at your disposal, you’re going to service the character a lot better and you’ll service the film a lot better; but again, I don’t think it’s that terribly important as part of your arsenal as an actor in Hollywood.