Profile: Michael Worth

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Profile: Michael Worth

Date of birth: 13 January, 1965 (Philadelphia, USA)

Full name: Michael Troy Worth

Occupation: Actor, writer, director, producer, stuntman.

Style: Aikido, karate, Northern Shaolin, Eskrima, Jeet Kune Do, Tang Soo Do.

Biography: Michael Worth was born in Philadelphia to German and Delaware Indian Native American heritage. He spent his childhood around the Chesapeake Bay area before the Worth family relocated to northern California. Michael’s first experiments with film was at the age of 10, when he made his own films using a Super 8 camera bought by his mother. He was captivated by kung fu movies growing up, in particular, the Bruce Lee and …

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KFMG Podcast S02 Episode 20: Michael Worth

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KFMG Podcast S02 Episode 20: Michael Worth

“I’ve sort of let the inner nerd come out and just gone with it – and it’s fun, I love it, I enjoy it. And I see Tarantino doing it all the time and I think if he can do it, I can do it.”

Today we celebrate the weird and wonderful world of Bruceploitation cinema with the martial arts action star, director, writer and fellow podcaster, Michael Worth. When he’s not making his own movies, Michael has been following his passion for kung fu movies with a number of exciting projects. I catch up with him during the filming of …

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The Villainess (2017)

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The Villainess (2017)

This South Korean gut-buster went down a storm at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere and received a four-minute standing ovation. Luckily, much of the film’s critical acclaim is actually warranted. Director Jung Byung-gil sets his paranoid revenge fable in a rain-soaked, leather-clad, neon night-vision of Seoul; it’s like looking at the city through the pages of a dystopian comic book. His frantic, inventive action sequences are the film’s masterstroke. He leaps from John Woo-style gun fu to knife-weilding blood splatter like something out of The Raid, via extraordinary first-person fight sequences which jump straight out …

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Dragon Girls (2012)

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Dragon Girls (2012)

Powerful German documentary which provides a candid insight into life at the Shaolin Tagou Wushu School in Henan province, China. The film follows three young girls during their training for state competitions. The school is home to 35,000 children who live a militaristic, meagre and gruelling existence devoted to China’s national sport, wushu. The girls wake at 5.30am every day and train until lights out. They are measured in everything they do, from the way they march to how they sit. The girls compare battle scars – including frostbite – and when they fall out of line, the punishments are …

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Fists of Iron (1995)

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Fists of Iron (1995)

This low-budget fight film feels like an episode of one of those soft-focus Californian soap operas, with sun-kissed locales, playboy mansions, a keyboard-based soundtrack and hammy dialogue. There’s also an interesting homoerotic vibe going on, which may or may not be intentional. Dale (Michael Worth), aka ‘Pretty Boy’, is a statuesque vision of chiseled youth who works as an average Joe mechanic. After a hard shift, he gets into all sorts of bother with the meat-headed clientele at his local (he really should consider drinking at a different bar). He lives in a caravan on a beach with his buddy …

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Final Impact (1991)

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Final Impact (1991)

A promising start for debuting leading man Michael Worth. He plays Danny, a young wannabe kickboxing champ’ who takes martial guidance from the washed-up former big-shot, Nick Taylor (Lorenzo Lamas). Nick uses Danny as a ploy to seek revenge for losing the title, his wife and his pride to the reigning pugilist Jake Gerrard (why is there always a character called Jake in these movies?). His inner demons unravel when they arrive in Vegas for the big championship showdown. All the female characters appear to be swimwear models, and the film is rife with greased-up torsos; one of which belongs …

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Diamond Cartel (2017)

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Diamond Cartel (2017)

Shambolic action film from Kazakhstan. A version of this was released in Russia in 2015 under the title, The Whole World at Our Feet. This US version has clearly gone through a huge post-production process to retrofit all audio and, despite the added benefit of hindsight, it still makes no sense. Kazakhstan may not be known for its cinematic output, but somehow the producers of this film have managed to entice a roll-call of Hollywood A-listers and B-movie action stars to appear, presumably at ransom. Michael Madsen gets his head blown off in a drug deal, and Lawrence of Arabia star …

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47 Ronin (2013)

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47 Ronin (2013)

Lavish, English-language account of the 47 ronin story with a few Hollywood embellishments, like CGI monsters and a white guy in the lead. The story is constantly divided as to where to position Keanu Reeves’ character in this well-established narrative. He plays Kai, a runaway “half-breed” taken in by the Ako domain, raised by the Tengu – a mysterious, forest-dwelling, alien-like set of sword-makers – and capable of great fighting abilities, although its unclear as to where he has acquired these skills considering he has spent his adult life as a social outcast within the Ako. Kai also becomes something …

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Atomic Blonde (2017)

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Atomic Blonde (2017)

Charlize Theron shimmers and sizzles in this violent, neon homage to the 1980s and John le Carré novels. She delivers a bewitching performance which is at once sensual and visceral, and dripping in an icy coolness. Her commitment to the role extends to much of the stunt work, which has her thrown and bashed around in long scenes of fluid fight choreography. Its the least you would expect from David Leitch – co-founder of 87eleven Action Design, making his directorial debut away from Chad Stahelski and their work together on John Wick. The stand-out sequence is an extraordinary long-take on …

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47 Ronin (1994)

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47 Ronin (1994)

Solid, straight-faced, multi award-winning retelling of the 47 ronin story. The film deserves its plaudits for strong acting performances, particularly from prolific actor Ken Takakura in the lead, and measured direction from Kon Ichikawa, who produces a subtle film full of intrigue, subterfuge and brief moments of light, before culminating in a bloodbath. Set in the early 1700s, this version focuses on the role of Oishi as chief retainer of the slighted Ako Samurai domain, who are forced to abandon their council by the ruling shogunate and become ronin when their leader attacks the imperial Lord Kira and is made …

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