Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report & Action-Flix.com readers, today I unleash an interview five years in the making! Martial Artist, Actor, and Dojo owner Lee Charles stops by to give a detailed chat. Lee has been featured on my site before in a video, we talk all the time and keep banging around the idea of a feature length interview. Fast forward to 2020, during this time of shelter in place Lee has many projects to discuss, and bit of time to conduct this chat. Get ready as Lee Charles drops knowledge harder than his kicks, and sets a standard of honesty rarely matched in the world of film.
Chat about how you became interested in martial arts.
For me
it all started when I was around 5 years old, the old cliche of
watching a Bruce Lee movie. But that is exactly how it
happened. My grandparents had bought a VHS player, and were the first
in the family to get one, so everyone and I mean everyone in the
family gathered one afternoon and the 2 movies of choice were The Big
Boss & Monty Pythons The Holy Grail haha. Well Bruce was up first
and my parents told me I was bouncing around the room copying all his
movements, kick and punches going everywhere and all was going well
until one particular scene come on. Where he returns back and
everyone has been slaughtered and there is blood all over the floor,
well that was my cue to be sick and ruin everyone's entertainment.
Even
though this happened it didn’t stop me getting completely obsessed
with Bruce Lee and I mean obsessed. Books, magazines, posters,
movies, t-shirts, kung fu suit, I even had a set of foam nunchucks
that I kept tucked away inside my Kung fu outfit haha. So
eventually my dad took me to our local Karate club, back in the 80s
it was difficult to find a Chinese Martial Arts school and the
majority of places where either Judo or Karate, I chose Karate, I
mean I got be throwing them kicks right haha. From there my journey
began.
Karate,
Jujitsu, Taekwondo, Wushu, Muaythai, Boxing, Kungfu, Kickboxing,
Wrestling I mean if it was a fighting art, chances are at some point
I studied it and this has been the process for my whole life. I
love the traditional arts even though I am known mainly for my
Kickboxing success winning 6 World Kickboxing Titles. Bruce Lee
said: “.ake what’s useful and discard the rest.” and I have
adapted this quote to all I do in life. I mean life is all
about winning, about succeeding, about doing what makes you happy and
Martial Arts has provided this in abundance. Practicing martial
arts gives me a variety of skills I use and adapt for everything I do
in life.
Speaking
of consistently learning and growing, I know you own and operate your
own school, Black Dragon Martial Arts, how did the business come
about, what made you want to become a Dojo owner?
Since
I was little all I wanted to do was get good enough to teach Martial
Arts. It was around 1999 and I was with my Instructor Master Brian
McKinney, and he had one of his Instructors over from China Master Xu
Hao. I had been discussing setting up my own school with Master
mcKinney and we all went for breakfast one morning, we got talking
and Master Xu Hao gave my school the name Black Dragon. I think
anyone who embarks on a journey within the arts at some point will
end up passing on their skills and knowledge, I think it’s all part
of the process.
For
me, as soon as I began to teach I came to understand the arts a
little better, it help me grow and understand that everyone processes
instruction different. And you personally learn a completely new set
of skills, teaching itself is an art form, it’s also great to give
back and help people achieve their own personal goals.
What
is your secret to managing the business at the same time as being in
films? How do you allocate your time?
For
myself it is having the support of good people around me. The
Instructors I have at the club are brilliant, the role they play in
ensuring the business runs smoothly whilst I am away is incredible
(to be fair some do a better job than me haha). I think it is
important that the students also understand, that even though its my
club and I’m the chief instructor the staff are all trained to the
highest standards by myself. I have traditional values at my
school whilst still having modern concepts towards development and
skills, and all my students know I demand the utmost respect from
each and everyone of them (obviously they have a little fun too
haha).
Very
busy for you! Wow, over the last few years you have been quite
active in the action film genre, chat about what project that you
worked on that seemed to propel you to obtain other work.
As you
know, I broke into the movie industry under the guidance of my
Sensei, Benny the Jet Urquidez. Around 15 years ago I made a trip
that would change my life forever, Hollywood bound I would never of
expected what was to follow. So here I was going on vacation
and thought I would really love to train at The Jets Gym in Hollywood
whilst I was there. I had been speaking via email and once my
plane landed I checked into the hotel the first thing I did was call
the gym. Next day I arrived and was greeted with open arms by
Cody who was working on reception, I started training and then Sara
Urquidez came up and started speaking to me, asking me about myself
and my visit (an incredible woman). So went away only to return
a few minutes later saying that Sensei Benny was on his way back and
would like to meet me. Well you can imagine how excited I was,
I got showered changed and waited in reception for his arrival.
Sensei walks in through the door and opens his arms hugging me and
welcoming me to his gym, I then sat and talked for what felt like
hours, I was so intrigued by his knowledge and wisdom. After
that he spoke again with Cody and I was handed an address and told to
be there the next day for 9am, I didn’t even ask what it was for,
if Benny the jet says be there you just go right! I arrived at
Santa Monica & Fairfax for it only to be The Lee Strasberg
Theatre & Film Institute and so my journey began. Upon
returning to the UK I received a call from Sensei Benny the Jet and
was told I would be helping him out on a movie down in London, I did
a few movies with Sensei one that included a very special trip to
Bulgaria.
I had
a few years out of the industry due to a few personal issues, then I
received a message from a friend of mine Joey Ansah (Bourne
Ultimatum, Mission Impossible - Fallout) and they where doing a movie
with Scott Adkins called 'Green Street 3' and would I be interested
in being apart of it. Of course I accepted and this was my
first time working with Scott. The film was shot in London in
December, and the actual scene with Scott was filmed on my Birthday
so it was a nice little gift. The scene was shot in slow motion
and there was a particular move where he throws a kick, but due to
how the scene was being shot it just wasn’t selling, so me being me
I suggested to Joey and Scott that the kick just be thrown for real,
a little look from Scott followed by “you sure?” to which he
received a “let’s do it”. The scene was done in 2 takes and
looked awesome. There was a producer on the movie who then cast
me in his next film, from there the work started to come in and the
opportunities for me to perform and show my skills to other people in
the industry. So a big thank you goes to Joey for pulling me
back into the industry and giving me that chance again.
Above: Cast of 'Avengement' on the red carpet at the U.K. screening premiere! Image taken with Lee Charles Cell phone, used with permission not monetized.
Focusing
in on 'Avengement', chat about working with Jesse and Scott Adkins,
do you feel like you need to push yourself further when you work with
them? Maybe share a story from the set of 'Avengement'.
Completely,
I mean both of these gentlemen are incredible at what they do.
And I had already worked with them both before 'Avengement' anyway,
Scott several times and Jesse on 'Accident Man'. So I knew the high
standards that both men give to the production. Me personally
though I mean whatever production I'm on I expect nothing but the
best from myself. You don’t win 6 world titles but being OK,
and I take this mentality with me onto the movie set, in fact I take
this mentality to everything I do.
There
was a funny moment when we where filming the bar fight and Scott hits
me in the face with a cosh and I just lay there taking it, after we
got up Scott said “did I hit you in the face then?” I replied
yes… Scott “how come you didn’t move” my reply “just love
it don’t I haha!”
When working with Scott Adkins and Jesse on action do you guys chat about the way fights will play out, with Jesse giving you ques?
I mean
all the fights are always broken down before we shoot, and whilst
rehearsing before the take you are always given direction. I think
this is the same for everyone, having worked with them both before
though, it is sometimes good to just sit back and watch them work
their magic.
Shifting gears, although
they were lower budget films i really enjoyed 'Cannibals and Carpet
Fitters' and 'Transit 17', chat about working on those films, maybe
focusing in on some of the work you did with the action sequences.
Cannibals
was great fun, I was filming it the same time I was doing 'Final
Score'. I actually remember one morning after finishing a night
shoot I drove from London to Nottingham to do a day shoot on
Cannibals, now that was a tough day haha. Getting to work with
James Bushe & Richard Lee O’Donnell was great too, to see the
passion they had for this project was so inspiring and I think they
did a truly fantastic job. The fight scene was fun to do,
getting to work with Zara Phythian again is always a pleasure and in
this case we put together a nice little fight between both our
characters. Zara and myself go back years and I’ve been on
the brunt of her foot many times haha.
Above: Lee and Dave in Final Score!
Thank
you for your honesty, I had no idea that you filmed 'Final Score' and
Cannibals at the same time! I really enjoyed 'Final Score', a very
high quality film from director Scott Mann. Chat about your amazing
elevator fight with Dave Bautista.
'Final
Score' is up there with one of my personal favorites. I am fan of
Wrestling and have been since a child, I have fond memories of
staying up late watching Wrestlmania with my dad. So when the
opportunity came along to work on 'Final Score' and in particular
take on Dave Bautista I jumped at the chance. I remember auditioning
and thinking to myself, right you’ve played a Russian countless
times before you can’t screw this up, luckily for me I didn’t.
When I arrived for first day of rehearsals and met with Jude Poyer &
Chris Webb we all run through the scene together with Dave’s stunt
double Rob DeGroot, I recall doing the choreography and thinking to
myself ‘I wonder how big Dave is?” Mainly cos his double
Rob is a man mountain himself, an outstanding performer who is in
phenomenal shape. So I obviously asked the question, the reply
I got was “Big” haha..
When
Dave arrived the guy was big,big, but what a complete gentleman. We
walked through the choreography and as I suspected in one particular
sequence I’m meant to wrap my arms around him, one under his arm
and round the back of his head and the other across his chest where
both hands would meet and clinch together, as you can probably guess
my hands didn’t clinch in fact they didn’t even come close, I
laughed to myself and grabbed his top instead, like I said big, BIG!
That
fight will always hold special memories for myself as it was a
defining moment in my career, and a very special fight. I mean I got
to fight Drax, and to my son that’s cool.
Pushing
on to 2020, and 'Gangs of London', chat about how you were cast in
the project. The sets and scenery looked really elaborate, chat about
working on this bigger budget production compared to smaller budget
projects.
I got
the call to audition for a role in the show and had already been
briefed as to who was involved so I was pretty nervous. I mean 'The
Raid' for me is up there with the best of them, when I was little my
dad and myself used to always watch movies together but we hadn’t
done so for years. One afternoon I was visiting my parents and my mum
was going shopping and I had just purchased 'The Raid' so I said to
my dad if he wanted to watch it whilst my mum was out, we sat down
and watched the movie, I don’t think either of us spoke whilst it
was on then as soon as it finished it was deep breathes and then
boom, I don’t think I had felt this excited for a movie since
watching 'Enter the Dragon' as a child with my father.. so getting
the chance to audition for a show that was being done by Gareth Evans
was truly to me a massive opportunity to shine.
The
audition was just as much physical as it was performance, meeting
Gareth Evans for the first time was a nervous experience but I was
calmed by the fact my friends were there to assist with the audition.
I ran through a bit of choreography with Stunt Coordinator Jude Poyer
and Chris Webb, then paired up with Craig Miller before Gareth came
over to see me perform. Just before I was about to start Gareth asked
if he would mind if I did it in my underpants and boots, luckily for
me I had been pre-warned about the role so it wasn’t that much of a
strange request. Craig and myself ran through the bit of
choreography several times literally giving it everything I had.
At this time I was in really good physical condition and I remember
at the end Gareth asked that if I got Cast for the role would I be ok
putting on a bit of weight for the role as they had a particular
image they wanted for the Character, of course this was never a
problem and as you know when I got the role the 2 stone in weight
followed.
Having
the opportunity to work with Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery for me
truly was one of them bucket list moments, as well as working again
with the outstanding Jude Poyer and the team.
Above: Lee with Chris Webb, Jude Poyer and Gareth Evans
How
long was your filming portion of 'Gangs of London'?
I was
involved for several weeks as we had some filming on the campsite
etc... as well, all the locations on the series were incredible and
the result was sensational. Without going into too much detail
or giving to much away MY scene was probably around 6 to 8 days with
pick ups, I can’t remember exactly as I was completely zone in to
my character and performance but it was hard and fun to do and the
team were outstanding.
Above Pic Credit: Sope Dirisu
Chat
about your character, did you have freedom to explore, or was the
script very specific in mannerisms?
I was
given a character breakdown by the Director Gareth and his vision,
and during rehearsals I got a better understanding of Lenn and who he
was. Then between rehearsals and filming I read a lot about
psychopaths and did a lot of research of movies and how different
actors played different types of characters, then from all this I
developed the character you all got to see on screen. I had so
much fun playing him and hold Lenn close to my heart ha.. he’s
definitely my favorite character so far, just a little misunderstood
ha.
I
have to discuss 'The Courier', I really enjoyed the action and Olga
Kurylenko, chat about training her for the action and what she
brought to her character.
I got
brought onto The Courier' to be Assistant Fight Coordinator and also
play a Character in the movie Fripp. Film preparation started
weeks before production just to ensure that the lead actor Olga
Kurylenko was prepared correctly for the role. I got to train
and work closely with her and can say she truly is an outstanding
professional who is dedicated to her work. Every day she was
there giving a 100% and nailing down the fight choreography.
John Sharpe and myself would be there consistently drilling her and
making her as comfortable with the techniques as possible, during
rehearsals she would go above and beyond and was always willing to
try anything that was put before her.
I
saw she posted that the training was nearly two months chat about
some things you were able to teach her and how quickly she picked
them up.
Like I
say Olga is an outstanding professional and would work so hard to
make sure she had the choreography down tight, she was always wanting
to do more and more. In between rehearsals she would work on
certain pad drills and technique, and her back ground in dance help
when it come to her movements and ability to remember long
sequences. She would pick up the movements quickly but
constantly wanted to perfect what she had learned, making sure her
energy and timing was right for when we come to shoot the scenes on
camera.
When
you work so closely with an actor on a film do you feel pressure to
make sure they look great on screen? In 'The Courier' it seems like
Olga did a lot of the action herself.
Of
course, if the audience doesn’t believe that the character could do
what they are showing on screen you have already lost. But
that’s where good team work comes into play and when the team
consists of seasoned professionals like John Sharpe, Freddie Mason,
Pablo Casillas and Gordon Alexander you know you’re onto winning
ways. Olga’s stunt double Rachael Evelyn was great, taking some
heavy hits from some big guys. Olga did as much as she could do
but credit to Rachael for the work she did on the movie also, like I
said she took some seriously heavy hits including some from myself.
Respect to Rachael! Yes she deserves the recognition. I recently had the opportunity to check out the trailer for 'I am Vengeance: Retaliation', perhaps you can share a story working on the set of the Ross Boyask film, also chat about who your character of Maynard is. Obviously no spoilers, just general observations.
Yeah
big up to Ross, Diane, John and Mohammed the trailer looks great and
the Cast they assembled is fantastic, I have some good friends in key
roles including two outstanding female performers in Phoebe
Robinson-Galvin and Katrina Durden, now these ladies can seriously
kick ass and I’m super excited to see what they bring to the movie.
Can’t say to much about my role unfortunately as I was just a cameo
but it was a honor to working alongside Vinnie Jones and Stu Bennet
(my second time working with Stu, first being 'Eliminators').
The trailer landed full of action and I’m excited to see Ross
Boyask's vision.
Finally, chat about balancing work and family life with your young son, yes I know it is quarantine time, but I mean in general with a heavy workload. I noticed you guys have like very regular sessions in which you devote time to him without distractions, chat about living the balanced life, maybe some advise for others who are dual focused.
Anyone
that knows me knows that my son Malachi is my whole world. I am quite
lucky to have such a special relationship with my son, one that sees
us share common interests as he loves Martial Arts too (lucky hey
ha). He’s only 5 years old, and he’s outstanding, my goal
in life is to ensure he has the best possible up bringing so that he
gets the start in life he deserves. When I’m with him I make sure
the time spent is quality time. We are always going on
adventures and creating memories.
It is
difficult at times having a business to run and my career in film, so
the time I have with him is his time, our time.. I try and have as
little distractions as possible. As much as I like to keep busy
and work hard, its also important not to neglect the ones we love.
Absolutely,
family comes first! Thanks so much Lee for this outstanding detailed
interview. I must say, your interview is probably the most
informative action related chat I have done on my site in the past
five years!
Thanks
Danny, and thank you to all the film fans out there.. much love x
For
further information on Lee Charles, please connect to him via these
sites:
Official
Facebook Page for Acting: https://www.facebook.com/leecharlesactor/
Official
Facebook Page for Black Dragon Martial Arts:
https://www.facebook.com/BDMAW/
Official
Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/mrleeacharles/?hl=en
Official
IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3124775/
Lee Charles 2020 Reel:
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