21 KFMG Podcast Matthias Hues

Today we welcome one of martial art cinema's all-time greatest villains to the show. The giant, musclebound German fighter Matthias Hues has spent a career taking on the likes of Dolph Lundgren, Cynthia Rothrock, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Bolo Yeung, Billy Blanks, Lorenzo Lamas and Mark Dacascos. But despite his on-screen persona, Matthias is actually a very sweet-natured person, as revealed in this wide-reaching, in-depth conversation. His story is fascinating. He became a highly successful owner of health clubs in Germany before spontaneously moving to Hollywood at the height of the action movie boom in the 1980s. He worked out at the famous Gold's Gym and was eventually spotted, landing an early breakthrough role replacing Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 1988 sequel, No Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder. He then landed the main villain role in the cult Dolph Lundgren movie, Dark Angel (1990 - also known as I Come in Peace).

Throughout the video boom of the 1990s, Matthias Hues became the poster-boy for a special brand of low-budget American action film, and featured in fight flicks like Mission of Justice (1992), TC 2000 (1993), Bounty Tracker (1993), and Fists of Iron (1995). In more recent times, Matthias can be seen working with Mark Dacascos on a number of exciting new film projects, including Showdown in Manila (2016), Maximum Impact (2017), and Ultimate Justice (2017), which is available to buy on DVD from 3 October.