Michael Dudikoff chats to us about American Ninja, his Cannon days, Spider-Man and Navy Seals Vs Zombies.
Michael Dudikoff is the American Ninja.
It turns out that we neednt have worried.
Den of Geek found Michael Dudikoff to be a particularly friendly and fun interview subject.
Its great to talk to someone whos enthusiastic about what they do.
Far from frightening, the interview turned out to be an absolute pleasure, at least for us.
Perhaps he found himself wishing he had us close enough to get at with a samurai sword.
Heres how our interview with Michael Dudikoff went.
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We havent seen much of you in films for the last while.
What was it aboutNavy SEALS Vs Zombiesthat made you think youd like to jump back in with it?
Well you have relationships in this business, and its important to have relationships in this business.
I got a call from Phil Goldfine.
Phil said Hey, would you like to be in this movie?
and he described the character and everything, and I said When do we start?
So I did it, and totally enjoyed it.
There was one particular line I noted that your character said; Get that chopper airborne!
When I saw that, I got the impression you were enjoying yourself.
Was it a fun set to be on?
Oh, it was really fun.
A lot of young kids, everybody was doing social media, everybody was on and moving.
It was a very fast paced film.
It was exciting to be on it, matter of fact.
Im coming from home, and not working a lot but going out for lots of meetings.
Being on the set there, it was like day and night.
It was like Oh my god, this is so exciting.
This is why Im doing what I do.
This is why I love doing what I do.
I was there with my kind.
Lots of actors and people in the business.
So, yeah, I had a good time.
I know you did a short film about zombies, so this is your second zombie project.
Is there something about zombies particularly thats interesting to you?
Its gonna be so good.
Even if it was that my kids were the only reason to do it, Id do it.
Yeah, I think Id definitely be sceptical about it.
That was the reality of how I played him.
Commander Sheer was a tough guy.
Hes been in combat, he knows exactly how to go in and take em out.
What are you talking about?
He was ready to do anything else in his career, but hes never dealt with zombies.
The tone and the look are very different.
I mean, 80s movies are totally different, right?
Weve come a long way.
This movie definitely looked very real, and thats the genre.
Thats what I love about coming back; different genres, different movies, different types of movies.
Thats whats exciting for me as an actor.
Going in and experimenting and experiencing different genres.
So when I got this, I knew it was gonna be different.
When youre filming, you dont know what its looking like.
Nobody really knows what were shooting unless youre going to dailies.
But you never know, if youre not going to dailies, how youre really looking.
To do it the way the producers thought I should do it.
And if everybody was happy, Im happy.
And they were happy.
Your character is more of a senior, guiding role.
I kept expecting him to grab a samurai sword and jump into the fray.
Was there ever any talk of your character taking on a more physical role?
No, there wasnt.
Commander Sheer just stayed right in the command centre, which was really exciting for me.
But part of the reason I took this role is because it was different.
I was in there and I was calling the shots.
It was very different for me, to not go in there and fight and do all that.
Commander Sheer was a no-wasted-words kind of guy.
I really enjoyed it.
I suppose thats a good shout.
I love acting, its a lot of fun and I love trying different things.
Everything that you do in your life, it helps you as an actor.
I really think life experiences do help you prepare for roles.
Gosh, my life experiences have been so abundant, its been fantastic.
Im a lucky guy.
Have you got any other films coming up that youre excited about?
You know, every time I do a project Im excited.
Because its something new, its something to dive into.
Like when I started this show, for instance.
This is Michael Dudikoff doing what he loves to do.
Not that I dont like being a daddy, because I really do love that.
But this is the first time being in that position.
I realised Im coming away from being a daddy and Im doing what I like to do.
This is all about me.
Because when youre a daddy its really not all about you.
Its about the kids, its about the family.
So this was really exciting for me to do, just become totally engulfed in my character.
Are there any films in in the last few years that youve really enjoyed?
The action has gotten so real, but so different.
Because now they use a lot of blue screens.
When I was doing it, it was lets do another take, lets do another take.
There was no blue screen.
You had to do it all.
So for me, seeing the movies today, it is a lot different, but its exciting.
They can do so much today that we couldnt do before.
You walk away and you just go that was pretty darn amazing.
I mean, even Tom Cruise, all hes done with all his action stuff.
And the special effects are unbelievable.
Liam Neeson, who would have thought he would have been an action guy?
Hes probably one of my favourites.
You mention your Cannon run in there, and I did want to ask you about that.
Theres been a renewed interest in that time and that group of film-makers recently.
Yeah, Ive noticed that.
Everybodys asking me, even on Facebook, when are you gonna do anotherAmerican Ninja?
Lets reboot it, you know?
I think the American Ninja, Joe Armstrong, has legs.
I think it would be really a great thing to bring that forward again.
Ive written a script and its being looked at now.
I really want to do another one, only because I really, truly love Joe Armstrong.
I think hes a great guy to portray.
I would like to see him in another.
So youve written a script yourself for anotherAmerican Ninjafilm?
Yes, and its being looked at and Im hoping it can be done.
I think people would love to see that.
Thats such a badass thing to be recognised for.
Its a great legacy.
It must be very exciting to have people coming up to you about that.
Well, Matt, you know whats really unbelievable to hear?
That right there, it gives me chills just talking about it.
I get choked up when people come up to me and say those kind of words.
Its, to say the least, humbling.
Is that accurate, and if so how close did it actually come to happening?
It was all speculation, but words that came out of Manahem (Golan)s mouth.
I was under contract.
I would wait until I was told what to do and I would do it.
To look at who actually got those roles and who did them; wow, thats pretty amazing.
Am I excited for them?
Would I have loved to have played them?
But Im a firm believer that things are gonna happen the way they should.
Even doing what Im doing today, Im doing what Im supposed to be doing.
What is your favourite Jason Statham film?
I just love him.
I just think hes great.
I love everything he does, I dont think he can do anything wrong.
Ill keep it clean and just say anything he does, I love.
That guy cant do wrong.
All he has to do is step on the set.
Michael Dudikoff, thank you very much.
Navy SEALS Vs Zombiesis out now.
