Gary Daniels is the action star of tommorow, or as some put it the action star of today. The self- claimed Bruce Lee fan has hit Hollywood with a vengeance starring in some popular action films including Epicentre, No Tommorow and City Hunter opposite Jackie Chan. Daniel's biggest movie is Fist of the Northstar where he played the legendary "Kenshiro" in the comic book adapted film. I talked to Daniels and found him to be a determined young man, as well as one of the nicest tough guys you'll meet this side of Tinseltown.

Clint Morris: "Epicentre" was a good film. The action was great. Did you do any of your own stunts?

Gary: In Epicenter as all my movies I perform all my own physical stunts but when it comes to car chases, high falls e.t.c I leave that to the experts. I have hung off of helicopters and hung from 350 foot high buildings which scared the shit out of me but i like to push myself and I am always on wires for those kind of gags so it is a matter of trusting the equipment. I cannot think of anything particularly dangerous in "Epicenter".

Clint Morris: I read that Bruce Lee was a major influence on you?

Gary: Yes Bruce Lee was and still is a big influence on my life. I first saw him on the big screen when I was 8 and knew thats what I wanted to be like in my life. At first it was the fighting and the screen presence that attracted me but as time went on and the more I read about him it was his philosophies and teachings that I used in my life and my martial arts which to me are one and the same. Today I am still an avid collector of Bruce lee memorabilia so if you have anything you want to sell...

Clint Morris: You started out with bit parts in "Miami Vice", how did that come about?

Gary: When I left London I had gone to Florida to continue my kickboxing career and it was ther that I got into my first acting class. I got an agent in Miami and it was through her that i got on Miami Vice , but it was a small part.

Clint Morris: "City Hunter" saw you starring next to Jackie Chan. How was that and how was Jackie?

Gary: The whole City Hunter experience was wonderful for me. I had been a fan of Jackies since I was about 14 and had sent many letters to Golden Harvest and to Jackies production company trying to get work with him and finally they called. I love the way they shoot action in Hong Kong so I would go to the set even when I wasnt filming just to see how things were done, it was like going to action film school being on that set. They certainly do things different in Hong Kong than in Hollywood. Jackie was cool after shooting in Japan he took us all out to a big Japanese dinner. He was a little hot and cold, one day he would be very talkative and another day didnt say much, but he gets so tired as he is often working on more than one production at a time. I think the Hong Kong actors work a lot harder than in the U.S.

Clint Morris: "The Spoiler", was your first non-action role, is this something you would like to do more of in the future?

Gary: I enjoyed making Spoiler and I think it turned out okay for a small budget movie. It was such a good script and if I was offered more scripts like that I would definetly do more non action parts. It was funny because I am used to going home from the set bruised and sore from fighting, rolling and stunts but on that movie i was never sore once, it just didnt feel right. I love doing action and will continue as long as I can but I wish there were more action scripts as well written as Spoiler was.

Clint Morris: In terms of action heroes, whose career would you rather follow, Van Damme or Bruce Willis?

Gary: Well to be honest with you Mel Gibson and Bruce Willis are 2 guys I like to model myself after, they are funny , can do action, drama or comedy. But if my break came in a Van Damme like action movie i would not turn it down. Once you establish yourself then you can make those kind of career choices. Until then I will just enjoy each movie and do the best I can even though they what I am doing now is not always the kind of movie I would like to be making.

Clint Morris: What do you consider your best film?

Gary: What do I consider my best film ? Thats tough as I am a very tough self critic and I rarely like my movies. For action I liked 'Cold Harvest' and I liked Spoiler and have got a lot of positive feedback from it. I still feel that my best work is yet to come.

Clint Morris: Whats next for you?

Gary: Whats next? Well I really like to live in the moment and focus on the now, but movie wise there are a couple of offers, one being a sequel to a movie I shot earlier this year called 'The Queens Messenger' but I still have to see the script. I just produced 2 movies which I starred in called 'Black Friday' and 'The Ides of March' so that is another avenue I would like to explore.

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Original interview: http://www.moviehole.net/interviewgary.html
Duplication without express written permission is prohibited.

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