While the Netflix original martial arts series Wu Assassins may have come to an end in 2019, the story and characters have continued. The new movie Fistful of Vengeance reunites much of the main cast from the fan-favorite show. After Tommy Wah (Lawrence Kao) discovers his beloved sister Jenny murdered, he gathers his friends and master martial artists Kai Jin (Iko Uwais) and Lu Xin Lee (Lewis Tan) for a revenge mission to Thailand to avenge her death. However, this vendetta quickly goes off the rails when deadly figures from the Bangkok underworld surface and try to take the trio of friends down.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Kao revealed how Fistful of Vengeance brings a much more confident vision of Tommy than the one seen in Wu Assassins. He also explained how he finally got in on the hard-hitting action and spoke about his real-life dynamic with his high-flying co-stars.
With Wu Assassins having been wrapped for years, how was it getting the notice that you were making Fistful of Vengeance to continue the story you started?
Lawrence Kao: It was super exciting, especially knowing that we were shooting this in Bangkok. Just to be somewhere so far removed from where I'm from, and where Tommy's from in San Francisco, was just a cool experience. It sucks that Jenny Wah, my character's sister, isn't there but the fact that she was killed gave my character much more to hold on to. You can find his bass note more easily diving into this next movie. It was fun to let that carry me throughout Fistful of Vengeance.
Is there a character in the Wu Assassins Universe that suffers more than Tommy? In the series, we see him hit rock bottom and, in Fistful of Vengeance, he loses his sister.
I think he goes through it! He started that fire when they were younger and got blamed for it. He's still struggling with his demons to become a better person and beat his addictions. This guy gets stabbed multiple times! [laughs] He gets healed and stabbed again and is just continually in pain. He goes through it in that first season.
When we see Tommy at the start of Fistful of Vengeance, he's a much more confident and competent character than we had seen with him at his low points in Wu Assassins.
He's definitely more level-headed now. Obviously, he still has a temper, but getting off of substances is huge already. He's always cared about family and people around him so when someone close to him, like his sister, gets murdered, it sets his head straight, for sure. For Tommy, letting go of the guilt he held for the first season has allowed him to recalibrate. He has his head straight-on a little bit more in this movie, definitely.
How was it filming in Thailand for Fistful of Vengeance versus filming in Vancouver for Wu Assassins? Juju Chan Szeto was saying everyone quarantined together before filming started.
It was cool because I think everybody was so cooped up wherever they were, so having everybody coming together and quarantining together formed a camaraderie between all of us. We knew we had this mission to make this movie in this pocket of time in Thailand. That brought us closer together. When you're quarantining for a couple weeks, seeing anybody -- especially people you've worked with before -- to work on something fun and exciting is just the best. Shooting on-location instead of in a studio, on set, makes such a big difference, even for actors. The setting becomes a character itself.
How is your creative shorthand with Iko Uwais and Lewis Tan? You guys really are the Three Musketeers in Fistful of Vengeance.
It's cool because we're all such different characters on-screen and off-screen. It's been so much fun. They've become such close friends. Watching the movie back now, I know these guys so it's so hilarious that these characters are going through such crazy events and trying to survive and not to get killed. It just cracks me up watching us go through this journey knowing how we are.
How true to life are those interpersonal dynamics? Is Lewis the cool guy and Iko more stoic and reserved?
No, everyone is super goofy. [laughs] Whenever we try to do these scenes, it cracks me up. There was a moment when we couldn't stop laughing. It was a restaurant scene. While we were waiting for Francesca Corney's character to come deliver us some intel, we're just chatting about Jenny's death. For some reason, we just couldn't keep it together. There were a lot of funny moments like that throughout shooting that I will remember forever. Those were the good times.
How was it getting in on the action with Fistful of Vengeance, both in fights and behind the wheel?
That was a lot of fun. I love playing characters who are drug addicts and going through really serious things, but to embrace the physicality of Tommy and get in on the action was fun. It was a "Welcome to the club" moment because I had never done action before. To be able to just fully envelop myself, especially with all these martial artists... To be able to throw down and show I could potentially do more fights was definitely something I wanted to check off my bucket list. I was definitely very excited about that. It's just so funny he wields a knife after getting stabbed so much. It's like my revenge from getting stabbed all those times in the first season.
Was the trickiest scene that big street fight?
No, not really. I feel like the trickiest scene was just understanding how to use the knife and move it with my wrists. I actually thought the street scene came pretty naturally for my character because he's pretty scrappy as it is. He's trying to dodge things and grab whatever he can around him. That was a lot of fun!
With Fistful of Vengeance having your first action sequences, what lessons and tools did you learn from the experience that you can carry to future projects?
As an actor in general, you just try to move your body kinesthetically and not try to think where you're going before doing an action. I feel like I'm trying to take that with me when I'm doing a physical performance. Obviously, I'm going to learn the moves, but there is an intent and cause as to why you're moving in a specific way. If you can embody the story through movement, I think you can carry the scene.
Roel Reiné helms Fistful of Vengeance and also directed a couple of episodes of Wu Assassins. How was it having him as the director and cinematographer for this project?
Roel is so cool. He's one of my favorite directors because he can literally do everything. It's fun to watch him play with all of his toys. You don't get a lot of directors who really light up, and he's really having a blast. Seeing a leader have so much fun makes you want to be in on the action as well. Everything was so collaborative. Roel is such a good actor's director. He gives really good notes. It was such a pleasure, and I would love to work with him again.
Fistful of Vengeance definitely leaves room open for a sequel. Would you be open to coming back and reprising your role as Tommy?
It's just too much fun. It's probably one of the funnest projects I've been on. Just doing action to this level and the potential of pushing the action to another level definitely keeps me excited and motivated to do more. It would be fun just to see where we can take the story and the technical aspects of the action. Also, for Tommy, I feel like he's capable [of] more as well, as an actor and a potential martial artist.
Where do you personally want to see Tommy go next?
In the movie, one of the things that we tackle is that these three have things that they're dealing with. If they understand their own faults and vulnerabilities, they can come together and defeat whoever. I feel like diving deeper into those things for these brothers... Maybe Tommy feels like the best and that he can carry his own and goes off. Maybe Tommy has a sip of alcohol when he shouldn't and [is] relapsing but still able to hold himself. A drunken fight could be pretty cool. [laughs]
Lawrence, what do you have next in the pipeline where audiences can see you next?
There will be some good news for some things, but things I can't talk about right now. I also wrote a movie with a buddy of mine. We got financing for it and are going to shoot it this summer. That's all that I can say at this moment!
Directed by Roel Reiné, Fistful of Vengeance is available to stream now on Netflix.