Michael Jai White has been an accomplished martial artist and movie star for decades, notably in the groundbreaking 1997 superhero movie Spawn, and as a crime boss who runs afoul of Heath Ledger‘s Joker in the Oscar-winning The Dark Knight.
White now stars in the new action flick The Commando, in which he plays a DEA agent whose family is targeted when he finds out the hard way that his new home contains a cache of criminal cash.
“Some drama ensues,” he laughs to ABC Audio.
The performer faces off with some veteran character actors in the film, which is now available On Demand. “I love Jeff Fahey, oh man,” White gushes. “I’m a big fan of that guy. And Mickey Rourke, I consider him like part of the last image of Old Hollywood. He’s got this charisma that just leaps from the screen.”
White calls the movie a “really cool opportunity…kind of a reunion of old friends,” including MMA fighter Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, whom White directed in an upcoming Western.
Now 57, White appears to be in the best shape of his life. It’s no accident, the Black Dynamite vet explains, but it’s also no “chore,” he admits.
“Working out and doing martial arts, it’s a right, it’s not a chore! I get to do it!” he says with a laugh. “So it’s not about a whole discipline thing. It’s like, I feel better when I’m training, you know? It’s what I’m supposed to do. I mean…this is where I wanted to be! So there’s no excuse for me. I should always be in condition. This is what I do, what my fans expect of me.”
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