Chris Casamassa (born January 17, 1965) is an American martial artist, actor and stuntman who is best known for his role as Scorpion in the movie Mortal Kombat, which was based on the popular fighting-game series. He also played Scorpion in the TV show, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, but was unavailable for the second movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, due to scheduling conflicts with Batman & Robin, where he doubled for George Clooney. Son of martial arts guru, and founder of Red Dragon Karate Louis D. Casamassa. They appeared together in the film 'Sword of Heaven' in 1985.
Despite his success in landing roles in "The Red Canvas", "Food Fight","Batman & Robin", and "Blade", Chris is continuing to improve on his acting craft by studying with well-known Hollywood acting coach, Joel Asher.
Chris is also the President of the very popular and successful Red Dragon Karate Schools, which were founded by his father. The 3,000 Red Dragon students at 20 locations in southern California are learning from one of the best. As a national competitor on the North American Karate Association circuit (N.A.S.K.A) Chris was the #1 forms competitor in the country for four consecutive years. During his time on the competition circuit, he won 18 Forms Grand Championship titles, 12 Weapons Grand Championships as well as being at top 10 ranked middleweight fighter. After he retired from active competition, Chris was voted into the American Karate Kung fu Federation, (A.K.K.F.) Hall of Fame, then soon after, he was selected as a member of the prestigious USA international Hall of Fame for two separate categories “Top Competitor of the decade” and “Instructor of the Year.”
Chris and his wife Michelle have two children Emily, age 7, and Adam, age 4. “I am excited about training my kids in the Martial arts,” says Chris. They were already following me with their kicks and punches at home. Now that they are in class at the studio its even more fun to watch them grow and learn in the Martial Arts. Chris trains at least 3 days a week for 3 to 4 hours,” said Chris. “The Martial Arts is my passion, it is in my blood."
In addition to his feature acting roles, Chris is also regularly working as a stunt man, having worked on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, V.I.P., and Walker, Texas Ranger. One of Chris’ biggest thrills came when he actually got to do a fight scene with World Black Belt’s First Founding Member Chuck Norris. “At first, Chuck was going to have a stunt man do the scene, but then we got to talking and he decided to test me out, it was really quite an honor,” remembers Chris.
Filmography
Year
Film/television
Role
Notes
1984
The Karate Kid
Tournament guest
1985
Sword of Heaven
Martial Arts trainee
1988
Black Eagle
Car stuntman
(scenes deleted)
1991
China O'Brien 2
Picnic punk #2 / Stunt fighter
1992
Shootfighter: Fight to the Death
Ring lord #1 / Creon (Shootfighter)
A Mission to Kill
Young Hank
1995
Mortal Kombat
Scorpion
Mortal Kombat: Behind the Scenes
Himself / Scorpion
archive footage
1995-96
WMAC-Masters
Red Dragon / Himself
1997
Batman & Robin
Batman stunt double
1998
Mortal Kombat: Conquest
Takeda / Scorpion
Blade
Stunt vampire
Martial Law
Bodyguard
VIP
2000
Mortal Kombat: Federation of Martial Arts
Scorpion / Black Dragon Ninja
online
Walker: Texas Ranger
2001
A Real Job
Bill
The Hunted
Zack
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2003
How to be an Action Star
Himself / Host
2004
Sci-Fi Fighter
The Karate Master
2008
The Red Cancas
Ring announcer
External links
http://www.chriscasamassa.com
Chris Casamassa at Internet Movie Database
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Casamassa"
Categories: American stunt performers | American film actors | American television actors | 1965 births | Living peopleHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from April 2008 | All articles lacking sources
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