The case of Scott Adkins, ‘the last true action hero’ you have never seen in movie theaters

A rich man enters a dojo to convince the master who runs it to transfer the school to him. Nobody uses the master’s traditional style of martial arts anymore, he explains while stepping on the tatami in his street shoes. The teacher advises the him to leave, but, instead the rich man mocks him and invites the master to hit him “like in fucking kung-fu movies.” And the two interlocutors have more than words.

So begins The Debt Collector, one of the four feature films that actor Scott Adkins released in 2018 alone, all of them for the streaming market. Action films intended directly for rental have often been considered an elephants’ graveyard where old glories such as Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, and Bruce Willis ended up making the link between making movies of debatable quality and a quick buck. But aficionados of the old-school “kung-fu movies” that the beginning of The Debt Collector alludes to have also found some of the genre’s best productions in recent years, with a little help from Adkins.

His face has barely been seen on the big screen. He had a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) and two other very discreet roles in Doctor Strange (2016) and the comedy Grimsby (2016). In a scene from John Wick 4 (2023) he was finally able to properly demonstrate his mixed martial arts skills to the multiplex audience, even though his appearance was unrecognizable under heavy make up and prosthetics.

Meanwhile, living up to the saying that it is better to have a mouse’s head than a lion’s tail, Scott Adkins has carved out a decent career and has an entire community of admirers of his work in the low-budget field. His performance as a lethal villain in the video store sequel Undisputed 2 (2006) earned him a promotion as the stand-out performer in the three-part saga. He also played the leading role in another action movie in 2012. Day of Reckoning, the fifth instalment of the Universal Soldier franchise was described as perhaps “the best straight-to-DVD action movie ever made” by journalist Tom Breihan from AV Club.

Adkins has two premieres on platforms this year. He has a small role in Lights Out, starring Frank Grillo, and is the hero of the much more notable One More Shot. This is the continuation of one of his most popular titles, One Shot (2021) — a rare case of one of his films that, due to the lack of releases during the pandemic, had a small distribution in European theaters. It is presented as a single sequence shot that allows you to enjoy the choreography and acrobatics of the star in all their impressive splendor, without editing cuts. Late last year, journalist Alex Ritman asked in The Hollywood Reporter: “Is Adkins the last true action hero? For many, he is not just that, but someone who has been criminally overlooked by the studios,” he wrote. In the article, one of Ritman’s favorite directors Isaac Florentine said: “Scott should have been James Bond, he should have been Batman.”

“There’s a tendency to view martial arts actors as B-grade, along with stunt performers, second-unit crews, and behind-the-scenes performers. In Scott’s case, it is a shame because he is a talented actor,” Gene Ching, former editor of the now defunct Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine and disciple of the 32nd generation of China’s original Shaolin Temple, tells ICON. “His roots are in taekwondo and karate,” Ching explains. “Almost all martial arts movie stars have done some taekwondo for kicks, but not so many have done karate. Karate gives Scott a more square, powerful, and linear definition and structure, especially in his early films. He knows how to deliver powerful punches and can also deliver spectacular high kicks. Later, like every martial arts star, he diversified his training to be able to play more roles.”

Blow by blow, verse by verse

Adkins’ film career began in Hong Kong, Ching recalls. “Hong Kong action cinema has always been the go-to in fight choreography. Perhaps this gave him more humility and part of his work ethic is due to his work there. It is clear that he is a hard worker, who is fully committed to any role he plays. He can do everything from brutal movies to ironic action comedies with the same ease,” he points out.

For the expert, we can understand through Adkins’ apparent humility why he perhaps puts in a greater effort than in the big names relegated to action films intended for home consumption: “Seagal and Van Damme started making movies as Hollywood stars at a time when martial arts stars had a lot of ego. Perhaps they saw the move from theater releases to video as a step down.”

After several initial collaborations with figures such as Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, Adkins caught the attention of director Isaac Florentine, later responsible for two films in the Undisputed saga, while also acting in British soap operas. In 2009 he was also Ryan Reynolds’ stunt double in the role of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And he emerged as the heir to his idol Van Damme since they both acted together in The Shepherd (2008), the first of their four collaborations so far.

Not in vain, in addition to facing the Muscles from Brussels in the fifth Universal Soldier, Adkins also relieved him at the helm of the later sequel Hard Target 2 (2016) and it has just been announced that will be the antagonist in Kickboxer: Armageddon, the eighth installment of the saga that began in 1989, which will once again feature the Belgian star in the cast. Veteran martial artist Donnie Yen also recruited Adkins for Ip Man 4: The End (2019), the latest installment of his acclaimed saga. While in China he acquired the status of an institution thanks to his antagonistic role in Wolf Warrior (2015). Its sequel, for which he did not return, was the highest-grossing film in the country’s history.

But the Briton has not limited himself to performing in well-known sagas or in the shadow of more famous actors: diptychs such as Ninja (2009-13), Accident Man (2018–22) and The Debt Collector (2018-20) are proof of his ability and charisma to generate his own mythologies. Also the role that has made him stand out even in the endless scroll of the Netflix catalog, where Avengement (2019), a film that the actor points out as his favorite, continues to find its audience five years after release.

Like many creators throughout the history of cinema, what Adkins — and his inseparable team including Jesse V. Johnson, who has directed him seven times, the screenwriter Stu Small, and the choreographer Tim Man — has found in making B movies is a playground from which to make genuine proposals that are passionate in their approach to action and have no limitations in the representation of violence that big budget movies sometimes requires. “As a huge Scott Adkins fan. I want what’s best for his career. I thought his best option was to appear in big time Hollywood movies. I’m going back on my statement. Scott belongs to the B movie action scene. It allows him a lot more creative freedom,” a follower of his wrote on the Letterboxd social network.

However, at a time when the influence and success of the John Wick saga and the Cobra Kai series (2018) have led to more care in the staging in conventional action productions and, therefore, to revalue craftsmanship, the role of specialists and authentic martial artists, Adkins could gain prominence. For now, he is enjoying the moment that the genre is experiencing, as a participant and also as a spectator.

In addition to sharing scenes from his films or training tips on his YouTube channel, he hosts interview series The Art of Action, where he has spoken with icons such as Keanu Reeves, Mark Dacascos, Tony Jaa, and Steven Seagal. He is also active on X (formerly Twitter), where he praised the recently released new version of Road House, but not without reproaching those responsible for the use of digital effects in the fights. At the moment, the most attractive thing that the immediate future holds for him is the new Kickboxer and the fourth installment of Skyline (2010), both with no prospect of being released in theaters. “Hopefully, something big will come to him soon,” Gene Ching believes. “He has earned it.”

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