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4 of 4
A
Golden Weekend to Remember
By
Nancy Bui
After driving Ming and her husband to the hotel, I went to dinner
with Robin to Ace Wasabi's in San Francisco. We talked for hours.
I learned that he wasn't always the martial arts movie stud. Robin
came to the states when he was 11 years old, and didn't even start
his martial arts training until in high school.
He attended Cal State University Los Angeles and graduated
with a Bachelors in Civil Engineering. After working in the field
for a little over a year, he realized that this is not what he wanted
to do with his life.
Not knowing where to start, Robin traveled to Hong Kong.
The first thing he did when he arrived, was he joined a gym to keep
in shape and continue practicing his martial arts. While training,
a producer approached him and asked him if he would be interested
in being in a movie. The movie that he was cast for happened to
be an action movie, they were greatly impressed with his fighter
and stunt skills that he was contracted for several more movies.
Robin worked as an actor and stunt extraordinaire for eight
years in Hong Kong before he landed his first American big hit,
Mortal Kombat in 1995. His "Fearless Victory" motto landed
him in the sequel, Mortal Kombat 2. Robin's career includes
appearances in both movies (He's appeared in over 20 movies!) and
television feature films, including a stint on the show Outer
Limits.
Robin has turned down several offers for movies and television
features that require him to be the typical "Asian Bad Guy". He
feels that whatever role he assumes that it should depict an Asian
as a strong, powerful, character that can be seen as a hero and
role model.
He's also in the process of writing a script for a movie
that he hopes to be picked up by a major studio. This multi-faceted
man also has a sensitive, artistic side to him. When he gets a moment
away from his hectic Hollywood lifestyle, Robin enjoys making pottery
and painting.
Meeting and being able to spend such a great deal of time
with him, I was able to experience Robin for who he truly is. He
is one of the nicest, most down to earth people I have ever met.
He is so gracious and kind to his fans, for example, during dinner,
he was asked to sign about four autographs, and even before dinner
started, people had approached him in the street.
Every single time, he stopped and acknowledged his fan with
respect. With Robin's great personality, big heart, and impressive
talent, he is definitely an actor that will be one to watch. I'm
so glad I was able to meet Robin, for he is truly a extraordinary
person.
So that was the fabulous weekend that has changed my life!
I was able to meet people that I have admired and looked up to all
my life. What had the most impact were the many conversations
I had with the various stars. They gave me the hope and the boost
that I needed to pursue all my dreams and aspirations. They encouraged
me to reach for the stars and to not stop until I achieved what
I had set out to do.
I want to thank Suzanne Kai, my AsianConnections mentor for
giving me the chance to be part of the reporting team for this event.
I also want to give many thanks to Irene Cho; she was full of love
and hope for me. Because of her kind words of support, I will strive
to accomplish my dreams of acting and modeling.
- AC's Nancy Bui
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