Mark “Mugen” Striegl and Brillante Mendoza are two of the Filipinos who have been bringing honor to the Philippines. The former is one of the hottest prospects in Asian mixed martial arts while the latter is the only Filipino filmmaker to win Best Director at Cannes Film Festival, the Olympics of filmmaking.
As a fighter who does not get intimated by challenges, Striegl is often asked if he would give a hand at acting in the future. The Filipino-American MMA fighter currently signed with ONE Championship is open to the possibility of becoming an actor.
In fact, Striegl often hears people saying he looks like “The Fighter” actor Mark Wahlberg. I asked the MMA fighter in a recent interview if he would be interested in acting in a film directed by Mendoza.
“Of course, (but) I have to get a lot better at acting,” Striegl replied. “If given the opportunity, I’d be more than happy. I’d be honored to work with him but definitely, I have to up my game first.”
I asked Striegl about the types of roles he would prefer to play. The ONE Championship athlete noted that he is open to all kinds of challenges and he is a hard worker and a fighter who never shies away from challenge.
“If given the opportunity, I’d be down for any kind of role,” Striegl said. He noted that as an MMA fighter, it is likely that he will be given an action film role but for him, he is willing to do other types of roles.
If Striegl transitions to acting, he will not be the first Asian-American MMA fighter to do so. Vietnamese-American actor and retired MMA fighter Cung Le made his acting debut in the 1997 film “Sleight of Hand” opposite Chinese-American actor Jason Yee and Giselle Jones.
Le went on to star in several films including “Tekken” and “The Man with the Iron Fists.” He is set to star in the upcoming films “Savage Dog,” “Security” and “Infected.”
CONAN Daily 