Daniel Wu stars in the new series "Into the Badlands." He opens up about the lead role and the competition of Asian Americans in Hollywood.
"Into the Badlands" is AMC's newest series which premiered last Nov. 15. The series is a martial arts drama which was created by Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, starring former Jackie Chan protégé, Daniel Wu. AMC ordered "Into the Badlands" to be loosely based on the 16th century Chinese novel "Journey to the West" though in the series, the story is set in a steampunk-infused world.
In the series, seven feudal Barons take control of what is left with Earth's population after being destroyed by a nuclear war, wherein guns are prohibited. Thus, to fend off the Clippers who are heartless assassins, they use Kung Fu as their weapon.
Wu has been known to begin his stardom in Hong Kong and China as he was dubbed as Jackie Chan's protégé. Over the years, he then took on the industry and started starring in kung fu heavy films that varied from dramas, action-thrillers, and event independent films where when summed up, totals to sixty-plus films.
AMC has given him the opportunity to star in their new series "Into the Badlands" which for Wu, served as an unexpected return to on screen martial arts after having numerous injuries giving him second thoughts on doing another kung fu based film.
The Jackie Chan protege even talked about it in an interview with The Daily Beast. He said that, "I worked with Jackie Chan for a long time and seeing how much pain he's in, I realized that that might not be a sustainable career for me."
Wu also shared his thoughts that there are actors that he met who are fit for the job, but there are not much opportunities given to Asian Americans like him.
