Max Huang Trained for ‘Mortal Kombat’s’ Kung Lao With a Cardboard Hat, and Fans Can’t Get Enough of It
With ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ just around the corner, one piece of behind-the-scenes trivia from the original film has been making the rounds on social media, and it is charming audiences all over again.
A clip shared by Max Huang on Instagram shows him training with a makeshift cardboard version of Kung Lao’s iconic bladed hat, which has racked up hundreds of thousands of views and a wave of appreciative responses from longtime fans of the franchise.
Huang first revealed the detail during a press set visit ahead of the release of ‘Mortal Kombat’ in 2021, explaining that immediately after being cast he threw himself into research, watching every piece of in-game footage he could find across fatalities, brutalities, and classic fight sequences. Unable to access a real hat during early training, he improvised by cutting one out of cardboard and practicing his movements in front of a mirror.
Speaking to ComicBook, Huang described the real hat, which he was eventually flown to New Zealand specifically to try on, as considerably heavier than the cardboard version, requiring him to rethink many of the fluid movements he had already developed. The transition from a lightweight stand-in to the full-weight prop was a genuine physical adjustment, and it speaks to the level of preparation Huang brought to a character making his first major live-action big-screen debut.
Huang’s background as a member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team and a former German National Wushu Team gold medallist meant the physical side of the role was a natural extension of skills he had developed over decades. But translating the hat work of a video game character into believable live-action choreography required a specific kind of creative problem-solving.
The cardboard hat video is also catching new attention because of what is coming next. Huang is confirmed to reprise his role as Kung Lao in ‘Mortal Kombat 2’, which is set for release on May 8. The sequel puts him in a significantly expanded position within the story, and fans are clearly invested in seeing what a more confident version of the character can bring to the next chapter.
Huang has spoken previously about the pressure of bringing Kung Lao to the screen for the first time in a major theatrical film, noting that while the character had appeared in web series, this was the real moment fans had been waiting for. The seriousness with which he approached that responsibility, right down to the cardboard prop in his living room, is part of what has made the story resonate so widely.
It is the kind of detail that reminds audiences how much goes into a performance before a single camera rolls. The bladed hat is one of the most recognizable weapons in gaming history, and the man who had to wield it on the big screen started by cutting one out of cardboard and figuring it out alone in front of a mirror. Fans are finding that story just as compelling the second time around.
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