All Photos: Alan Mercer Lighting: Eric V.
I met Silvio Simac at the World Famous Santa Monica Pier. The larger-than-life atmosphere was a perfect fit for his larger-than-life physical appearance. The Croatian/Italian martial artist from London is a World Gold Medalist, 14 time British Taekwondo Champion from 1991 to 2000. He holds a 4th Dan Black Belt in ITF Taekwondo, 5th Dan in Choi Kwang Do, 3rd Dan in Kickboxing, 1st Dan in Brithai Karate and 1st Dan Black Belt in Combat Self-Defence.
Silvio has a degree in Economics from Thames Valley University in London. He has appeared in several mainstream American action movies. His role in movies is often that of a no-nonsense character. Often times he is the bad guy.
Silvio Simac's first major appearance in a Hollywood movie was in 'Unleashed,' where he played an underground fighter. Silvio's role in the film is recorded as being one of Jet Li's longest movie fight scenes involving a character other than the second leading actor.
Silvio also plays the character Leon in the film 'DOA: Dead or Alive' which is based on the very popular console game. Silvio's performance was praised by hardcore gamers who stated that he portrayed the character Leon exactly as they wanted.
He is great in films like 'Transporter 3' and 'Undisputed 2' where his scenes are memorable. It's easy to imagine seeing Silvio Simac over and over again in upcoming films.
We took these shots in Palisades Park right next to the Pier and the Pacific Ocean. As you can see Silvio can pretty much do whatever he wants. Once again it was Brett Ashworth who put Silvio and me together. I had a blast shooting! Eric Venturo reflected the light and Silvio did his thing! It's a pleasure to share these images and conversation with a real champion in spirit and coolness...Mr. Silvio Simac!
AM: Silvio, what brings you to Los Angeles?
SS: I think it's long overdue. If you are in the entertainment industry it's one of the places you have to go. I've traveled all over the United States except LA so here I am. I've set up lots of meetings with agents and managers and a couple of directors. We'll see how things pan out from here.
AM: Where do you live?
SS: I'm based in London.
AM: Did you grow up in London?
SS: I grew up in London, yes. I grew up in Wimbledon.
AM: Did you always have an interest in show business?
SS: Pretty much my whole life. For a good two thirds of my life I have known in which direction I was going.
AM: How did you get into your first film?
SS: It was a bit of a coincidence as I was competing in martial arts for quite some time. I'd just won the World Championship Title in Taekwondo. I got a phone call from an agency looking for guys to go to Thailand to shoot my very first feature 'Black Mask 2.' It was a Hong Kong production.
AM: Had you ever been to Thailand before?
SS: That was my first time. I was there for three months and I loved it there.
AM: Tell me about being a Taekwondo Champion from 1991 to 2000. That's outrageous! How do you do that?
SS: You know I think when you have a passion for something you just pursue it without thinking it's going to be difficult or that you will cross obstacles. I really enjoyed every step of the way thoroughly when I was competing.
AM: What did you enjoy the most?
SS: I guess it was the challenge of winning and overcoming the obstacles, like winning the British Title fourteen times, European Champion four times that eventually led to a World Title. It was a personal challenge that I wanted to pursue. First and foremost it was the passion and the drive.
AM: Did you start training as a child?
SS: Oh yes, yes, yes, I've been training in Martial Arts for almost twenty-five years now. Really since the age of twelve.
AM: So you are competitive by nature?
SS: Very! I'm one of those people who if I'm not good at it I'm not going to pursue it. I don't like playing a sport for the fun of it, if I'm no good. There are certain sports I don't mind losing at, but I have to be reasonably good at it. I've always been driven to win.
SS: Black belt only signifies that you have mastered basic fundamental movements. That's really when the journey begins. Think of it like a bird leaving the nest for the first time. They still have to explore the skies. So when you get to black belt you are really just a beginner. Dans indicates how far you have gone in the black belts you have accumulated. It shows which level or degree of black belt that you are.
AM: What is Choi Kwang Do?
SS: My first martial arts was Taekwondo, which is a Korean system combat designed for the purpose of self-defense. Choi Kwang Do was invented by one of the Taekwondo pioneers who was severely injured, so he developed a system which is scientifically sound and very good for developing the body. Having competed for a long time, any professional athlete will tell you it can be quite damaging to the body itself because you are pushing yourself to extremes. Choi Kwang Do does not have that competitive edge with anybody except yourself. It's nurturing to your health.
SS: I have in a lot of ways I'm sure. I do feel aches and pains in my joints, in particular in London which gets quite cold, I feel the aches. One of the major things is my hands from smashing bricks. I've killed the nerves in my hands and in the winter when it gets cold my blood circulation slows down. I do feel injuries, but any athlete will tell you the same thing. When you push yourself beyond certain limits it doesn't become healthy. That's why Choi Kwang Do is really appealing at my age.
AM: Do you teach martial arts?
SS: At the moment I'm not teaching. I do seminars on martial arts though. It's something that I definitely encourage people to take up. Having competitions can be quite detrimental to physical health and sometimes for kids it's not very good mentally. Competitions are very two dimensional. I'm guilty of that myself. There's one winner and lots of losers so in particular for kids, it's not a very healthy way to bring them up. Choi Kwang Do encourages that everyone is a winner. You only compete against your own abilities so that is quite appealing.
AM: How did you end up with a degree in economics?
SS: Looking back it's great to have something to fall back on, but I guess I was largely influenced by my parents, who are very academic. When you're a kid you don't really know what you want. Some things you do, but you hide it away from your parents because it doesn't match what they envision for you to do. I got my degree to please my parents.
SS: Not really I didn't. That was more of a discipline. I had to do it. Once I left the University I thought to myself that I knew very little about business economics. There's so much to learn you could study for twenty years and still not know it all.
AM: Were you interested in acting or did you just discover it?
SS: Naturally I was quite a show-off. Maybe that's why being in front of the camera is something I find quite natural. I enjoyed showing off my skills and talent in front of the public from the very early stages of my martial arts training.
AM: What did you do to satisfy your need to show off?
SS: I learned my techniques and did many displays for charities often. Martial arts did change my life.
AM: In what way?
SS: It's made me more of a complete person with confidence and good self-esteem. Being in the media I can reach millions of people, so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get into entertainment. It's a dream come true for any kid to get to dress up in costumes and play games. You never have to grow up really.
SS: Absolutely, I think it would be a nice challenge for me, another area to grow and develop in.
AM: Would you consider producing your own starring film?
SS: Yes! Over the years I've been lucky to have more and more input into what I was doing in certain scenes. When the director in some big productions tells you he wants something you have to deliver what he wants. Over the years I've been given freedom of choice to adapt and have my own creativity. I've been able to express myself in the creative process. I think producing would be something that would fall into place.
AM: So you have a longest fight scene in a Jet Li movie other than a co-star?
SS: Yes it is seven and half minutes. It took two weeks to film which was great fun! Plus five days of rehearsal before that.
AM: You've really made a name for yourself!
SS: It's one of those things you don't notice until you step outside yourself. You kind of live with it and it becomes the norm. The novelty wears out quick.
AM: Why do you think you've been successful so far?
SS: I think it's perseverance.
AM: How do you persevere?
SS: You have to believe in yourself and surround yourself with people who have inspired you. It's to carry on and carry through. It's very important to have support around you to encourage you when you're feeling down and doubtful of yourself. I have realized the importance of surrounding myself with successful people who are driven from within. Their attitude and mentality is bound to influence me as well.
AM: What do you want to accomplish before your done?
SS: That's a good question! You know sometimes people are never happy with what they have. They struggle for more. I think for years and years I've kind of been punishing myself. People keep telling me, "One day you'll get there." I've been hearing the same thing for fifteen to twenty years before I became a World Champion. I stopped for a second and I thought to myself well actually every day I'm living my dream. I'm expressing my heart's desires. If I was to die tomorrow I've been living true to myself. I think it's good to strive for bigger and better and more things to accomplish, but you should be very happy with what you do every single day, because you may never reach this destination, so enjoy the journey instead of the destination. I would like to go as far as I can, obviously like everybody else.
AM: What do you say to the kids who admire and follow you?
SS: One of the nicest things is how I get lots of emails from fans and in particular from kids. I like to inspire and motivate someone and in some respect change their life. A lot of the time, I take the time, to answer someone's questions through email. I give advice, encouragement and motivation. I'm very lucky to be in this position. Sometimes I don't realize what kind of an impact I can have on these kids. It's a responsible role to have but at the same time very rewarding. I have fun and enjoy it. I'm a big kid inside and I have fun!
To learn more about Silvio Simac visit his web site http://www.silviosimac.com/
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