Mortal Kombat II has made its theatrical debut and is making waves at the box office. Ludi Lin, who plays Liu Kang in the movie, had one fear while bulking up for his role: would the added size cost him his fluidity? Well, he answered it himself on a podcast on Men's Health. It sure didn't.

"I didn't actually," Lin said when asked whether the weight gain affected his movement. "I was worried about that."

The actor shared a point of view from martial artists, who have long argued that size is an enemy of athleticism.

"A lot of martial artists don't want to get big because they're afraid that they're going to lose the ability to move," he said. "But I've seen so many counterexamples of that, big muscular guys who still move so well."

Lin’s lean physique was ideal for the first film, as Liu Kang was then portrayed as a more agile, quicker martial artist. But with time, the demand for fans increased, and he knew he needed more mass and a more imposing presence.

Martyn Ford Was Lin's Biggest Inspiration — Literally

Ludi Lin did not have a long-term difficulty looking for inspiration. Martyn Ford, who is also in the movie, playing Shao Kahn, is one prime example, and he even referenced him on the same Men's Health podcast.

"A perfect example is Martyn Ford, who plays Kahn in Mortal Kombat 2," Lin said. "He's 350, 6'10, almost 7 feet tall — but he's so athletic. He moves like crazy."

Lin was impressed on both counts, Ford's physicality and his discipline. Lin found Ford’s discipline particularly motivating. According to Lin, Ford was preparing for a real-time MMA fight during filming for Mortal Kombat II. He woke up at 2 a.m., trained, spent 3-4 hours in the makeup chair, then trained again before bed!

"I've got to give it to Martin," Lin said. "He's just such a unit. He's such a beast. Not just his natural given physique — obviously there's no amount of training you can do to get yourself to seven feet tall — but his work ethic as well."

Ford's character is something that the fans have been waiting to see on screen since 2021, after a brief tease.

Have you grabbed your tickets yet for Mortal Kombat II?

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Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil