Want To Be A Martial Arts Movie Star - Here is How Ron Smoorenburg Did It

Following is a personal interview with Ron Smoorenburg - Martial Arts Movie Star and winner of the Hong Kong Oscar for the best fight scene 1998: 

I started with Karate when I was 12 years old. I was the only student who came 1 hour before the class starting to practice alone, in a dark dojo. I almost never went to parties and people said I was a boring guy, but I kept believing in my goal - to play in movies like Jean Claude van Damme and Jackie Chan.

The karate students at my dojo said I was unrealistic and a dreamer. My parents worried about my health because I trained martial arts so hard. My neighbors always had complaints about the noise coming from our house and in my street there was no branch on any trees under the height of 30cm above my head because I kicked all of them off.

After seeing van Damme I focused on kicking and tried to kick as high as possible while being as flexible as possible. I got the world record highest kick in 1997 with a height of 11 feet.

There was a contest in Holland in bare hand Karate styles. I made my own style and went to the competition. I was the only one who made a new form and there was no contest at all. I was sent home and I was invited to show it at their next event  - The European Championships Karate. It was a big success.

I started to give demonstrations and events and with my karate partner we made ‘short fight  movie clips’ to complete the demo. We started to appear on TV programs and film clips.

I heard about Jackie Chan having a movie called ‘Who am I ?’ in Rotterdam and he needed 1000 extra’s. Even to become an extra was very hard on this movie because there were so many reactions, but I kept calling the casting office and finally I got a small part as business man. (You can actually see me in this movie quiet clearly)

I was on the set of the movie and had 3 shooting days. I knew this was my chance. I asked the Dutch Stunt team if I could do some fighting but they laughed so hard in front of everybody that I felt ashamed. ‘If I could jump from a building then I could join’.

So I went to Jackie Chan's stunt team but everybody was so busy. I felt like nothing to them.... but one old man from Jackie’s team said if I had a tape I could give it to him. So that night after shooting I made a tape. We filmed and edited all night only finally finishing very early in the morning. Next day I gave it to the old man.

I had just changed into my business suit (costume) while one of Jackie’s assistants called me to see Jackie Chan. I couldn’t believe it. I was to do a screen test!

I gave everything I had and Jackie Chan said I was the best of 20 guys auditioning for this role. But I asked him ‘What role?’. It was a role for the major fight in the movie, the final fight! 

Even after giving so many martial art demonstrations and training so hard, working with Jackie Chan was the most demanding fight scene I had ever experienced. Jackie Chan has so much experience . If he made a new fight scene he got it perfect in 3 rehearsals. That’s what I had to do to. Just one time slow rehearsal, faster and fastest. And these were combination sequences of  5 to 8 moves each. I also had to follow a certain pattern on the floor and was not allowed to touch Jackie hard.

Jackie Chan made me very insecure at this moment because he was not so friendly and quite abrupt and didn’t talk with me. I just did my best.

The fight in ‘Who am I?’ got a Hong Kong Oscar for the best fight scene (1998). It was an amazing break but after time I realised that there was nothing but a lot of broken promises from Hong Kong producers, fake managers etc…  Waiting in Holland was like dying slowly so I had to do something…  I worked as much as I could and saved as much money as I could and a few years later in 2000 I flew to Hong Kong.

I managed to get parts and played in 5 Hong Kong action movies and gained more experience in movie fighting and acting.

I came to Hong Kong at a good time. Later I was Invited by Donnie Yen to work for him for the German TV series ‘ Der Puma’. I played the opponent of Mickey Hardtonnie Yen in episode 7. Donnie Yen asked if I could stay 3 weeks longer to be stunt double for Mickey in the 2 last episodes.

I developed my own style with more special kicks, and even breakdance moves. Donnie Yen loved these new moves and I could all show them in ‘Der Puma’.

Soon it was time for me to leave and I went back to Holland. Here I got a lot of TV jobs as a fight choreographer. But In Holland they don’t know anything about martial art movies. From the cameraman to the editing, there were too many steps staffed by inexperienced people, this could, and did at times, destroy the fight choreography.

Because the lack of experience of the Dutch movie industry I went to Thailand, to work with Tony Jaa.

Ron with Tony Jaa 

Tom Yum Goong was already shot when I arrived in Thailand but they were re-shooting a big fight scene. I participated in this fight and got good friends with Tony Jaa. Tony Jaa is a good example for a lot of actors -  he’s very friendly and a very very good martial artist and no ego.

Now I live in Thailand and I feel like a new man. I keep busy with regular movie work and besides my martial arts workout I keep up an intensive fitness workout, strict diet and work together with the best stunt teams from around Thailand.....  I love this country and have made Thailand my new home.

Ron - Modeling Photo 

You can see more of Ron including a couple of showreels at his website;

http://www.ronsmoorenburg.nl