Mortal Kombat - Creation of the Characters and Interview with the Original Actors

Interview with the developers and actors of the original Mortal Kombat games about the creation of the classic characters. Behind the scenes footage.

[@cristiplopeanu]

I think Sindel was inspired by my mother yelling at me.

[@MikeyDunksMusic]

Lmmfao!

[@angelogillaco2213]

Same😂

[@juanmacal2530]

jajajjaa that is fun!

[@Angie2343]

Everyone's mom, actually.

[@tonjiro86]

🤣🤣🤣....fuckin A...Good stufff bro 🤙🤙🤙

[@roddydykes7053]

Love how seriously these guys take it, while having a lot of fun being the character

[@stanislavkorolev1803]

imagine the low budget they had at the time... today indie bureaus get four times that budget and still manage to fail as gamemakers lmao

[@catchyname58]

@@stanislavkorolev1803 I feel like low budget was one of the things that made them think something unique along with great soundtrack by dan forden and succeeded to establish mk as series.

[@waynepayne864]

theyre all just playing johnny cage in the interview

[@sevach]

Shout out to the OGs who weren't included in this, Daniel Pesina and Ho Sung Pak.

[@jayjay-cl1eo]

Why wasn't Ho Sung Pak featured? I know what happened with Daniel but what went down with Ho

[@CanisVindicate]

Daniel Pesina was super burned with Midway at this point, He tried to sue them over the usage of his likeness in the console ports for the game

[@maxxdahl6062]

@@jayjay-cl1eo Same as Pesina, he sued Midway.

[@joshuavargason8442]

"Nobody ever really dies in Mortal Kombat." Mind blown.

[@easygrin1127]

Sadly Kintaro died.... not even ingame but its still Canon

[@diamondcomplex2376]

(1000% pun intended!)

[@CrudeConduct666]

If you play the games you'll understand. The way everyone comes back through different timelines makes it more or less a true statement.

[@tonjiro86]

EVER.....PERIOD

[@anamariacampos2189]

AM I blokoo olo

[@futavadumnezo]

I wish they had used these original actors to do a MK movie, they are awesome and passionate.

[@uchenwokedi6812]

I was thinking the exact same thing!

[@rubenkmkc]

Kun Lao owns a mixed martial arts gym in Chicago called EKF (Extreme Kun Fu). He's called Coach tony there, and he's an amanzing teacher. Kun fu, kickboxing, bjj, etc. It's pretty awesome. He still seems like he's in his 30s

[@PalashaGabarra]

It's not a mixed martial arts gym.

[@romefox]

Its surreal seeing Jax IRL. He is so recognizable from the game, it looks like the character came straight outta the game.

[@map1537]

They use pictures so its actually him in the game

[@cameroncooper5195]

Dude that's exactly what I thought when he came on screen. I guess its surreal because, say, growing up with MK 1 and II he's just a video game sprite, still seems fake, and then suddenly he's come alive. Also, the other characters up until this point in the video are masked and could be anyone

[@Frost0656]

Kung Lao was on another level, still super iconic even after all this time.

[@warriorsforlife6988]

I think he is indeed a Filipino or maybe Fil-Am.

[@Zombie_Man.]

Exactly what I always thought. That guy is the man

[@harveysantiago3757]

@@warriorsforlife6988 He is filipino definitely, his surname says it all and his asian look.

[@PalashaGabarra]

He runs a martial arts gym in Chicago. I thought about going there to try to meet him once but I never did.

[@camsmk4232]

Awesome seeing this since MK was a big part of my childhood. You can definitely feel the passion of these guys!

[@careylocklear3659]

.

[@slimmdogg420]

Feel The Passion Of Shao Kahn!!!!!

[@Limbbiscuit]

Yeah.. I mean look at the actor as Kano

[@seiph80]

This gives me nostalgia like you wouldn't believe. Seeing this is transporting myself back to the 90's.

[@soposh5673]

Hahahaahahaahaha

[@Yesnog05]

Wow, my cousin told me Kung Lao was Filipino in the 90s, but I didn't believe him. This is so cool!!

[@mariacelinda1006]

Yesnog05 yea the actor looks like a Filipino

[@scorpionmk-ck1ie]

I know Filipino her I look body kung lao

[@michaellovely8751]

Nah they made a tv series for mortal kombat which starred paolo montalban

[@mariacelinda1006]

Raisin Luh

[@mariacelinda1006]

Helel Alexander What east??

[@Tweekend27]

Raiden's outfit in MK2 always reminded me of that vest the old school dentists used to put on you when taking an X-Ray.

[@EdenPrime7]

😂😂😂😂

[@cheappyv5156]

what i need is to see the guy in the booth making those unbelievable screams for MK2 and MK3!

[@thestoner1030]

Ed boon did them

[@Krystalmyth]

@@thestoner1030 Ed Boon didn't do shit.

[@KiyokaMakibi]

@@Krystalmyth He did the voice line "Get over here" at least :D

[@CukiKuin]

@@Krystalmyth He also did the Liu Kang noises, Raiden's weird attack scream, and Jax's "Gotcha!"

[@jerelminter]

@@CukiKuin No the Raiden yell was done by former Midway employee Jon Hey.

[@PeterPiper247]

Ed Boon: scorpion has always been my favorite moral kombat character of all time. Me: yes ed boon, we all know. That's not hard to know

[@wilverbal]

I'll never understand how they could've decided to drop Scorpion (and Baraka!) from MK3... And still less can I understand dropping those two characters and giving us Stryker.

[@Angie2343]

Ed even has Scorpion as his Twitter profile picture.

[@jerelminter]

@@wilverbal They dropped Scorpion in MK 3 because Daniel Pesina (the guy who played him and the original Sub-Zero and Reptile in the first two Mortal Kombat games) quit Midway over unpaid royalties to his likeness and then tried to sue them for it but lost the case. That's why his characters were played by different actors in UMK3 and MK Trilogy.

[@wilverbal]

@@jerelminter they could've kept the character in MK3 with a different actor--just like they did in the very same game with Sub-Zero, also previously played by Pesina. Although I suppose I should be relieved that they didn't give Scorpion a stupid costume like the ones they gave Sub-Zero and Shang Tsung in MK3. They made some impressively stupid decisions in MK3.

[@sudarowakatta4543]

@@wilverbal you just blew my mind with that Stryker comment - that's more than straight to the point!

[@archides2778]

I loved the hidden ninjas. Like Ed said, I was one of the kids in 6th grade who heard about Reptile but never actually saw him. It was the coolest thing when the game came out on console and I could finally see him. Same with Smoke in MK2. I loved the style of MK1-UMK3/Trilogy.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

I saw other kids do Reptile and Smoke, but could never figure out how to do it. I still don't know how, actually.

[@MrSamPhoenix]

Indeed!

[@austinhaut864]

Scorpion and Ermac (The originals) were always my favorites

[@paulk6399]

14:35 He’s (night wolf) is a strong..uh..proud person, with...you know...pride Amazing lol

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

John Turk: I'm 50% of the character roster. Sal Divita: Who's the other half then? Dan Forden: Toasty!!!

[@mikeadams9302]

this video makes it seem that Sal Divita always portrayed Scorpion and Sub-Zero.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

Lol

[@MrSamPhoenix]

Yep lol

[@ksam3427]

@@mikeadams9302nah, he was then later games, mk3 John Turk was almost everyone

[@orangutanshades2423]

We need all the classic character skins with these actors, they were amazing!!!

[@d.fortner6653]

I will always like mortal kombat over street fighter any day but seeing this makes me like it even more and more now.

[@Bangyourbirdnumb]

MK: cheesy as fuck. SF: classy as fuck.

[@insertanynameyouwant5311]

Super Mario : cheesy as fuck. Sonic the Hedgehog: classy as fuck.

[@ksager123]

Anti Phase fact

[@ksager123]

Super Mario street fighter is weak. no combos or fatalities

[@jasonthepowerranger7457]

@@ksager123 Im gonna have to disagree on the combos.sf got mad combos too. But I prefer MK anyway

[@felatioable]

I always thought Sub-Zero unmasked from MK3 looked like David Hasselhoff.

[@tiguswilliams1156]

L Moua ha, lol.

[@tomdibernardo1699]

IKR!!!!!

[@SorcererShangTsung]

L Moua my dad would always play as him and I noticed that my dad and Sub Zero actually looked strikingly similar so when I was little, I legitimately thought Sub Zero was my dad 😂

[@FrozenRemix1]

Same lol

[@xWagnerPlaguesx]

Henry Rollins

[@RiskLaCrome]

My name is Sal Divita, an I'm about 50% character roost

[@chris71388]

Cristian Hernández roost? Like a bird?

[@user-do8yj3sr4m]

Do you mean roster?

[@matthewpafford9669]

Daniel pesina is damn near all of mk 1 and 2

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

He's the entire neighborhood of ninjas.

[@JuntosXlaLibertadMileyBuIIrich]

John Turk: hold my beer

[@mortalkomment8028]

With his net, bombs and teleportation Cyrax was such a great character. A bit like unchallenged Scorpion. Kintaro and Motaro were so difficult to beat and terrific. Love the fact that they later added more ninjas like Noob, Ermac and Rain after fans demanded them. Certainly the best fighting franchise ever.

[@krisfrederick5001]

I still remember the first time fighting Goro when we were just 10 when it came out, so intimidating. Great stop-motion work.

[@bluesdealer]

I always ran out of quarters before I got to him

[@austinhaut864]

Bro.. it was hard asf getting past Mileena to fight Goro.. not to mention once you FINALLY get past Goro.. then you get that ass whooped by Shang Tsung. Lmao I use to get so mad over Shang Tsung. Especially when he'd taunt me by turning into MY character

[@johnnyzero8853]

Mortal Kombat is legendary

[@alainchristienemendoza9982]

Facts. The legacy of MK will be remembered forever.

[@heyzeushoards1405]

Loved unlocking these. Deception has the best konquest mode imo. Taven's story is cool but I loved traveling to and exploring different realms.

[@ElViperr408]

Remember watching this back then if you had Deception and Armageddon

[@sygos]

video games will never come with insightful behind-the-scenes videos about the passion of their creators because all game companies now are soulless husks pushing out the next low-effort high-reward title

[@Cyrax4d]

😭😭😭😭😭

[@southsidesaiyan8641]

@@sygosok grandpa

[@fujiro_kurusu2931]

Props to the man who played baraka and sold it to me when I was young

[@theungreatkahli]

Baraka ♥️ Mileena

[@SkullBerry2013]

@@theungreatkahli subscribe me

[@bezoticallyyours83]

Baraka is awesome

[@OriginalPuro]

How far MK has come, now with MK11 being near perfection. I love how the originals take great pride in being a part of MK.

[@jaysnow4074]

Growing up with original MK games, now playing MK11, I enjoy seeing all the little Easter eggs and references to the older games. Simply amazing

[@PalashaGabarra]

Near perfection? How so? I think the older ones are better. The new MK games are super casual party games. They're made for casual people to play with their friends on the couch. Which is fine if that's what you like, but if you want a fair and balanced game to play competitively MK is not for you, especially the last few.

[@DiggitySlice]

"Near perfection." Bruh. Just the uncanny faces alone make that laughable.

[@jayjay-cl1eo]

​​@thebringerofsalt551 mk has always been a casual game. A lot of people play mk because they saw the cool gory fatalities. The group of people who play the game competative is WAY smaller. And the newer games are way more balanced. Sheeva is actually good in competitive for once and nobody is ridiculously better than the rest of the cast, at least in MK11. Most of your take makes no sense

[@jayjay-cl1eo]

Near perfection? MK11 is so boring in both competative and casual. MKX is better even though it's busted with Tremor being a BEAST

[@jakejutras5420]

@17:35 "The death of Liu Kang haunts me still" LMFAO

[@chadkennedy7855]

Vengeance won't bring him back.

[@zoltardreamusic2552]

A lot of sequences including Kitana, but no interview at all... why?? She was the one I most expected.

[@vaelethun]

I guess Becky Gable wasn't available..

[@bezoticallyyours83]

Perhaps they couldn't get hold of all the old cast? I was looking forward to it too. But yanno, people fall out of touch.

[@TJXCooler100]

Imagine if the original actors played their portrayed characters in the original movies.🤔

[@boogynights]

Acting may have been a issue. I feel you they fit the script of the material.

[@ganjaman59650]

"I still have the costume *wink wink" Oh shit! Waifu comfirmed.

[@AGENTMARIEAKA-AVENGER2236]

These costume are amazing work of art 💓💓

[@Brick_Eater_]

The voice of Kung Lao's actor is the biggest fake out since Crash 4's true ending.

[@raymeester7883]

John Turk looks like a real movie star.

[@shadowproductions969]

Reminds me a lot of Tom Welling

[@AmericanHero911]

Mortal Kombat Deception where you could switch Styles and equip Weapons made this incredible. Where did that idea go?

[@javiersalazardelacruz9604]

I love Kerri Hoskins and Becky Gable 😍😍

[@saysaythegreat]

Same

[@lei8828]

Kung Lao looks still very young even though after so many years

[@boyburger]

this video will always be apart of my childhood i just remember discovering this video scrolling through the menu just bored one day

[@lookatmeiknowwhatimdoing6384]

I feel moist whenever I look at ED BOON's eyebrows!!

[@maul5578]

No

[@we4803]

what

[@we4803]

@I Am The One Who Knocks Actually that would be you

[@re2LP]

One of the most Savage eyebrows.

[@youraveragejoe2]

@Capri phobia = fear.

[@zachos2]

They need to have a bank of boon saying get over here and other Scorpio phrases for when he passes away. Dude has done his voice in every game

[@Postc0ital_mal0ne]

Damn. Didn't even know he did the VO. Ed Boon definitely made history now.

[@robvanharen81]

Agreed. Especially since we know what happens when that happens (Shao kahn voice actor) he was never that menacing anymore to me with the new voice actor.

[@1sadsexually2sadsexually54]

Scorpio? what the fuck

[@1sadsexually2sadsexually54]

nah im jk lol and I bet he does already haha

[@RobotronSage]

i'm more interested in the Raiden stuff.

[@dimitricollin2865]

Reptile has always been my favorite

[@emoldandriel]

Simply amazing material.

[@spillidge1423]

The crew of Mortal Kombat deserves a Lifetime Achievement Award in video games.

[@kakokapolei123]

I remember binge watching these on MK Unchained! Good times

[@Cyrax4d]

Bro did a no hand backflip with no hesitation.

[@CaptainPupu]

Damn. They did motion capture in the nineties! Holy moly that's incredible. Naughty dog started the motion capture acting with uncharted in 2007 and since then almost every bigger studio does it. But in the nineties? Holy shit, that is rare. Incredibly rare.

[@Dejuan4980]

Actually "Mortal Kombat"got that from a game called "Pit-Fighter" look it up when you get a chance.

[@NoName-rl3fh]

That this surprised you says a lot more about you and perhaps your age than anything.

[@manicmurph]

I grew up playing these games in the arcade. I was totally obsessed with MK2 and MK3.

[@AtlasBlizzard]

I'm mesmerized by Shao Kahn, his actor's laugh is legit chilling.

[@xcxcxcxc21]

we need a 4k, real man action,2d, weird,dark,brutal,new mortal kombat remastered version of those old MK arcade game

[@irisduran2983]

I wonder if they still got all these costumes in storage somewhere. Would be a cool exhibition.

[@uraxii2944]

I'm so proud of my work in Sub-Zero mythology.

[@thehoodybadger3402]

Word, what was your job position? The game had it's flaws but the spin off/genre branching is something Midway didn't take advantage of enough back when :/

[@pimperish666]

Love the shots of the concept artwork.

[@tobyawaw8535]

this is gold, thanks for uploading!

[@deleater]

Look at the expressions on Ed Boon's face 25:48 while talking about Sonya ♥ xD

[@yoe91]

what you think she banged him for the role ?

[@bezoticallyyours83]

It is awesome to see the original people who did the motion capture for the games.

[@Oranjeviy]

true mk fans knows true actors

[@danieltentori7523]

It is amazing to learn from this

[@bezoticallyyours83]

Sonya was the first character I ever picked because I thought she was cool. I still play the hell outta her.

[@IsaiasMGPalafox]

Looking forward to January. What a way to start the new year w/ a new MK movie. 🙏🏼💐

[@PeppyHair]

I didnt know Dana White played Baraka,Kano and Quan Chi ?

[@valentindigiorgio1210]

Hahahhahahaha that's what i thought xD

[@erichalverson8384]

Lol

[@JamieMadrox1210]

This man is commenting on a MK video, with a Tekken name and profile picture, talking about Dana white.... I appreciate all of this so much

[@PeppyHair]

@@JamieMadrox1210 I'm a huge fighting game fan Kazuya is my favorite tekken character and I also love UFC I pretty much order every ppv event

[@JamieMadrox1210]

Kazuya Mishima Tekken and MK have been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. And MMA has been the only sport I like since was about 9 years old

[@ZapRowsdower47]

I like jax's fatality where his gigantic foot squished people 😅😅 my favorite fatality of his.

[@chrisleearies484]

The making of videos of mortal kombat back in the day. I used to reenact ost if the lines from these videos. Great memories

[@cheatsykoopa98]

I love seeing this cause I see how much everyone liked making these games

[@professornotoAmbition]

All these years later and the team is still had as passionate and excited to make these games

[@BigRico.]

Awesome video, Thanks!!!

[@Freethinkerfranceofficial]

The nostalgia on this one is overflowing!!!

[@Matheus-ki9zo]

Holy shit, when 6:14 came in, I thought the video was gonna transition to a monstruous guy, with four arms and deep voice saying "Well, I played Goro." in a friendly manner.

[@tueemsyhu4846]

This video gives us the good stuff on MK Characters!😁👍

[@UltimateShadow10]

MK will never die. We won't let it.

[@cutterslade447]

When was this shot? 15 years ago? Would be good to know where they are now

[@RiddlerFoto]

They are still very much around. You can meet them at some conventions in Chicago throughout each year... Mainly Kombat Kon.

[@reinholdhoffmann1410]

Yup 15 years ago, as a part of a marketing project for Mortal Kombat: Deception

[@reinholdhoffmann1410]

@MetalPCer Each of the 3 games has its advantages and features that made it a fun experience to me. MKDA and especially MK D have a great story, the gameplay however was probably the best in MKA with its around 60 kharacters

[@demonology2629]

(yin/yang) ☯️ Tao's Tai Chi Chuan 🕎

[@cutterslade447]

@@RiddlerFoto hope you or someone who sees this can get a good video so that folks like me who are based out of the US can see them.

[@eestiny9734]

I definetly did not saw Cyrax coming lol. Great vid!

[@rai_harn98]

One of the things I love about Mortal Kombat Deception and Unchained; this whole video

[@jaym5118]

Where was this video when I was in my teens? I would have been obsessed with this video if I had been able to watch it back then.

[@epicrapfan73]

I was expecting Dan Forden to do "(high-pitched voice) TOASTY!!!"

[@vanpiisu88]

This is so cool! I always wondered who were behind the original characters.

[@dimitricollin2865]

This is so cool thanks

[@spatchmo6938]

If they decide to include The Great Kung Lao in any of the future Mortal Kombat movie sequels they should have Anthony Marquez play him

[@briangoldstein3007]

Kabal has always reminded me of a tusken raider

[@Sephvion]

God, I'd love a replica of Cyrax and Sektor's armor.

[@darylobey8867]

Dirt bike pads ????

[@nickmtl2570]

The man who played Reptile in MK3 is so damn fine!

[@karnerblue7658]

Yeah, what a Chad! 😍

[@nicoleelardo7436]

The cyborg of mortal Kombat looks like predator.

[@TheRunningComedian]

I could never understand why Shang Tsung looked so different in mk3, he looked physically stronger and had eye make up. Looked more like a black metal rock star than a sorcerer, and he never looked like that ever again. It's a mystery that has plagued me for so long; why the eye make up?

[@valentinom.4292]

It made him look evil and obscure, i liked it, not sure if i want it to return tho, maybe they can pull it off nowadays without looking corny.

[@semerahpadi4484]

I like MK3 Shang Tsung, he looked like a real fighter.

[@lizardmanYTMND]

I'm sure part of the reason for the eye makeup was to make it less noticeable that he was played by the same actor as Sub Zero.

[@tydyman2003]

man I was dumb I met the guy who played Baraka, and didn't even fan girl over him. Well that's gonna change if I see him again

[@mikel0530]

MKDA videos, this included, were great indeed.

[@lvstream720]

I am wondering why these guys have not thought about rebuilding these arcades as an anniversary editions. Its been done with Pac-Man that is a very simple game. Mk1 through 4, are hard to find at places with arcades. I wish if these games were remanufactured. And now they can use a better quality screen.

[@liquidasylum2362]

I find things like this very interesting, it combines my favorite things games and the story behind them

[@frogman34]

Kano actor looks like Kano in MK11

[@luisaguirre7761]

only real fans know these videos from MK Deception

[@dislikes2724]

I was trying to place where I’d seen this before but you’re right! Now I remember seeing them in MK Deception way back during the PS2 days. Good times

[@aurelionsolph]

When BARAKA, is KANO and turns out he is QUAN CHI 🤣😆

[@jlunas9230]

Broooo I remember watching this from the crypt or kontent in MK: Deception. Currently doing a play through now.

[@KaTiToYs_81]

Wow ive never seen this! Really great !

[@ThatTempesTGuy]

Ed boons eyebrows are a brutality in and of themselves

[@Wiizl]

Damn! This is pure gold!

[@GameAdmin90]

in 11:26 the Character Artist talk about Kabal , Richard Divizio he is represented the scene of Kabal but the video not exist

[@xSoporific1]

Beautiful

[@manduheavyvazquez5268]

Masterpiece ever. Greatness

[@TricellFilms]

Awesome Video :)

[@vassa1972]

Very cool I loved the series

[@ikkivp5631]

No one cooler than JAX, his name, his backstory, his arms. Absolutely, positively, AWESOME.

[@demonocusmetalocus3558]

Boon loves his free hits