10 best Asian action movie stars working today, from John Wick 4’s Donnie Yen to Ong-Bak’s Tony Jaa and Attack on Titan’s Rina Takeda

Ip Man and Rogue One star Donnie Yen spent most of the ’90s fronting lacklustre martial arts vehicles before he found success with 2005’s SPL, aka Kill Zone

Charismatic Korean heartthrob Lee Byung-hun flits effortlessly between romantic and action roles, and has appeared in Hollywood films such as G.I. Joe and Red 2

Reading Time:4 minutes

Donnie Yen in a still from Ip Man. It wasn’t until 2005’s SPL that Yen found critical and commercial success – as well as hard-fought global recognition. Photo: Mandarin Films

Published: 4:15am, 24 Jun 2021Updated: 4:45am, 24 Jun 2021

Simu Liu is poised to become the next big Asian martial arts star with the imminent release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, in which the China-born actor stars as Marvel’s first Asian superhero alongside Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Michelle Yeoh.

Meanwhile, Henry Golding, the British-Malaysian heartthrob from Crazy Rich Asians, also pivots to action hero in July’s Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins.

Both of these films arrive hot on the heels of the James Wan-produced reboot of video game favourite Mortal Kombat, starring a few of Asia’s hottest martial arts talents.

As news breaks that action veterans Donnie Yen Ji-dan and Hiroyuki Sanada have both been cast in John Wick 4 – arguably the high water mark of ongoing action franchises – we have come up with a list of our top 10 favourite Asian action stars working today.

Donnie Yen

Undeniably Asia’s most successful action star right now, the Ip Man and Rogue One star has scored a string of recent home-grown hits and Hollywood blockbuster appearances.