Darren Shalawi, sometimes called Shahlawi, was an English actor, martial artist and stuntman. His last name is of Persian origin. The most famous screen character is Taylor Mylos from the 2010 film Yip Man 2.
The acting role of Darren Shalawi is primarily the roles of bad guys in martial arts films, for example, "Bloody Moon" and "Tai Chi Master 2". He starred in the Hong Kong television series Techno Fighters, American films Cataclysm, Captive Hero, Legion of the Living Dead, and the cult classic horror film Beyond the Times, filmed by German director Olaf Ittenbach.
In recent years, Darren has appeared in high-budget blockbusters such as 300 Spartans and Guardians, in the independent final editing project with Robin Williams, and as an actor and stuntman in a number of Uwe Boll films (including Bloodrain and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale ").
early years
Darren Shalawi was born on August 5, 1972 into a family of Iranian immigrants in the town of Stockport in the English county of Cheshire. At the age of 7, Darren began to study judo and engage in acting courses. He sought to achieve success as quickly as possible, since after exploring the films of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, Darren's main dream was shooting in action films. Later, at the age of 14, he began training at the Shotokan Karate School under the guidance of Sensei Dave Morris and Horace Harvey, and then also began studying boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai at Master Toddy's gym in Manchester.
First professional experience
At the age of 16, Darren Shalawi began his career in cinema and in the 1990s attracted the attention of Hong Kong film producer Bey Logan. In a commentary by Bey Logan himself on the DVD edition of the movie "Tai Chi Master 2, " Darren spent a lot of time in the producer’s house watching, studying and copying martial arts films from his personal collection. In an interview with the Persian Mirror newspaper, Darren Shalawi mentioned that Logan wrote a script for him, after which he went to Malaysia. However, upon arrival it turned out that there was no money for the shooting, and Logan’s partner Mark Houghton hired Shalawi to work as a stuntman. Darren later moved to Hong Kong to pursue his acting career.
Beginning of an acting career
In the mid-1990s, after moving to Hong Kong to pursue a movie career, Darren Shalawi was spotted by renowned director of action scenes and director Yuan Heping, who cast him as the bad guy opposing the character of Jackie Wu in the movie “Tai Chi Master 2” " At that time, Darren worked as a bouncer in a nightclub and as a bodyguard for visiting celebrities such as Patrick Stewart and Bruce Willis.
For quite some time Darren had to play bandits and assassins, as well as perform stunt tricks. In addition, in 1995 he tried his hand at the production field, being an assistant producer on the set of the film "Fire Angel". Darren had a chance to work in advertising: along with the famous Jackie Chan, he advertised beer in the video of a Taiwanese company.
After "Tai Chi Master 2" was released in Hong Kong movie theaters, Seasonal Films CEO Ng Siyuen and director Tony Leung Siu Hung saw the potential for a young actor and signed a contract with him to shoot in a joint American-Hong Kong movie "Bloody" the moon "(1997). All the shortcomings of this action movie are more than compensated for by the fighting scenes with Shalawi as a villain and the presence of such stars as Gary Daniels and Chuck Jeffries, so he is considered a cult among fans of martial arts films.
Work in films of other genres
Toward the end of his career, Darren Shalawi, whose photo has appeared more than once on the covers of magazines, has moved into the horror genre, having started working with the cult and scandalous German director Olaf Ittenbach, whose films are often banned due to extreme violence because of their cruelty. Shalawi starred and participated in staging in the films The Legion of the Living Dead and Beyond Time. The full directorial versions of these films are very difficult to find.
In 2004, Darren starred in the film "Final Cut", created by a young director Omar Naim and telling about the problems of preserving personal secrets in the future world.
Shalawi did stunts for films like The Chronicles of Riddick, Night at the Museum, 300 Spartans, and often appeared on screen in humorous episodic roles, such as the sleeping and unable to fight guard in the film In the Name of the King: History dungeon siege, where he replaced Ray Liott in battle scenes with Jason Statham, directed by Cheng Xiaodong. In an interview with Darren Shalawi, whose biography by that time already allowed him to be rightfully considered a star of the first magnitude, he said that he wanted to return to making films about martial arts after their collaboration with fighter star Mark Dacascos ended. At the same time, he appeared in several episodes of the series "Artificial Intelligence", as well as a guest star in the series "Reaper".
Ip Man 2
In 2010, Shalawi got the big role of villain Taylor's “Twister” Mylos in the film “Ip Man 2”, which starred Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Lynn Hung and Huang Xiaoming. Although Darren appears only in the second part of the film, his boxing matches with Sammo Hung and the final defeat in the battle with Donnie Yen are the culmination of the film, and the character of Shalawi acts as the main negative character. A bit later Darren appeared in the psychological thriller Little Red Riding Hood, and also played the role of Kano in the television series Mortal Kombat: Legacy.
Darren Shalawi played the role of Devon in the thriller “Package”, released on screens in 2013, where in addition to him such famous actors as Dolph Lundgren and Steve Austin starred. In the 2013 film Marine: Rear, Darren plays the role of Kaisel. Neil McDonough and WWE star Mike "Mies" Misanine also starred in this film.
The last years of the actor’s life
The last movie by Shalawi is the 2015 kickboxer, a remake of the famous 1989 action movie of the same name. Darren played Eric Sloan in this film. In addition to him, MMA fighter Alain Moussi, former WWE superstar Dave Batista, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, who played the main role in the original film, took part in the filming.
Personal life
Darren Shalawi has a younger sister named Elizabeth (born October 15, 1986) and brother Robert Shalawi. On February 28, 2000, Darren married Canadian kickboxer Lureine Andershut (born August 20, 1978). The couple broke up in 2003, they had no children.
