The transcript below is from the video “Cynthia Rothrock on Jackie Chan, Cannon Films and Yes Madame” by BTM Legends Corner.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Hello and good day everyone. Welcome back to the show. My name is Sean David. Thanks for tuning in. In today’s episode, we got a very special guest in the house. The one and only, the legend, Cynthia Rothrock.

Cynthia, how are you doing?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

I’m doing really great.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Good to hear, good to hear. Now, Cynthia, the first question that I always like to ask my guests is, with athletes it’s always, who was the athlete that inspired you the most? And since you were an athlete/ movie star, who was the martial artist that inspired you the most back in the 1980s and yeah, let’s say late 1970s?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

Yeah. Well, it had to be Jackie Chan because in the late 70s I was training in Eagle Claw: Ying Jow Pai in New York city and after we would train, my teacher would take us to Chinatown and we’d go have dinner. And then we’d always see a movie and that’s where I was familiar with Jackie Chan. You know, watching the old movie Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, Drunken Master and I just love the way he moved. I used to like, take the moves that he did, I saw on film and go home and practice them and what I really liked about it, you know, is that he because I loved weapons. I mean, that was the reason I switched from Karate to Kung Fu. But I would love the fact that he would take like a telephone and he would use it like a steel whip or, you know, any apparatus he could find. So I started doing that when I was a kid, you know, taking all that and I’d have to say yeah, he was one of my first inspirations.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Did you ever get the chance to tell him?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

I did. I did. It was really funny. I mean, the first day I met him, it was quite exciting for me. I was in Hong Kong and they’re like Jackie Chan wants to meet you. So they set up this meeting in like a karaoke place and when we went there, they brought in this and they’re like Jackie’s gonna sing for you. And I was like, oh my god, this is so exciting. So all these people are there. We go in this private room and Jackie comes in. Now at that time, he didn’t speak English too well, right? So we’re sitting there and all of a sudden, they’re like he’s gonna sing specifically for you, Cynthia. And he started singing this nursery rhyme “Three Blind Mice”. I was like, is this a joke? You know, do I laugh or what? But he was singing it like he was Pavarotti. You know, like with passion and everybody’s like this, looking and I was like, is there a hidden camera here or something. And then I realized it was serious because it was an easy song for him to sing in English.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Wow!

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

Yeah. So, that was a memorable moment in my lifetime – Jackie Chan singing Three Blind Mice to me.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Incredible! Incredible! Your start into movies was a very very interesting one. I know it because I’m a fan but for those people who don’t know how you got your foot in the door, how did you get to shoot your first movie in Hong Kong?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

Well, Yuen Corey was in L.A and they were going to hold a big audition looking for the next Bruce Lee. They were looking for a guy and I was on the west coast demonstration team which, you know, the guys were phenomenal and the editor, Paul Maslak of Inside Kung Fu said, hey, why don’t you bring the guys down. They’re looking to, you know, find someone to be the next Bruce Lee. And Ernie Reyes said, well, what about the girls? And he says, yeah, yeah, you can bring them down. But you know, they’re really looking for a guy. So we all packed up from San Jose, went to L.A, went to [inaudible] school to audition. There must have been about 200 people, martial artists, there and I got up in front of them and I did some weapons, I did self-defense, I did some free sparring, I did form. And Corey Yuen said, I want the girl. So that’s how it got started.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Unbelievable! unbelievable! Your first movie was actually or is my favorite Cynthia Rothrock movie, Yes, Madam. To me, that movie is incredible. I love the fighting sequences so much, I watch him at least twice a year. What do you recall from that shoot? Because Hong Kong is known to be, yeah, I have to say the toughest place where you can shoot an action movie because they really challenge you. You gotta take the bumps, you gotta take the falls. They basically do everything for a good scene. So how was it for you, being your first movie?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

Absolutely! Well, you know, I didn’t know anything about filming. So here I am, I’m thinking I’m going to Hans island. I’m on the airplane and I’m coming over and I’m looking at Hong Kong Bay. And I thought they were going to dress me as a Chinese girl because all I saw was [inaudible] films, you know, from going with my teacher. And I’m thinking, oh, I’m going to have black long braids and I’m going to have razor blades and I’m going to be swirling my braids around. And then I get there and they say, no, you’re gonna play Cindy, a cop from England. And I was like, oh, okay. And you know, it was lucky for me that I had no information about movies. So, I mean, yes, Hong Kong is the hardest place. I mean, you get hit hard. I mean, all I heard was Yuen Correy saying, hit harder, hit harder, right?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

And then, I remember my first scene in Yes, Madam, right? It was my first day of shooting, it was the airport scene and I was shooting it with Eddie Maher and he’s behind me and he has a tank top on. And I have to come back and hit him with an elbow, right? And Yuen Correy’s going, harder, harder and he’s in my ear. Eddie’s saying, you know, no, don’t. It hurts too much. And I’m like, who do I listen to, you know. But I’ve learned from that moment on that they really want realism, you know. That’s why the fights are real. They’re complicated because you know you’re doing like 30-40 moves at a time as fast as you can, as hard as you can and they’ll shoot this like maybe 30 times, just the one scene. That’s at least, you know. So, you get a lot of bruises. I got really hurt on that film many times. But I thought this is what filming is. And you know, with my training and my crazy attitude, I was like I can do this and I’m gonna just try my hardest and if I get hurt, I’m going for it, you know. So, it kind of I think doing Hong Kong movies set my lifestyle off on challenging and extreme adventures that I do now because I’ve always challenged myself to do the most dangerous things. And I think it came from Hong Kong movies.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Incredible! Now, it’s kind of interesting to see that your first movie was that extreme experience. I think it’s the best that could have happened to you because if you would have shot U.S production at first and then you go to Hong Kong and you see the difference. I think it’s easier the other way around, having the tough experience first and then going into the U.S and see, oh, okay. I can actually do a movie without getting beaten to pulp. But what do you think? Do you think it was better having first the Hong Kong movie?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

Absolutely! Absolutely! Because I’ve learned the hardest way. And I remember when we were shooting, I was shooting American movies, it’s like, oh, I’m on vacation, you know. And the stunt coordinator goes Cynthia, you don’t have to hit so hard. You don’t even have to hit. And I was so used to the Hong Kong style that, you know, it was easier for me to take it down a notch. Then I guess for someone to bring it up a notch. So, yeah, it was but that’s how I trained. When I was competing professionally, I always, like, did it as hard as I can, as strong as I can. You know, make my movements as realistic.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Yeah. In 1987, you shot the movie No Retreat, No Surrender 2 and I had Loren Avedon on the show not too long ago and I had Matthias Hues on the show not too long ago, and we talked a little bit about that movie. Obviously, my question to you is, did you know No Retreat, No Surrender 1 before you shot the second one?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

Actually, I didn’t but I think I kind of did my homework and found a little bit. And so I knew it had Van Damme in it and it also had Kurt McKinney in it. So, when I went to Hong Kong, they both pulled out at the last second. And when I was introduced to Loren Avedon from Correy Yuen, he introduced him to me as the character name, not his real name. And I thought he was Kurt McKinney and I was like, how could someone look so different on film and in person, right? And I remember that day, that exact day they told Yuen Correy that Van Damme wasn’t coming and that they were going to use Matthias Hues instead. So he was, like, kind of in for a shock. He wasn’t too happy that day but Matthias did a great job.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Yeah, absolutely. A question that comes to mind for me is, I was always a huge Cannon Film fan back in the 1980s because obviously, they had some of the craziest movies, some of the most outlandish movies but they also have some movies that we now consider called classics. Since they were so huge in VHS distribution, did they ever contact you to shoot a movie for Cannon Films?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

Yes. Actually, they did. There’s actually a horrific poster out there with me doing a jumping side kick in fishnet stockings and I hate it. I wish I could get them all and burn it. But yeah, I was going to do a picture with [inaudible] and I think it was almost at that time they were getting out of the business or getting into the business, so it never went. But it was very close to where you can see the poster out there. I can’t remember what the name of the movie was.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Oh, come on!

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

No, I really can’t. I can’t remember. I just remember that horrific picture that they used as a poster.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

All right, I believe you, I believe you. Now, finishing with the 1980s, I’m interested, who was the one guy that you wish you could have shot a movie with back in the 1980s?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

I would say Jackie Chan and I almost got to shoot with him. I was supposed to be in Armour of God. I was supposed to be the nemesis in that and that’s when he got hurt and he didn’t do movies I think for a year, a year and a half. Well, then Golden Harvest put me with Yuen Biao when we did Righting Wrongs instead. And then I did the China O’Briens and then my contract was over. So, I never got to do that and so I still today, wish that I could still do a movie with Jackie Chan because you know, like I said, he was my inspiration and I was in a movie that he produced and he was in it but we never had any scenes together.

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Oh! But that movie would have made so much sense to have you in the Armour of God, right?

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

Yes

Sean David (BTM Legends Corner):

Yeah, that totally would have made sense. That would have a perfect match

Cynthia Rothrock (Martial Artist & Actress):

Yes but then I went to do Righting Wrongs. I love that movie and I loved working with Yuen Biao. So, you know, it wasn’t that bad of a trade-off.