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- Mortal Kombat’s Sisi Stringer Applauds The Kick-Ass Diversity of the New Mortal Kombat Movie
Mortal Kombat’s Sisi Stringer Applauds The Kick-Ass Diversity of the New Mortal Kombat Movie
by
Anita Anabel
Instagram @SisiStringer
Sisi Stringer may only have a few lines in the brand-new Mortal Kombat film, but this bubbly Australian is the definition of “watch this space”.
The young actor is not only proud to partake in one of the most physical fights in the film (between Mileena and Jess McNamee’s Sonya Blade) — her favourite scene by far — but she also is “proud” to be part of such a diverse core cast.
“[The thing] I’m most proud of about this film is that it has a wonderfully diverse cast,” Stringer told POPSUGAR Australia during an interview before the film’s premiere. “Now is the time, if there’s any time, to have a cast led by Asian men, with everything that’s happening in America. The diversity of the cast brings such authenticity to the characters as well. Everyone’s just amazing.”
Stringer, who is a fierce advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement, is vocal about her involvement in the cause, even marching in the rally in Sydney in June 2020.
“There’s been a lot of violence and a lot of deaths of black people in America at the hands of the police in the justice system. And we see that a lot in Australia as well — the way that indigenous people are treated. There are so many deaths in custody. It’s such an important time to be a part of the movement and that’s something, as a black person, that I can personally relate to, to my core, in my soul. It’s not often you can say ‘I know how you feel’.
She continued: “I think it’s really important for young kids who are seeing people that look like them being traumatised or having violence committed against them, for those children to see people who look like them as heroes, as sex symbols, as three-dimensional characters, as complex individuals with authenticity and no tokenism. No racism, none of that cr*p. So, I don’t think there could be a better time for this film to come out and I’m very, very excited and very proud of it.”
As for her character’s kick-ass stunts, Stringer did them all herself, and was trained by the best senseis in the country.
“I did about three months of training while I was still in Brisbane and then when I went to Adelaide, I did another month before I started shooting. It was kind of like gymnastics, Muay Thai, kickboxing, stick work, all of that kind of thing.
“I also had my stuntwomen and all the stunt guys who were amazing to help me train as well when we’re on set and we’re learning choreography and stuff, but I used to dance when I was a kid, so the physical work when I got into the rhythm of it, it came to me quite easily.
After more than two decades in development, Mortal Kombat is expected to be a smash hit, bringing to life fan favourites including Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Kano, and Raiden.
The story centres around Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a mixed martial arts fighter with a mysterious birthmark who suddenly finds himself the target of Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim). To protect himself and his family, Cole joins a collection of warriors who have been selected to keep Earthrealm safe from the forces of Outworld.
With the help of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and others, Cole embraces his destiny as a fighter and prepares to face off against the Outworld enemies in a battle for the future of the universe.
The core cast features Lewis Tan as Cole, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Australian actors McNamee as Sonya Blade and Josh Lawson as Kano plus Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson “Jax” Briggs, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung.
See the highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Mortal Kombat at HOYTS first on Wednesday, April 21. Book your tickets here.