The Iron Chef Legend You Likely Didn't Realize Starred In John Wick 3

The "John Wick" series is loaded with a team of action stars who are old hands at the genre. From lead Keanu Reeves to co-stars like Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, and Willem Dafoe, there are plenty of seasoned hands behind the scenes helping to make the film series' rock-'em-sock-'em action pop to life and look not only realistic but edge-of-your-seat rootworthy. 

But the franchise doesn't just feature action stars doing their best to excite the audience. It also features some surprising faces — specifically this actor, who has a surprising role on the hit international and Food Network "Iron Chef" series of programs and a plumb part in "John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum." While chopping octopus into bite-sized pieces and trying to kill an assassin are entirely different disciplines, this actor can definitely do both with aplomb. And you won't have to look too hard to figure out who the lucky guy who can ace both disciplines is. 

The acrobatic Mark Dacascos has mastered a number of roles outside of his part as The Chairman for the "Iron Chef" series of programs. Per IMDb, one of those characters happens to be Zero in "John Wick: Chapter 3." Zero is an assassin who's also been excommunicated from The High Table just as Wick has but has been hired to take Wick out; he admittedly admires Wick's style and considers it an honor to be given the opportunity to murder him.

Dacascos admitted to Vulture that he'd been unexpectedly moved from a feature character to the lead villain, having been told that another actor filled the film's villainous lead. He recalled settling down to read the script on the plane ride to accept the role in California. "I'm now reading the script only for my second time. I'm ecstatic but also going, 'Holy smokes! I've got to put this backstory of this guy together. I've got to get in his bones and feel,'" he told the website. He also said that Zero's look — complete with a shaved head — was his idea.

Among many other roles, the very active Dacascos has portrayed Eric Draven in the syndicated program "The Crow: City of Angels," Wo Fat in 17 episodes of CBS' "Hawaii Five-O" reboot, and Mani in "Brotherhood of the Wolf." He was also Jimmy Lee in the big-screen version of "Double Dragon." There's no word whether he'll be participating in the upcoming Netflix reboot of "Iron Chef," but he's certainly staying busy.