Above Pic: Aoni Ma In Action!
Above Pic: Aoni Ma in a sexy dress! Ronnie Chung Image, Danny Shamon edit!
The 2012 year of action continues with newcomer Aoni Ma. Aoni may be a fresh face on the scene but her nearly two decade experience in martial arts, coupled with her enthusiastic attitude will propel her to the top of the action world. Aoni is fluent in Mandarin and will be working on a project in China later in 2012. Enough of my ramblings, time to listen to the insightful words of Aoni.
After a such a long time practicing Wushu what attracted you to acting?
First of all I came from a Wushu, Kung-fu family. My father has been a strong
influence on me for both martial arts and film. He was an action actor and a
stuntman in china around the 90s, but he decided to quit the business when I
was born. I guess part of my drive to pursue film and acting is to continue and
finish my father’s dream.
Is it hard to make the transition? What steps have you taken such as acting classes to further your career?
Speaking of making the transition from martial arts to Acting. Honestly I had no clue what direction to head to in the very beginning. I have been practicing Wushu and Kung-fu with my father since I was 6, and when I decided go into the business all I had in my mind was to be an ACTION star and totally ignored the fact that besides being a great martial artist I also need to be a great actress. My father’s master is Yu Cheng Hui (famous well respected action actor in china, since the first making of ShaoLin temple with Jet Li, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Chenghui) who is like a grandfather to me. He is the one who taught me the importance of acting. He believes that everybody should take an acting class once in their lifetime, because it will help you to understand yourself better. So he enrolled me in one of the best acting school in China “Beijing Film Academy” and mentored me about the business, from that point on, acting has been a big part of my life.
I majored in theater in college and after college I went on to couple acting schools in Hollywood to keep my craft fresh. Now I’m still taking classes every week at the Sport Of Acting with Vinny Guastaferro. I believe that acting is the same as martial arts, you have to keep up with the practice to get good, to get better.
I saw you worked on the film Cross as a stunt performer. What about stunt work, are you interested in doing falls, fights, and doubling for actresses?
Stunts… are very interesting to me; I want to be an actress that CAN and is
WILLING do my own stunts. I am very lucky to have many stunt friends that help me with things that I lack in the stunt field. I’m the type of person that’s always willing to learn, I might be an expert in Wushu, but there are thousands of other arts in the world, I believe I should be open minded and willing to learn and adapt. As far as doing high falls, wire works, fights, stage combat, those are the things that get me all hyped up. I love the adrenaline rush to it. I am totally down to do it when the opportunity appears.
Above Pic: Sexy Aoni Ma.
Have you done any modeling work? What about music video work?
I have done both modeling and music videos in the past. And honestly I love it as much as acting and martial arts. I love to tell stories though body movements, no matter if is in a photo or dancing in a music video.
I read on imdb that you are involved with Zalman King's new film
Kamikaze Love, how did your role of the defense class instructor come?
Hahah, I booked the role of self defense class instructor from a friend’s
recommendation. A friend of mine was working on the project and the producer
asked him if he knew someone that can teach a self defense class on screen. My friend called me right away because he had watched me teach a martial arts class in the past. His words to me over the phone were “ I know a lot of martial arts teachers but not many of them can be natural on screen, you are perfect for this part. I know you won’t let me down!” I remember thinking to myself, WOW, soooo much pressure. When I arrived on set, everything was great, I was very lucky to work with Zalman King and the crew, and they are just AMAZING.
What about Kantz's action horror Project Purgatory: Bejing, how did
that role come your way?
For Project Purgatory: Beijing, I knew Kantz for a while. I worked on couple of his
earlier projects, and we all had a blast. I’m very thankful that he always kept me
in mind for future projects. At first he had me in mind to play IP’s girlfriend
Sydney, but he scratched that idea and give me the character of GRAVE. The
idea was for me to have the character that’s able to fight and show off my skills.
And honestly I was very happy with the change. I do play well with the cold bitchy
assassin type of character, NO JOKES!
Any funny stories on the set of any of the films you have worked on?
Ohh myyyy, there are just too many! I have a very tomboyish personality, I love working with people, ALL types of people. So, hilarious stuff happens all the time. Okie, here is one, I was in China doing a show called “Jackie Chan’s The Disciple.” From our hotel to the location is about a 3 hour bus ride and of course on the first day I had no clue about the long ride. Before I went on the bus I had chugged 2 bottles of water to help me detoxify the cold I had at the time. NOT A GOOD IDEA. I was dying, and of course the bathroom on the bus was not working, and there was NO place to stop for me to go to handle my business. Being next to a group of guy co-workers was not the best thing either. They started to make waterfall sounds, talked about swimming, and made other water related jokes, OHHH mannn! I swear it was the most horrible 3 hour bus ride of my LIFE. And until today the guys still make fun of me for having the bladder of a 5 year old.
What are some other projects you have worked on?
I have worked on a couple of reality shows such as Jackie Chan’s Disciple, Miss
Asia and also America’s Next Action Diva. Independent feature films, and couple of the award winning shorts films such as “On The Edge” which won the Best Action Short Film of the year 2009 at the Action On Film Festivals. Live shows such as Power Rangers, and motion capture for video games. Honestly I am just willing to work, hahah I get my high from working.
Who are some of your acting influences?
I get my acting influences from everyone that I meet. I find PEOPLE fascinating
even if they are not in the film industry. I like the energy and persona that people send out. Call me weird but I believe that acting is very much related to everyday lives and characters.
What directors, actors, or actresses you would like to work with?
I have to say Angelina Jolie is the person I want to meet and work with. Of
course every actor (ME included) wants to work with James Cameron and
Steven Spielberg. But I would love to meet and work with Angelina Jolie because she is that strong woman role model that I look up to.
Above Pic: Sexy and Dangerous Aoni Ma
Chat about your favorite genre of film. (action, horror, drama etc...) What attracts you to it?
Of course my favorite genre of film would be ACTION FILMS. I grew up watching my father doing action on TV and it seriously inspired me to be like him or even better than him. I view action films in a different way, not just popcorn movie night on my couch, it’s more of what can I learn from it? What makes this film so awesome? How I can inspire myself to be better?
After a such a long time practicing Wushu what attracted you to acting?
First of all I came from a Wushu, Kung-fu family. My father has been a strong
influence on me for both martial arts and film. He was an action actor and a
stuntman in china around the 90s, but he decided to quit the business when I
was born. I guess part of my drive to pursue film and acting is to continue and
finish my father’s dream.
Is it hard to make the transition? What steps have you taken such as acting classes to further your career?
Speaking of making the transition from martial arts to Acting. Honestly I had no clue what direction to head to in the very beginning. I have been practicing Wushu and Kung-fu with my father since I was 6, and when I decided go into the business all I had in my mind was to be an ACTION star and totally ignored the fact that besides being a great martial artist I also need to be a great actress. My father’s master is Yu Cheng Hui (famous well respected action actor in china, since the first making of ShaoLin temple with Jet Li, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Chenghui) who is like a grandfather to me. He is the one who taught me the importance of acting. He believes that everybody should take an acting class once in their lifetime, because it will help you to understand yourself better. So he enrolled me in one of the best acting school in China “Beijing Film Academy” and mentored me about the business, from that point on, acting has been a big part of my life.
I majored in theater in college and after college I went on to couple acting schools in Hollywood to keep my craft fresh. Now I’m still taking classes every week at the Sport Of Acting with Vinny Guastaferro. I believe that acting is the same as martial arts, you have to keep up with the practice to get good, to get better.
I saw you worked on the film Cross as a stunt performer. What about stunt work, are you interested in doing falls, fights, and doubling for actresses?
Stunts… are very interesting to me; I want to be an actress that CAN and is
WILLING do my own stunts. I am very lucky to have many stunt friends that help me with things that I lack in the stunt field. I’m the type of person that’s always willing to learn, I might be an expert in Wushu, but there are thousands of other arts in the world, I believe I should be open minded and willing to learn and adapt. As far as doing high falls, wire works, fights, stage combat, those are the things that get me all hyped up. I love the adrenaline rush to it. I am totally down to do it when the opportunity appears.
Above Pic: Sexy Aoni Ma.
Have you done any modeling work? What about music video work?
I have done both modeling and music videos in the past. And honestly I love it as much as acting and martial arts. I love to tell stories though body movements, no matter if is in a photo or dancing in a music video.
I read on imdb that you are involved with Zalman King's new film
Kamikaze Love, how did your role of the defense class instructor come?
Hahah, I booked the role of self defense class instructor from a friend’s
recommendation. A friend of mine was working on the project and the producer
asked him if he knew someone that can teach a self defense class on screen. My friend called me right away because he had watched me teach a martial arts class in the past. His words to me over the phone were “ I know a lot of martial arts teachers but not many of them can be natural on screen, you are perfect for this part. I know you won’t let me down!” I remember thinking to myself, WOW, soooo much pressure. When I arrived on set, everything was great, I was very lucky to work with Zalman King and the crew, and they are just AMAZING.
What about Kantz's action horror Project Purgatory: Bejing, how did
that role come your way?
For Project Purgatory: Beijing, I knew Kantz for a while. I worked on couple of his
earlier projects, and we all had a blast. I’m very thankful that he always kept me
in mind for future projects. At first he had me in mind to play IP’s girlfriend
Sydney, but he scratched that idea and give me the character of GRAVE. The
idea was for me to have the character that’s able to fight and show off my skills.
And honestly I was very happy with the change. I do play well with the cold bitchy
assassin type of character, NO JOKES!
Any funny stories on the set of any of the films you have worked on?
Ohh myyyy, there are just too many! I have a very tomboyish personality, I love working with people, ALL types of people. So, hilarious stuff happens all the time. Okie, here is one, I was in China doing a show called “Jackie Chan’s The Disciple.” From our hotel to the location is about a 3 hour bus ride and of course on the first day I had no clue about the long ride. Before I went on the bus I had chugged 2 bottles of water to help me detoxify the cold I had at the time. NOT A GOOD IDEA. I was dying, and of course the bathroom on the bus was not working, and there was NO place to stop for me to go to handle my business. Being next to a group of guy co-workers was not the best thing either. They started to make waterfall sounds, talked about swimming, and made other water related jokes, OHHH mannn! I swear it was the most horrible 3 hour bus ride of my LIFE. And until today the guys still make fun of me for having the bladder of a 5 year old.
What are some other projects you have worked on?
I have worked on a couple of reality shows such as Jackie Chan’s Disciple, Miss
Asia and also America’s Next Action Diva. Independent feature films, and couple of the award winning shorts films such as “On The Edge” which won the Best Action Short Film of the year 2009 at the Action On Film Festivals. Live shows such as Power Rangers, and motion capture for video games. Honestly I am just willing to work, hahah I get my high from working.
Who are some of your acting influences?
I get my acting influences from everyone that I meet. I find PEOPLE fascinating
even if they are not in the film industry. I like the energy and persona that people send out. Call me weird but I believe that acting is very much related to everyday lives and characters.
What directors, actors, or actresses you would like to work with?
I have to say Angelina Jolie is the person I want to meet and work with. Of
course every actor (ME included) wants to work with James Cameron and
Steven Spielberg. But I would love to meet and work with Angelina Jolie because she is that strong woman role model that I look up to.
Above Pic: Sexy and Dangerous Aoni Ma
Chat about your favorite genre of film. (action, horror, drama etc...) What attracts you to it?
Of course my favorite genre of film would be ACTION FILMS. I grew up watching my father doing action on TV and it seriously inspired me to be like him or even better than him. I view action films in a different way, not just popcorn movie night on my couch, it’s more of what can I learn from it? What makes this film so awesome? How I can inspire myself to be better?
What is upcoming in 2012 for Aoni?
WOW, 2012! Hopefully I get the opportunity to work on bigger projects! So far I am casted on a project overseas in March and I will for sure keep everyone posted. Other than that I just have to get ready for what life throws at me. It’s going to be a GREAT YEAR!
Thanks to Aoni for a great interview. Smart, sexy, and talented; Aoni is always ready for action! Look for more on her on Dan's Movie Report in the near future. In the meantime check out her official website @ http://aonimatalent.com
WOW, 2012! Hopefully I get the opportunity to work on bigger projects! So far I am casted on a project overseas in March and I will for sure keep everyone posted. Other than that I just have to get ready for what life throws at me. It’s going to be a GREAT YEAR!
Thanks to Aoni for a great interview. Smart, sexy, and talented; Aoni is always ready for action! Look for more on her on Dan's Movie Report in the near future. In the meantime check out her official website @ http://aonimatalent.com
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