Darren Shahlavi

[Transk53]

Only just found about this bit RIP to Darren Shahlavi. Not exactly Mr Hollywood, but may recognise him mainly from Ip Man 2. He played "Twister" As much as I remember him from the above film and others, he possesed an outstanding skill set. I counted alongside Scott Adkins as superb British talaent, just had not found the right film. Well maybe, just finished filming JCVD's "pound of flesh" His cause death is as yet to be confirmed, but the conspiricy rumours will circulate soon enough.

Film career
After moving to Hong Kong in the mid-1990s to pursue a career in action cinema Shahlavi was discovered by famed martial arts choreographer and director Yuen Woo-ping, who signed him to play the bad guy opposite Jacky Wu in Tai Chi Boxer, at the time he was working as a nightclub bouncer and a bodyguard for visiting celebrities. After Tai Chi Boxerwas released in Hong Kong cinemas, Seasonal Films Corporation boss Ng See-yuen and director Tony Leung Siu-hung saw potential in Shahlavi and signed him for their Hong Kong and United States film Bloodmoon (1997), what the film lacks it more than makes up for in the action scenes with Shahlavi as the villain and stars Gary Daniels and Chuck Jeffreys, and remains a favourite with hardcore martial arts film fans.

Towards the end of his career, Shahlavi has moved into the horror genre working with cult German gore master and splatter filmmaker Olaf Ittenbach whose films are often bannedfor their extreme and graphic violence, Shahlavi starred in and choreographed fights in the films Legion of the Dead and Beyond the Limits. Unfortunately these films are hard to get in their uncut form. Occasionally Shahlavi had done stunts in studio films such as Universal Studios The Chronicles of Riddick, 20th Century Fox's Night at the Museum andWarner Bros' 300 often making an on-screen cameo as an inside joke such as the sleeping guard who can't fight in In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale in which he was the stunt double for Ray Liotta for the fighting scenes with Jason Statham which were choreographed by Ching Siu-tung. In a recent interview with Shero Rauf Shahlavi had expressed his desire to get back to making martial arts films and just completed work on a film with action star Mark Dacascos, and also appears in the Canadian TV showIntelligence and as a guest star on the ABC Studios U.S. Prime Time series Reaper.

In 2010, Shahlavi landed a major role in the film Ip Man 2 starring Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Lynn Hung, and Huang Xiaoming as the villain Taylor "The Twister" Milos. Although he only appeared in the latter part of the film, his boxing fights with Hung (as Hung Ga Master) and eventually defeat by Donnie (as Ip Man) form the climax of the film and eventually serves as the film's main antagonist. Shahlavi appeared in the psychological dark tale thriller film Red Riding Hood. Shahlavi appears in Mortal Kombat: Legacy asKano. Shahlavi played Devon in the 2013 film The Package alongside Dolph Lundgren and former WWE superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin. Shahlavi played Cazel in the 2013 film The Marine 3: Homefront, along with Neal McDonough and WWE superstar Mike "The Miz" Mizanin. Shahlavi appears in his final film in the 2015 film Kickboxer as Eric Sloane, remake of the 1989 film of the same name, along with MMA fighter Alain Moussi, former WWE superstar Dave Bautista and original Kickboxer film star Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Will be sadly missed. The below image is probably one that most will recognise.