Onscreen and in real life, the Chinese-Canadian actor is expanding what he can do and who he can be.

PHOTOGRAPHY Jeremy Tan

There&rsquo;s a moment, early in our conversation with Ludi Lin, when he describes arriving in a new country. He doesn&rsquo;t talk about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hommessingapore.com/living/tumi-50-year-anniversary-gold-ccapsule-collection-travel-luggages-limited-edition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">itineraries</a>&nbsp;or places to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hommessingapore.com/living/world-energy-vortexes-destination-spiritual-travel-international-tourism-vacation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visit</a>. Rather, he speaks of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hommessingapore.com/living/cartier-perfumer-mathilde-laurent-interview-mens-scents-declaration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scent</a>. &ldquo;As soon as I fly in and look out the window from the airplane, I usually get a feeling about a place,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And once I step out of the airport, the first thing that hits me is the smell.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s an instinctive way of moving through the world. In Singapore, where he&rsquo;s taking a brief respite ahead of the global press tour for&nbsp;Mortal Kombat II, that olfactory impression is immediate. &ldquo;I love walking into the food courts here because you get assaulted by all the fragrances,&rdquo; says the Chinese-Canadian actor. &ldquo;Frankly, it&rsquo;s one of the best experiences.&rdquo;

He leans into the word &ldquo;assaulted&rdquo;, making clear the pleasure of it. To be overwhelmed, in this sense, is not to lose oneself but to become acutely aware of one&rsquo;s surroundings. For Lin, experience begins there, in the brief surrender to sensation. It&rsquo;s also, perhaps, how he approaches the characters he portrays.
Much time has passed since&nbsp;Mortal Kombat, directed by Simon McQuoid, first arrived in theatres and on HBO Max in 2021. Lin returns as Liu Kang, a fan-favourite from the long-running video game series, with an appreciation of how the role has shifted. &ldquo;Liu Kang has evolved, especially emotionally, in ways that mirrored my own life,&rdquo; he explains.

 Mortal Kombat II | Official Trailer II

Mortal Kombat II | Official Trailer II | In cinemas 7 May

As the story&rsquo;s moral centre, Liu Kang is driven by a clear sense of right and wrong. That conviction sharpens into a more personal pursuit of justice after he witnessed his Shaolin brother Kung Lao (played by Max Huang) fall in battle. &ldquo;It was easy stepping back into Liu Kang&rsquo;s headspace,&rdquo; Lin says. &ldquo;We picked up right where we left off.&rdquo;
It takes time, and a certain discipline, to achieve what actors often describe as a flow state. Lin does not subscribe to a particular approach, nor does he romanticise immersion for its own sake. Earlier in his career, he flirted with a more literal form of method acting, attempting to replicate the conditions of his characters&rsquo; lives as closely as possible. He has since moved past that.
&ldquo;When we filmed&nbsp;Power Rangers, I asked if I could live in a trailer, have it parked by the river, and live like how the character would,&rdquo; Lin recalls. Production, however, rarely permits such requests. &ldquo;Method acting or not, I try to incorporate a bit of everything.&rdquo; He continues: &ldquo;There&rsquo;s the character, and there&rsquo;s me. In the beginning, they&rsquo;re separate entities. And then, slowly, they come together.&rdquo;

The physical demands of the role, which are considerable, are approached with similar deliberation. For the sequel, Lin chose to build his frame, not simply to meet the expectations of an action film, but to show how the character&rsquo;s presence has changed. &ldquo;To give Liu Kang more stature, Simon and I decided I should bulk up.&rdquo; His regimen also includes daily stretching for at least 30 minutes, as well as incorporating kicking, aerial work and taekwondo into his training.
For a character that has existed across decades of gameplay and adaptation, fan expectations are inevitable. Liu Kang carries a certain weight for those who grew up with him, and getting him wrong isn&rsquo;t easily forgiven. Lin is aware of that pressure, but doesn&rsquo;t dwell on it; he has his own relationship with the character. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played both Liu Kang and Sub-Zero in the games,&rdquo; he laughs. &ldquo;To be honest, I prefer Sub-Zero.&rdquo;&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a small detail, but telling of a healthy distance that keeps nostalgia in check. &ldquo;One of my favourite things is watching fans' reaction,&rdquo; he adds. &ldquo;When you see that explosion of enthusiasm, you realise how much it means to them that we get it right.&rdquo;

Lin is based in Vancouver, where he spends much of his time hiking. &ldquo;The easiest way for me to get out of my head is to be in nature,&rdquo; he says. He finds inspiration everywhere: the world, the people he meets, even his dog. &ldquo;He reminds me to stay present, to live in the moment, and to be brave.&rdquo;
Stillness, however, doesn&rsquo;t come as easily. Lin describes a lingering awareness that doesn&rsquo;t switch off, even off-camera. &ldquo;Sometimes, even when no one&rsquo;s watching, I&rsquo;m still watching myself,&rdquo; he admits. One could argue that this is simply part of the job: acting demands a degree of self-surveillance, an ability to observe and adjust in real time. Taken too far, though, it can close off instinct.
Lin doesn&rsquo;t see it as a limitation, however. &ldquo;Sometimes I&rsquo;ll make a silly face, just to embarrass myself,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;If I can do that, then no one else can embarrass me more.&rdquo; It sounds frivolous on the surface, but it&rsquo;s a way of disarming oneself in order to let go. Performance may demand precision, but it also requires knowing when to release it.

Lin has spoken before about the limits of representation &mdash; how Asian characters are often confined to narrow roles. What interests him now is not just visibility, but range: the freedom to exist in a story without being reduced to stereotype. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m constantly building my identity,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;My ultimate goal is to be part of stories that bridge East and West.&rdquo;
This has led him to explore projects outside of action roles, including stand-up. Most recently, he joined the lineup for&nbsp;Comedy InvAsian III, a showcase of Asian comedians across the diaspora. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing better than making people laugh,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;As long as you accept that you&rsquo;re going to terrible at first.&rdquo;

&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played both Liu Kang and Sub-Zero in the [Mortal Kombat] games. To be honest, I prefer Sub-Zero.&rdquo;

Having grown up across multiple countries, Lin&rsquo;s sense of identity has never been singular. Neither are the stories he&rsquo;s drawn to. The work, then, is not just about inhabiting characters, but expanding them with complexity. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve realised in the past year that I still have so much to learn about myself,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The potential to grow has surprised me. If you ever think, &lsquo;I would never do this&rsquo;, you might surprise yourself.&rdquo;
Mortal Kombat II&nbsp;premieres in cinemas 7 May.

GROOMING Angel Gwee using Davines and Dior Beauty
SPECIAL THANKS TO Frasers House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Singapore

Ludi Lin on Reprising His Role as Liu Kang in 'Mortal Kombat II'

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