Mark Dacascos – One Night in Bangkok

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) Please tell us the premise for the new film One Night in Bangkok.

A) There is this foreigner who goes to Bangkok. He hires a cab driver to take him around to different locations and over the course of the evening you find out why he is there, who he is meeting and what he is actually doing. It gets very intense. It’s a slow burn thriller with some action and really a character-driven story about family and the loss thereof.

Q) How was your character Kai Kahale originally described to you?

A) He was a father and grandfather. A very peaceful man. Not a professional killer or fighter at all. He had some military background years ago, but the last few decades he has been an accountant for a coffee company. Then, something very tragic happens to some of his family. Justice is not served and he takes it upon himself to rectify the issues.

Q) You’re already in great shape, but did you need to change up your routine to physically prep for the role?

A) I feel like for this particular role I was physically ready to go. In real life, I’m not a grandfather yet. But I do have three teenaged kids. I am married. So, there were a lot of things that I could tap into without having to push my imagination too far. Really it was just I suppose, for me, to just go deeper into family and then to imagine this guy’s turmoil with what happens in the story. So, physically I didn’t have to train other than just keeping up with what I sort of do in my week to week training regimen. I run mountains and I still do some acrobatics and yoga. With Martial Arts, my parents were teachers before I was even born. So, I’ve been in marital arts all my life. I have to say, fortunately for me, physically I was prepared for this.

Q) Talk about working with director Wych Kaosayananda.

A) This was my third time working with Wych. We did a movie many, many years ago – a kids movie. Then, we did The Driver a couple of years ago right after John Wick. This is our third collaboration and the nice thing about working with friends is 1) it’s super fun and 2) we professionally we know how each of us works and flows and how to tap into that creativity as a unit – as a team. So, from beginning to end…Although this is not exactly a happy story, we had a great time on the set and the great thing is when you do feel relaxed with whomever you’re working with, of course you are relaxed, you’re breathing, you’re grounded it’s much easier to tap into the imagination and let the emotions flow, which was very necessary for this film. It was high emotions and a lot of intensity.

Q) Were you familiar with any of your costars before working with them on this film?

A) Yes, actually. One of the Thai actors, we worked together years ago. He actually plays my wife’s husband. She is in this movie as well and this is our third movie together and our second movie together with Wych. Then, our lead girl Vanida Golten came in and read. And she was just lovely and so talented and so vulnerable and open. She was lovely, from beginning to end. This was her first lead role in a feature film and I think she did a fantastic job.

Q) With such action-packed scenes, how did you shake off a long day of filming?

A) So, that’s the thing – it’s high intensity and there are lots of emotions going on and how do you let that go? For me, I love taking walks. That’s kind of, sort of, my release – a walking meditation. So, usually after we’d finish, we go back to the hotel and I take a fifteen, twenty- or thirty-minute walk and without my cell phone. Just eyes and ears, breathing, observing what is going on in life and feeling my feet on the ground. Finding my breath again and kind of shake off whatever tension I had from the scenes that we were doing. Walking is my thing. That’s how I usually release and relax.

Q) What do you think it is about One Night in Bangkok that will make it a fast fan favorite action-adventure film?

A) That is a good question because if people see it as an action movie – there is nothing wrong with that, of course. Myself, I find more of a slow-burn thriller with some action. I think what keeps it moving is the relationship, the dynamic, between Kai (my character) and Vanida’s character – the cab driver – because it keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. Each stage in our story stakes get higher and much more dangerous. Who is going to survive? Who is not? What is the real motive? All of these things going on with the beautiful backdrop of Bangkok. Very colorful. I think Wych, our director, just did a great job in highlighting the beauty of the city. I think Wych did a really great job of capturing that. There is the universal story of love and loss with the exotic backdrop of Bangkok. I have to tell you, what is really great was I was there for almost four and a half weeks and I don’t know…I can’t remember sharing one car honk. It may be the culture or practicing Buddhism, but the people are so incredibly patient and tolerant. It’s lovely. And clean! They keep the streets so clean. They have pride. So, I certainly recommend if you get a chance to go. It’s a lovely country.