James Ryan

[AlbertV]

Born on October 15, 1952 in South Africa, James Ryan practically became a household name when he starred in a 1977 martial arts film called Karate Olympiad. The film, released internationally as Kill or Be Killed, featured choreography by Shihans Stan Schmidt (the father of Karate in South Africa, 1936-2019) and Norman Robinson, who trained Ryan for the film. 

The success of the film in the U.S. led Edward I. Montoro, founder of Film Ventures International to finance a 1981 sequel, Kill and Kill Again. There, Ryan would team up with Schmidt, Robinson, South African actor Bill Flynn, Ken Gampu (who starred as the lead in the 1st South African film to feature an all black cast, the action film Joe Bullet), and Miss World Anneline Kriel. The film did pretty well upon its release and a third installment was to be made, until FVI were sued for copyright infringement when their film Great White blatantly copied Jaws., leading to Montoro taking $1 million and disappearing and FVI was officially closed down. 

Ryan continued success in his native South Africa as a film and TV actor. He worked on many co-productions and kept up his martial arts training. He showcased his skills in The Last Hero, an hard to find film he wrote and produced and Kickboxer 5: The Redemption, where he played the main villain Negaal who fights Mark Dacascos.

 

[AlbertV]

The Blu-Ray for Kill and Kill Again actually has a commentary/interview track with James Ryan. Ryan said he had started martial arts as a kid and had a passion for sports. From what it sounded like, he may have stopped for a while, perhaps while he went to London to study at the Royal Academy of Arts, but he was approached by the late director Ivan Hall, who brought Ryan to the late Stan Schmidt, who trained him in fight choreography.

The commentary/interview is pretty much a retrospective of his career. He talked about being offered a 3-picture deal with Film Ventures International after Kill and Kill Again but he turned it down because his son was going to be born. Instead, FVI was going to plan a 3rd film called Most Dangerous Man and the film was to team Ryan up with Sharon Stone (Yes...THAT Sharon Stone), but of course FVI shuttered when they were sued for a clone of Jaws. 

He talked about working with Oliver Reed (who actually met Ryan years before in London when he was studying acting there); Cameron Mitchell, laughed at how bad Space Mutiny is..he knew it would be a bad movie. He did talk a bit about Kickboxer 5 as well, saying how much he was impressed with Mark Dacascos and amping up his martial arts training for Negaal. He encourages martial arts as well and thanks the fans for their support. 

Edited July 31, 2021 by AlbertV

[AlbertV]

James in Kickboxer 5: The Redemption

The Fly (the late Stan Schmidt), Gorilla (the late Ken Gampu), Hot Dog (the late Bill Flynn), Steve Chase (James Ryan), and Kandy Kane (Anneline Kriel) in Kill and Kill Again.

James in Kill or Be Killed
 

Edited August 2, 2021 by AlbertV