It was the blunder seen ’round the internet: A muscular man dressed in a white martial arts robe launches himself into a back-flip but doesn’t quite make it, instead falling painfully flat on his face. Then he blindly staggers to his feet and lurches off the screen.
That 15-second clip, dubbed "Afroninja," is an outtake from Hollywood veteran Mark Hicks‘ (pictured) 2004 audition for a Nike commercial. The seasoned stunt man, whose resume includes multiple international awards and screen credits doubling for Chris Tucker in Rush Hour and Tyrese Gibson in Transformers, estimates the clip has been seen more than 80 million times since surfacing online a month after the audition.
Now, the 37-year-old Minnesota native is hoping to cash in on that flubbed stunt with action-comedy adventure Afroninja: Destiny, a movie he co-wrote, directed and starred in. The movie, which also features ’70s martial arts star Jim Kelly (Enter the Dragon) and Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons), picks up where the infamous "Afroninja" clip leaves off, but it’s no autobiography. Instead, it revolves around fictional character Reggie Carson, who takes the notorious spill and transforms into a warrior.
As Hicks and his production company, First Place Productions, negotiate with various distributors to get Afroninja: Destiny in front of an audience, the stunt man is looking to spin his 15 seconds of internet infamy into celebrity gold. He joins a growing throng of web celebs whose fame is splashing over into the mainstream, from South Park spoofs to Weezer’s recent "Pork and Beans" video.
Although today Hicks shows no signs of remorse — when Wired.com interviewed him, he was in between shoots for robo-thriller Terminator Salvation and Seth Rogen’s upcoming Observe and Report — two years ago it was a different story. Hicks encountered trouble landing work, and suffered the embarrassment of constantly being recognized as
Afroninja.
Wired.com caught up with him by phone to chat about the "Afroninja" aftermath, seizing second chances and the cult appeal of martial arts films.
Wired.com: What prompted you to morph the "Afroninja" clip into a movie?
Mark Hicks: The ultimate goal is to redefine who I am to the world. If that’s even possible. I would love to take this [experience] and do something with it. I never wanted to be recognized getting on a plane as "Afroninja." I definitely wanted fame — but not this way. Before ["Afroninja"] I was perfectly happy being an anonymous stunt man.
Wired.com: Did you ever think about just letting the clip fade into YouTube oblivion?
Hicks: People will not remember me for winning three stunt awards, or the projects I’ve done over the last 15-16 years. They’ll remember me for "Afroninja." So I figured, who knows, maybe i can generate a living from it.
Wired.com: By embracing the clip, you’re kind of reclaiming that fame and making it your own.
Hicks: People that don’t know me, or meet me for the first time, yeah, they do recognize me as Afroninja. They think I’m a buffoon. After seeing me on the internet, they get a conclusion of me and who I am. That’s tough. I have to prove myself.
| Views : | 881 |
| Released : | 17 February 2009 |
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