Archive: Inside Cynthia Rothrock

Anyone who doubts that Cynthia Rothrock is the world's most popular action heroine should try accompanying her on a U.K. tour. Mobbed at a televised kickboxing event, cheered to the echo at a martial arts school and with queues around the block at a Blockbuster video appearance, the Divine Ms. R seems to be underappreciated rather than overexposed. Virtually every film and t.v. magazine in the country wanted to interview her. The trouble was that they all asked the SAME questions: How did you get into this business? Have you ever been hurt doing stunts? Would you like to play regular acting roles? Impact managed to catch up with Cyndy on her home turf in L.A., where we posed some real deal queries about her recent career. Our mailbag tells us that La Rothrock is everyone's fave rave babe, so it was only a matter of time before Hollywood producers became more aware of the undiscovered diamond in their midst. Her recent releases, such as the Indonesian-produced Angel of Fury and the Hong Kong financed Undefeatable, have less than impressed. The good news is that her CBS/FOX t.v. pilot Irresistible Force airs soon and she is currently making movies for American producers P.M. Entertainment, with their collaboration, Guardian Angel, getting a U.K. release sometime next year. Long time Rothrock associate Bey Logan poses the questions that YOU, the die hard Cyndy fans, want answered:

Bey Logan: Cyndy, the last few films you've released in the U.K. haven't been your best, and at the same time a couple of intriguing projects have been announced, but not made. Once movie I'd like to ask you about is the proposed erotic thriller from G.E.L., Dark Red...

Cynthia Rothrock: The company sent me a script for that movie, in which I'd have played a co-lead part. It wasn't an action piece. I said "I'll do it if you don't bill me. Don't put me in the credits." I didn't want it saying "This is a Cynthia Rothrock movie" and people seeing it and going "oh, she just ACTS!" I read the script and I said to the director: "This is really a good role, a great part. Just amazing." He looked at me and asked: "Do you think you'd be interested in playing the lead?", and I said "yeah, I think so", and he goes "Well, I don’t know if you could handle it..." He got a bunch of video tapes and he called me back and said "I think you could do it." They actually wanted to get Joan Severance for it. Then I started to get a bit nervous, because I'd thought "no, they're not going to get me to play the lead in a non-action picture..." There were heavy, heavy acting scenes in it. He called G.E.L. and they were really ecstatic that I wanted to do it, and that made me kind of proud, but I started getting nervous because it was an erotic thriller, and so drastically different. I had a problem with the film because it had nudity in it. The producers said: "We'll use a body double. We'll do anything to make you feel comfortable." I kept going back and forth. I called my mother and told her the story f the film, and she said "Well, I don't like that story. I don't think I'll go see it." My mother thought Fast Getaway was a pornographic film! That's how she is. She said to me, really sarcastically: "Well, you go to church and you ask God whether you should do this film and you'll get your answer." I said: "Morn, I went to church and I asked Hint and the answer came back 'Yes'!" I felt I had a lot to gain by doing the film. If I did it and pulled off the acting, then maybe people would look me as an actress, rather than a martial artist trying to act. If I DIDN'T pull it off, then the worst thing that could happen is they'd go "Well, we’ll never use CYNTHIA again as a lead in a non-action picture.", and I'd go back to my martial arts movies.

Bey Logan: So there was no fighting in this thing at all?

Cynthia Rothrock: Well, there is, but it wasn't martial arts fighting at all. The character is a serial killer, a psycho, and I found that very challenging. She's a famous artist who was abused by her father, and now she kills people who remind her of her father. She uses their blood in her paintings...

Bey Logan: Hence the title Dark Red...

Cynthia Rothrock: Actually, it was called Blade, and then when I said I wanted to do it they changed it to Dark Red because I'd just dyed my hair red at the time. The thing I like about it is that she's a bad person, but you still feel sorry for her. I was sent a similar script, but there was no redeeming quality about the woman. She was just bad from beginning to end. That wasn't something I wanted to do. Dark Red would have been a shock to a lot of people.

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