INT: Matthias Hues

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The Arrow
interviews Matthias Hues

Best
known for his role as the villainous drug dealing alien in “I Come in
Peace”, Matthias Hues is an imposing presence. I was watching the
extras on the “Legion of the Dead” dvd recently and the first thought which
sprung to my mind as he was being interviewed was “Man, this dude seems like a nice guy”.
Prompted by that feeling, I looked him up, asked for an interview
and sure enough…here it is!

1- What’s your
favorite horror movie?

My favorite horror movie must be
“The Ring”. I think it was suspenseful and creepy without using cheap
tricks to gross you out. Everything was a mind screw combined with
fears in all of us commonly shared in modern times by the use of
the internet etc…but mixed with good old fashion horror.

2- You come from a
martial arts background. May I ask what style you studied and
what championships you held (or still hold)?

I started with karate and then
moved over to judo and kickboxing. I never did fight in
competition, I was a pentathlon athlete…

3-
How did you
fall into acting? Was it a life long goal or did you stumble into
it?

I walked into Gold’s in Venice,
talked to the manager Derek Barton, one of Hollywood’s former great
stuntman and now manager of Gold’s heading the acting and model
department and said: “I’m new in town and I want to be an actor in
action movies”. He gave me a free membership and I made Gold’s my
first home, so to speak. He called me three weeks later and said
someone called him looking for a big kickboxer to replace Jean
Claude Van Damme in “No Retreat No Surrender. I went to see the
producer, they hired me on the spot and off I went to Thailand for
my first gig. I thought I was dreaming, but it turned out to be for
real and started it all.

4- I first took
notice of you in “I Come in Peace” (fun movie).
Can you share some memories from that shoot?

“I Come in Peace” was the best time
that I’ve had in my entire life. I think I born to play this guy.
When I went in to read for director Craig
R. Baxley, he said: today is your lucky day, this role is written
for Dolph but he doesn’t want to be the alien– which is actually the
star of the movie. Do you want it? I wanted it but he
also said: “You have to do all your own stunts because you are too big to
double”. Hey, what did I know! I went for it and had the best time of my
life. I loved the rush of jumping over cars and jumping off things
on fire.

5- Since you
opponent in “I Come in Peace” was also a “Martial Arts” artist
(Dolph
Lundgren); did it make it easier on you when it came to the fight
sequences?

Dolph is a great fighter and it was
great to do some stuff with him, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. I
would’ve loved something more like in “Universal Soldier”, the fight
he had in the end with Van Damme.

6- Was there ever
talk of sequel to “I Come in Peace”?

I COME IN PEACE 2….yeah, tell it
to the producers…I did! The rights were sold to MGM. I had lunch
with the boss over there and he liked the idea so we’ll see what
comes out of it. Keep your fingers crossed…

7- You played a
Klingon in Star trek 6. Was it fulfilling for you as person to know
that you appeared in one of cinema’s most enduring sci-fi series? Or
was it just another gig?

Actually,
that was a dream come true:
to meet the real crew of the Enterprise, whom I basically grew up
with. The best was walking around in the space ship at lunch when I
was all alone in it. For a moment, it all became real, like the
Twilight Zone. It was all quiet, me alone in this huge space ship and
then….stuff happened and it felt like light years had gone by, but hey, they told me
that I cannot talk
about it…..not to anybody!! ( I had no idea this
thing was flying for real…)

8- Of all the
movies you’ve done, which would you qualify as your favorite in
terms of acting performance?

Let’s see…I
guess I would say “Age of
Treason” with Brian Brown since it gave me a chance to do something different, playing
a fish out of water, so to speak. Runner up would be “Alone
in the Woods”. That was a stretch to what I normally play
as well. It’s a comedy for kids.

9- Of all the
fight scenes you’ve done, which one are you most proud of (I loved
the one in “Kickboxer 2”)?

Best fight scene had to be the one
with Billy Blanks in TC 2000 or the Talons of the Eagle…he is just
the best fighter out there…

10- You play
Togaio in the recently released on DVD “Legion of the Dead”. You
seem to have had fun with the role. How was the shoot and how did
you approach the part as an actor?

Legion was fun, but
there wasn’t enough for
my character to develop in the way that I wanted him to be. I would’ve showcased his power in many more ways. He never had
the chance to use his superior physical strength as he never
participated in any fights or other combat…

11- What’s next
on your plate? When will we get to see Matthias Hues on the
screen again?

It looks like I
will be playing in the movie “The Zodiak Killer” starting early
next year and then move on to do “Kickboxer 6”– at least
I think that’s what it is…haha,
they keep ’em coming!! Just missed out on a lead role in “Tomb
Raider 2”, went to England to meet with the guys, but
they went with someone else in the end. Anyway, they just called me
back for another big movie, but I can’t say what it is yet–
just keep your
fingers crossed…it’s huge!

I’d like to thank Matthias for his time and wish him the best of luck in all
of his ventures. Again, this was one of those times where I felt that
the person I was interviewing was “one class act”. Keep kicking it,
Matthias!