Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le shows off his acting chops Friday with the opening of the big-budget sci-fi thriller Pandorum. The film is Le's most high-profile acting role yet and is a significant step up after taking part in a cameo in his last flick.
"I'm excited to see the movie and I'm excited to see my performance. It's a big thing, " Le told FanHouse. "A lot of people don't realize – they think it's a small part like I had in Fighting but they just got to come out and watch the movie. It's a supporting lead part and I carry 70% of the action in the movie. I can say that my character had a lot to do with how the exciting the movie turned out."
Acting alongside Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster in the film, Le plays the character Manh, one of the crew members fighting for survival against mysterious creatures aboard a spacecraft.
"I'm very proud of the movie," said Le, whose entire dialogue in the film was in Vietnamese. "I spent two-and-a-half months in Berlin with rehearsals and filming the movie. I put a of work into the film and I'm proud of my work."
Le recently landed a leading role that finally prompted him last week to vacate his Strikeforce middleweight belt after zero defenses in the past 18 months. For Le, who fully intends on becoming a full-time actor once his fight career is over, a starring role was an opportunity he could not turn down.
"It's a project where I will be the star of the movie," Le said. "I'll be able to choreograph all the fight scenes. It's a nice vehicle for me and I'll announce it when everything's settled down after this whole vacating the belt. It's just one thing at a time."
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