Liang Yang

Liang Yang
Born	(1980-03-26) March 26, 1980 (age 44) Harbin, China
Nationality	Chinese
Occupations	Actor stuntman martial artist
Years active	2007–present
Known for	Star Wars: The Force Awakens Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Awards	SAG award for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture (shared) SAG award for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series (shared)

Liang Yang (born March 26, 1980) is a Chinese actor, stuntman and martial artist. He is known for his work in the Hollywood film industry in movies such as Skyfall, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Work

Yang first appeared as a stunt performer in 2007 with the action movie Underground.^[1] In 2011, he debuted in Hollywood with the movies Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and X-Men: First Class.^[1][2] In 2012, he played a brief role in the James Bond movie, Skyfall, opposite Daniel Craig.^[1] At 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Yang, along with the rest of the stunt team of Skyfall, received the SAG award for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture.^[3] Yang was the stunt double for Emily Blunt in the 2014 movie Edge of Tomorrow.^[4]

For the 2015 movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Yang played the role of a stormtrooper, engaged in a battle against Finn, portrayed by John Boyega.^[1][5] He was ultimately shot by Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in the movie. Yang also helped train Daisy Ridley for her role as Rey in the installment.^[6][7] Yang was also seen as Pedro Pascal's (who played Oberyn Martell) stunt double in the HBO series Game of Thrones,^[8] for which he, along with his team, won the SAG award for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series.

Yang trained Felicity Jones for her character, Jyn Erso, and Donnie Yen who played Chirrut Imwe, in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the 2016 prequel to the Star Wars original trilogy.^[9][10]

In 2018, he made his most notable appearance in the action movie, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, in a bathroom fight scene against Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill where he briefly played the role of a decoy villain.^[11] His character was eventually shot by Rebecca Ferguson. The scene was reportedly shot over a month, with Henry Cavill calling the shoot "uncomfortably long" and stating afterwards that he was "shattered".^[12] Cavill went on to praise Yang as a "true champion of ability and especially character."^[13]

Liang Yang was chosen as fight coordinator for the 2022 Marvel movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,^[2] and 2023 movie, The Marvels.^[14]

Filmography

Year	Movie/ TV show	Notes
2007	Underground[1]	First appearance
2008	Phoo Action
2008	Bodyguard: A New Beginning
2011	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides[2]	Hollywood debut
2011	X-Men: First Class[2]
2011	Johnny English Reborn
2012	Snow White and the Huntsman
2012	Skyfall[1][3]	Cast as a bodyguard
2013	World War Z
2013	Rush[1]
2014	Edge of Tomorrow[4]	Emily Blunt's stunt double
2014	Game of Thrones[8]	Appeared in 1 episode; Pedro Pascal's (Oberyn Martell) stunt double
2014	Dracula Untold
2014	Exodus: Gods and Kings
2014	Kingsman: The Secret Service
2015	Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
2015	The Martian	Appears in second movie directed by Ridley Scott
2015	Star Wars: The Force Awakens[7]	Plays the role of a stormtrooper, FN-2199, engaged in a battle against Finn, portrayed by John Boyega. Yells out "Traitor!", the voice of which is provided by David Acord.
2016	The Huntsman: Winter's War
2016	Rogue One: A Star Wars Story[9]	Fight coordinator.
2017	Star Wars: The Last Jedi
2018	Pacific Rim Uprising
2018	Solo: A Star Wars Story
2018	Mission: Impossible – Fallout[12]	Briefly played the role of a decoy John Lark (villain), in a bathroom fight scene against Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill. His character was finally defeated by Rebecca Ferguson.
2019	Shanghai Fortress
2020	Wonder Woman 1984[15]	Fight coordinator
2022	Morbius
2022	Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness[2]	Fight coordinator
2022	Jurassic World Dominion
2023	American Born Chinese[16]	Fight coordinator; 1 episode
2023	Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
2023	The Equalizer 3
2023	The Marvels[14]	Stunt coordinator

References

1. "Liang Yang | Wiki | Star Wars Amino". Star Wars | aminoapps.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
2. "Liang Yang". The Ronin. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
3. "'Skyfall,' 'Game of Thrones' Receive Stunt Honors at SAG Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. 2013-02-01. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
4. Molyneaux, Maurice (2024-02-10). "What Edge Of Tomorrow Looks Like Before Special Effects". SlashFilm. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
5. Team, StarWars com. "Meet FN-2199, a.k.a. TR-8R: The Stormtrooper Behind the Meme". StarWars.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
6. Carpenter, Nicole (2016-04-26). "Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Daisy Ridley shows off martial arts skills". IGN India. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
7. "Daisy Ridley struggled to master her lightsaber". 8days. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
8. "'Goodbye, face': An oral history of the Mountain vs. the Viper from 'Game of Thrones'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
9. Fitness, Men's (2018-06-28). "How to kick ass like martial arts master Liang Yang". Men's Journal. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
10. Taylor, Chris (2017-03-26). "The difference in Jyn: How Felicity Jones became a badass for 'Rogue One'". Mashable. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
11. Cotter, Padraig (2021-01-16). "How Mission: Impossible 6's Bathroom Fight Was Filmed". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
12. Meyer, Joshua (2023-06-03). "Mission: Impossible — Fallout's Bathroom Scene Took An 'Uncomfortably Long' Time To Film". SlashFilm. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
13. ""I was shattered after the work": Henry Cavill Couldn't Take it After 'Uncomfortably Long' Mission Impossible 6 Fight Scene With Tom Cruise". fandomwire.com. 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
14. Rivera, Joshua (2023-11-08). "The Marvels is a fun party thrown at the end of Marvel's worst year". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
15. Nolan, Liam (2022-09-22). "Cut Scarlet Witch Fight Footage Evokes Brutal Mortal Kombat Fatalities". CBR. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
16. Gallardo, Christopher (2023-05-25). "'American Born Chinese' Review: An Epic And Beautiful Cultural Story". The Hollywood Handle. Retrieved 2024-02-21.