Michel Qissi ( ar, ميشيل قيسي; born Mohammed Qissi on 12 September 1962) is a Belgian Moroccan actor, best known for his role as Tong Po in the 1989 martial arts film ''

Kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

''.

Biography

Qissi was born in

Oujda Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and moved to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

at the age of 2. He began training in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

at seven years old, and became an amateur champion in his weight class at 17. He also went on to study

Shōtōkan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throug ...

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

and

Kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

. He befriended

Jean-Claude van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...

at an early age and they grew up together with the same love for

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

s and training in

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

. In 1982, Qissi and Van Damme moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the hope of becoming action stars. In 1984 they both were cast as extras in the film ''

Breakin' ''Breakin (also known as ''Breakdance'' in the United Kingdom and ''Break Street '84'' in other regions) is a 1984 American breakdancing-themed musical film directed by Joel Silberg and written by Charles Parker and Allen DeBevoise based on a ...

'', before landing their big break in 1986. After obtaining an interview with

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon sp ...

Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested ...

, they secured a three-picture deal, the first of which was the highly successful ''

Bloodsport A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities characte ...

'', in which Van Damme starred and Qissi had a small role as a tournament fighter named Suan Paredes. In 1989, Qissi and Van Damme teamed up again for the film ''

'', in which Van Damme was the protagonist once more and Qissi the film's main villain, Tong Po. 1990 saw the pair make the film '' Lionheart'', in which Qissi's brother,

Abdel Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, mea ...

, played the villain. This was to be the last film Van Damme and Qissi made together for 16 years, but Qissi did go on to reprise his role as Tong Po in ''

Kickboxer 2 ''Kickboxer 2'' (stylized on-screen as ''Kickboxer 2: The Road Back'') is a 1991 American martial arts film directed by Albert Pyun and written by David S. Goyer. The film is the second entry into the ''Kickboxer'' film series, and stars Sasha Mi ...

''. He and Van Damme briefly appeared together in Kickboxer: Vengeance. In 2014, Qissi made the movie ''Bara'' with

Salar Zarza Salar may refer to: Places *Salar, Spain, a municipality in Granada *Salar, Murshidabad, a census town in West Bengal, India **Salar railway station *Salar, Uzbekistan, a town in Tashkent District *Kampong Salar, a village in Mukim Mentiri, Brunei ...

, in which he played a double role as Bara and Hamza. Qissi was also in a close relationship with fellow Thai Kickboxer Damien Tomley

Filmography

References

1962 births Living people Belgian male film actors Moroccan male film actors Moroccan emigrants to Belgium Belgian male karateka Belgian Muay Thai practitioners Shotokan practitioners Sportspeople from Brussels People from Oujda 20th-century Moroccan male actors 21st-century Moroccan male actors 20th-century Belgian male actors 21st-century Belgian male actors {{Belgium-karate-bio-stub