Here's Where You've Seen Mortal Kombat's Kano Before
The new Mortal Kombat trailer shocked and delighted fans this week with its faithfully violent fight scenes and familiar dialogue — but mostly with Sub-Zero's (Joe Taslim) slick frozen blood dagger attack. The trailer also gives a quick look at many of the characters from the long-beloved video game series that are coming to life once more on the big screen. Among their roster is Kano, the Australian leader of the crime syndicate Black Dragon, and nemesis of Sonya Blade. Known for his cybernetic chest and eye lasers, Kano has been around since the very first Mortal Kombat game, but it was actually Trevor Goddard's portrayal of him in 1995's Mortal Kombat that shaped him into the character he is now.
Australian actor Josh Lawson is taking up Kano's mantle in the upcoming film. It's an unusually action-heavy film for the actor, as he has more often appeared in comedies, but here's why he looks so familiar.
Josh Lawson played Tripp in The Campaign
Josh Lawson joined comedy giants Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis for their political satire The Campaign in 2012. It's neither Ferrell's best nor worst movie, but it is sure to elicit some laughs: Ferrell and Galifianakis play two opponents in an election for a North Carolina seat in Congress, whose efforts to sabotage each other quickly escalate into ridiculousness, even as a corruption scheme threatens to sway them from doing what's right. Lawson plays Tripp Huggins, the district attorney (and frat boy at heart brother) of Galifianakis' Marty Huggins.
"It was a dream come true, really," Lawson said about the part, and particularly the people he got to work with (via Collider). "You've gotta understand, I'm still the 15-year-old kid from Australia, looking at Will Ferrell and going, 'Holy s**t, it's Will Ferrell!' I'll never stop being that guy. But, when I get to do what I love to do, which is act, at the same time, then that's the dream."
Josh Lawson was in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
In the star-stuffed comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Lawson flexed his Australian accent to an incomprehensible degree as Kench Allenby, the head honcho of Global News Network. Kench's introduction in front of the GNN news team leaves them awfully confused and wondering, "Does anyone else speak Australian?"
The memorable scene was created on a whim when writer-director Adam Mckay asked Lawson to speak incoherently during a take of the scene (via Spotlight Report). Lawson told The Sydney Morning Herald that he was given some creative freedom in constructing Kench's character, so he researched "powerful Aussie men in the '80s" and decided he needed to be super obnoxious in a blonde wig. Lawson said, "[Kench is] definitely taking the most outrageous qualities of all these tycoons that we know and ramping it up a little bit."
Toward the end of shooting the movie, Lawson said he went out to eat pizza with several members of the cast, including Will Ferrell and Steve Carell. Out of all the more famous people with him, a woman came up and recognized Lawson from House of Lies. He couldn't believe it.
Josh Lawson was on House of Lies
For five seasons, Lawson played consultant Doug Guggenheim on Showtime's raunchy comedy House of Lies. Starring Don Cheadle (Marvel's War Machine) as the conniving management consultant Marty Kaan, alongside Lawson's Doug, Kristen Bell's Jeannie, and Ben Schwartz's Clyde, House of Lies thrives off their questionable (AKA illegal) business tactics and rampant sex jokes, as they swindle money from executives richer than them. As the resident number-crunching nerd of the group, Doug is the one who skews toward a moral compass, where the others shy away from one at all costs.
In an interview with IndieWire, Lawson talked about the series' run: "I feel like [Matthew Carnahan is] a very bold and adventurous creator and showrunner, and I think that Matt is unafraid to push boundaries each season. I think that gives each season a different feeling, you know? I think we've had seasons that are more dramatic than others. I think we've had seasons that are more dangerous than others."
Josh Lawson had a recurring role in NBC's Superstore
For a few years, Lawson played the recurring, egotistical pharmacist Tate on NBC's critically acclaimed sitcom Superstore. The series revolves around the lives of the employees of the fictional big-box store Cloud 9, centering on America Ferrera's assistant manager, Amy. While the first season took some time to find its footing, seasons 2 through 5 all earned themselves a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Emily VanDerWerff of Vox commended the series for capturing "an America TV rarely pays attention to" with its low-wage, retail worker characters.
Tate, however, is the store's pharmacist, who makes more money than anyone else working at the Cloud 9 store, and yet proves himself to be generally useless and unprofessional. He only appears in a handful of episodes across seasons 1 through 3, playing questionable doctor to the store's associates until his last episode, when he and Amy go on a date. She's quickly regretful of it, and he hasn't been seen since.