Michael Dudikoff is an American actor of Russian origin, remembered by the audience primarily for his leading role in the movie "American Ninja". In Russia in the early nineties, this film was distributed on cassettes in a monophonic amateur translation and was very popular. But, of course, this is not the only role of the actor …
Childhood, youth and first work in cinema
Michael Dudikoff was born in October 1954 in California. His mother was French-Canadian, and his father was Russian (and he even taught his son to speak a little in the language of his historical homeland). Michael graduated from high school in the town of Redondo Beach, after which he was educated at Harbor College in the field of Child Psychology.
One of Michael's hobbies during his studies was bodybuilding. After becoming the champion of several competitions in this sport, he was offered a job in show business (more specifically, it was a job as a model) and he agreed. Then he began acting in commercials and playing small roles in the TV series "Dallas" and "Happy Days."
In 1980 he got his first role in a full-length film - in the detective story "Black Ball". However, this picture did not have a serious success with the audience, and the character of Michael Dudikoff is secondary here. After that, he took part in the films Bloody Birthday, Rare Courage, Throne, Best Girl in the World and Bachelor Party.
Especially worth mentioning about the work of Dudikoff in the futuristic action movie "Radioactive Dreams". Here the actor actually got the main role for the first time. By the way, this action movie even won the Grand Prix of the Fantastic Film Festival in the French city of Avoriaz.
Participation in "American Ninja" and other action films
Dudikoff's true finest hour came when he played US Army private and martial artist Joe Armstrong in American Ninja. With a budget of one million dollars, this action movie grossed more than 10 million at the box office - a very good indicator!
The release of "American Ninja" on the screens made the 31-year-old actor very famous. Interestingly, up to this point, Dudikoff was just a bodybuilder, and only after the success of the film, he began to seriously engage in martial arts. Later there were four more sequels to "American Ninja", but Dudikoff starred in only two of them.
In the second half of the eighties and in the nineties, the actor became a regular hero of action films, along with, say, Steven Seagal and Dolph Lundgren. His track record includes such action films as "The River of Death" (1989), "Living Shield" (1991), "Save Me" (1993) "Under the Order" (1994) "Cyberjack" (1995), etc..d.
Long career break and return to the screens
In the late nineties, the action movie genre fell into decay, which, of course, could not but affect the biography of Dudikoff. In 2002, he decides to leave the world of cinema for a while.
And two years later, in 2004, an important event happens in Michael's personal life - he marries a girl named Belle. This marriage still lasts.
In 2013, Dudikoff suddenly returned to the big screens. First, he starred in the cameo role of Mr. Smith in the blockbuster "The Fall of Olympus", then played the main role in the Italian crime film "Turn Left" (2014). And a year later, he took part in the horror movie SEALs vs. Zombies (2015). Dudikoff's last known work to date is his role in the film Fist Fury and Golden Fleece (2016).
