The highly anticipated third installment of the John Wick movie franchise is set to be released in cinemas on May 17, 2019.

Of course, the movie will still follow the dangerously exciting life and ( mis )adventures of main protagonist and former hitman John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves. This time, Wick is on the run in New York City after being excommunicated from the international assassin’s guild for killing one of its members.

In Chapter 3 - Parabellum, Wick will face a new and vengeful antagonist in the character of Zero, which will is performed by Filipino-American actor Mark Dacascos. He can be seen at the 1:40 mark (pun intended) of the movie's trailer.

Dacascos is more popularly known as the chairman in both Iron Chef America: The Series and Iron Chef Australia. He was also Kung Lao in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, and Giyera, a Hydra operative with Inhuman abilities, in the Marvel series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Notice how they used the Filipino word for “war” for his character!)

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A trained martial artist since his childhood (kung fu and karate), Dacascos has portrayed many roles in the action genre. His performance as Mani, a member of the Iroquois tribe in the Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), earned him a lot of praise. The actor was even nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Saturn Award.

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Throughout his career, the 55-year-old hasn’t forgotten his Filipino roots. In 1996, he starred in DNA together with local Filipino actors Joel Torre and Tom Taus. In 2015, he also directed the action film Showdown in Manila, which was aptly shot in the Philippine capital and released as a Filipino-Russian co-production. Local actress Iza Calzado joined the roster of Hollywood and Russian actors, which included Tia Carrere and Casper Van Dien.

“I love the Philippines. I think there is so much beauty. The land, and the people and so much talent. It’s a joy to be able to show that in this film and I am so very excited and honored,” said Dacascos to Rappler of his stay in the country in 2015.

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Dacascos was born in Honolulu, Hawaii of a Filipino dad and Irish-Japanese mom. He's now married to American film and television actress Julie Condra, with whom he has two sons and a daughter.