“Mortal Kombat” Star Darren Shahlavi Passed away

Martial Arts Actor, Darren Shahlavi paased away in his sleep on Jan. 14. Shahlavi was found unresponsive by his roommate in his Los Angeles home.

Best known for his roles as Kano in Machinima’s in Mortal Kombat: Legacy and as Constantine Drakon in CW series Arrow , the stuntman passed away apparently due to prescription medication overdose. Toxicology tests are currently underway to confirm the cause of the death. Darren Shahlavi was 42.

Born in Stockport, Cheshire, England, Shahlavi started training in Judo at 7 years of age, before moving to Hong Kong in the mid-1990s, to become a stuntman in action cinema. He was discovered by director Yuen Woo Ping, who introduced him as the bad guy in Tai Chi Chuan, a kung fu film.

During 1990s and 2000s Shahlavi was cast as supporting actor as a boxer fighting Eddie Murphy in I Spy and The Final Cut with Robin Williams. In addition to Mortal Kombat, he essayed the role of stuntman in movies like Night At The Museum, The Chronicles of Riddick, 300, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Ip Man 2, Watchmen, Continuum, and Alone in the Dar. He recently played the role of a genie hunter (a small role) in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and completed the shooting schedule of Pound of Flesh with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

The actor’s movie Ip Man 2, became one of the most successful Asian films at the box office in 2010. The cult classic was a semi-autobiographical story of Ip Man, Bruce Lee’s real-life kung fu master. He was married to Luraina Undershute for 3 years and is survived by his actress sister Elisabeth Shalavi. According to reports, Darren Shahlavi had a history of alcohol and drug abuse.

We pay our tribute to Darren, and our heartfelt consolations to his family. Hollywood will miss Darren, and we will never find his replacement.