Mission Impossible

The tale of one man’s journey from the Algarve to China and Hollywood.

My interview with Paul Clark in 2018 still resonates with me. A self-confessed ‘geeky’ kid who was in no way sporty, Paul fell in love with Jackie Chan movies and taught himself martial arts in his parents´ garage. When he moved to China, his dreams literally came true when he appeared in a movie with his hero.

When I discovered Paul was working on a movie with my hero, Tom Cruise, it was time for a catch-up! We had to wait for the movie’s release and Paul’s release from his confidentiality clause, but finally, we are here in the Talk TV studio in Lagos.

A bit of a nerd

Born in England, Paul was five when he moved to the Algarve. In the days before streaming, he saw Jackie Chan’s Rumble in the Bronx at the cinema and was instantly hooked.

“I was a bit of a nerd. I was always the last kid to be picked in gym class. I was terrible at football. However, when I first encountered martial arts, it was something entirely different. There’s something almost spiritual about it that drew me in. I just started practising it by myself. I eventually got Jackie’s movies on VHS videotapes, and the fight scenes would wear out, because I’d just rewind and play the fights over and over again, trying to imitate the moves. And then I taught myself how to get the splits and the flexibility in order to do all of the moves, which in kung fu are very extreme. You can’t really perform it unless you have a full split in every direction. So I would do that every day, stretching before and after school.”

Paul returned to the UK to complete his A levels, after which he headed to China for his gap year to follow his heart and continue studying kung fu.

The bogeyman

In 1999, Paul arrived in the small town of Wuyishan, nestled in Fujian Province, on an exchange programme. Armed with only a phrasebook, he found himself in a country that was just beginning to open its doors to the world. Traditional Chinese culture was still very much intact, with only a handful of locals able to speak English.

Paul’s four-day journey led him to the Shaolin Temple, a renowned Buddhist martial arts monastery in Henan Province, widely recognised as the birthplace of kung fu. Here, families often send their boys to undergo rigorous training akin to military service. Students wake at 4 am to run up mountains and spend up to eight hours a day in disciplined practice.

Despite the challenges, fate was smiling upon Paul when he met his first Chinese kung fu teacher, Jason Li. “He was a young, incredibly talented individual who had been training at the Shaolin Temple.”

When Paul realised that the temple’s over-training lacked a scientific approach, Jason took him under his wing, inviting him to his home on Dongshan Island, in Fujian Province. “It was a bit of an Indiana Jones moment. There were no taxis or cars available … my only means of transport was riding on the back of motorbikes with my backpack.”

Paul paid a motorcyclist a couple of euros for a ride – a fortune for him. As they approached Jason’s hometown along a dirt road, the strange spectacle of a white man, so distracted a local cyclist that he veered off the road and into a ditch, abandoning his bike. “Within 20 minutes, everyone in the village had gathered around me, staring at me as if I were an alien. They marvelled at my blonde hair and blue eyes.”

Paul spent a couple of months on the island, sleeping beneath a mosquito net on a bed made of five wooden planks. “I remember waking up one night to find giant, tarantula-sized spiders crawling on the net,” he chuckles. Despite the discomfort and gruelling training, he cherished his time there. The only foreigner in the village, he became the village ‘bogeyman’, while local children were warned that ‘the foreigner’ (the same word in Chinese as ‘ghost’) would ‘get them’ if they misbehaved!

Playing the villain

In 2001, Paul enrolled at Beijing Sports University, where athletes from the Olympic team and practitioners of various martial arts converged. There, he earned a diploma in Chinese martial arts.

“It was nothing short of amazing. There were only about 20 to 25 foreigners, all of whom were passionate martial arts enthusiasts. For two-and-a-half years, we fully immersed ourselves in the world of martial arts – it was all we did: eat, sleep and breathe it.”

Casting directors often visited the university, recognising it as a prime location to find foreigners training in martial arts. “In Chinese films, Westerners consistently portray the villains,” Paul explains. “If you’ve watched any old Hong Kong films, you’d have seen the typical white characters with eccentric hairstyles and outrageous costumes, often overacting – this was evident even in the classic Bruce Lee movies. We typically play the bad guys, or henchmen and crooks. That’s how it all began. I attended a few auditions and found myself involved in several B-movie projects, as well as some modelling gigs.”

Meeting Jackie Chan

Paul’s first major break came when he landed a role in the film Chinese Zodiac, starring none other than his childhood hero, Jackie Chan.

The initial scenes were being shot in France, explains Paul. “They flew us to Paris, where we found ourselves in Chinatown. We were accommodated in this tiny little hotel – so small that we had to turn sideways just to pass each other in the corridors. We couldn’t believe this was a Jackie Chan movie; we expected something much fancier! We later learned the hotel was owned by a friend of Jackie’s, as he wanted to avoid the paparazzi discovering he was there,” Paul recalls.

“So, we navigated through the hotel to the back of this little restaurant, where I sat with the fight coordinator, stunt coordinator, and several guys from the stunt team. They were all super friendly, and in the kitchen, we could hear someone banging pots and pans. Eventually, the chef emerged, wearing an apron and throwing down noodles – and it was Jackie Chan! It was so bizarre; I couldn’t believe it. He was incredibly warm and genuinely kind. He interacts the same way with an extra, a producer or a famous actor; he cares more about making a human connection. He knows how to work hard and play hard. On set, he is all seriousness, but after filming, he would take us out for dinner almost every night, where we could relax and have some fun.”

Paul also had the opportunity to work alongside A-listers John Cusack and Adrian Brody, in Dragonblade. “It’s a fantastic film,” Paul says. “Historically, there’s a theory that the Romans may have ventured as far as Western China, as some legitimate artefacts have been discovered there. The movie builds on that idea.”

In the film, Rome has been usurped by an evil emperor, portrayed by Adrian Brody, while John Cusack plays a general. What made this film particularly exciting for Paul was the way the fight coordinator pitted Roman martial arts against Chinese martial arts. “There’s a scene midway through where we’re feasting and celebrating, and we challenge each other to prove which martial art is superior. You can see me wielding a large Roman shield and sword, while John, being a skilled martial artist, performed most of his own fight scenes. He’s been training in kickboxing for over 20 years with Benny ‘the Jet’ Urquidez. I’m a huge fan of Benny, so it was a real privilege to meet him alongside John.”

Paul recalls the moment Adrian Brody met Jackie Chan for the first time. “He’s a massive fan. Jackie approached him and said, ‘Hi, Adrian Brody, thank you for coming.’ Adrian was completely taken aback, repeating, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it, I’m such a fan!’ It was a remarkable sight to witness; here was Adrian Brody, an Oscar-winning A-lister, utterly starstruck.”

Living behind a mask

Paul met his wife, Ashley, in Beijing while teaching English between movie projects; she was a manager at an English school. In 2013, they had a daughter, Maian. The pollution in the city was so severe there were sometimes complete whiteouts. The family ran air purifiers at home 24/7 and Paul worked out wearing a mask, with air filters.

“I suddenly thought, ‘What am I doing?’, you know? It’s like we’re living on Mars or something. Mad Max type thing.”

When an opportunity arose, Paul and his young family returned to Europe. He landed a job on Into the Badlands, a martial arts TV show shot in Ireland, through his good friend Rudolf Verba, the fight coordinator on Mission Impossible.

Much of Paul’s work involves being a stunt double, which is not merely about throwing oneself into action scenes. “A significant part of being a stunt double is the ability to mimic the body language, because otherwise, when you cut from the double back to the actor, the difference in body language can be quite jarring, breaking the illusion. Nowadays, they use face replacement technology. The double just has some dots drawn on their face, and they try to find someone who looks as similar as possible to make it easier for the CGI team. Often, it might only be a few shots that require face replacements. Sometimes, you can get away with it if it’s a wide-angle shot, as mapping the actor’s face onto your own is a considerable amount of work.”

Paul recalls his experience doubling for Matt Smith in the Marvel film Morbius. “Matt Smith has a certain confidence in the way he moves. The stunt coordinator instructed me to imitate his movements. He’s a London lad and embodies that confident, wide-boy swagger, so that was a crucial part of my performance – not just the action and the stunts, but moving like him.”

Mission Impossible

Prior to this interview, Paul read his contract to see what he was allowed to say about the movie. He is free to talk openly about the movie, but not in a way that is negative. Not that Paul would say anything negative about Tom Cruise. He has a huge admiration for the actor’s work ethic and as a fellow stuntman.

Drawing parallels between Tom and the legendary Jackie Chan, Paul acknowledges Chan’s monumental impact on action cinema. “Jackie stands alone in his legendary status,” he notes. “On set, he has an incredible focus, much like Tom.”

Paul recalls a pivotal moment during filming: “One of the first things Tom said to us was, ‘You’re all experts in your field. That’s why you’re here. But this film is the most important film that you’ve ever made.’ That mindset is what drives him to push boundaries and continually elevate the stunts. For Tom, it’s about discomfort and challenge – this has to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. Tom leads by example. He never asks anyone to do something he wouldn’t tackle himself, particularly when it comes to the stunts. He performs them all.”

He describes Tom and Jackie as kindred spirits, both of whom are dedicated to delivering authenticity to their audiences. “Jackie Chan had his heyday when stunts were all about practicality and real danger,” Paul explains. “Now, with the over-reliance on CGI, viewers often lose the sense of thrill because they don’t feel the stakes. Tom is fiercely fighting against that trend, embracing practical effects once again. A crucial part of what sells the Mission Impossible films are the behind-the-scenes documentaries that showcase the real dangers involved, emphasising that it’s all Tom, all the time. His energy is boundless, day and night – he’s profoundly passionate about filmmaking, living and breathing cinema, and he knows how to craft a compelling story on screen.”

When I asked Paul about the rumour of Tom’s notorious 5 am workout routine, his response was immediate: “Absolutely! It’s religious for him. He has a mobile gym in the back of his truck, equipped with state-of-the-art gear. There’s even a running machine that alleviates the weight from your knees – apparently, NASA astronauts use it. We often joke that if Tom were a stuntman, he’d be the best in the world. With his celebrity status, he trains with the elite, like Navy SEALs and the American Air Force. He’s even conditioned himself for a six-and-a-half-minute breath hold during free dives. His stunt coordinator – Wade Eastwood is an expert in anything with wheels, wings or propellers – and fight coordinator Ruda, a martial arts specialist, make for an incredible team. It’s all about collaboration. Tom presents his vision, and Wade and Ruda make it a reality. Take the biplane scene in Final Reckoning: any other team would have said it was unfilmable, but they turned it into a reality – and Tom was actually on the wing!”

Paul laughs as he recounts how Tom would fly himself to the set every day in his own private helicopter. “While we sat in traffic for an hour and a half, Tom would arrive in just ten minutes from his home outside London. It’s wild when you consider the restricted airspace over London with its five airports. But hey, he’s Tom Cruise! He operates in a different universe, one where he’s crafted his own reality. His confidence and focus are unparalleled, and he sets the bar high for everyone on set. There are truly no excuses not to give your all; that’s why he’s never made a bad movie. His filmography boasts one hit after another, spanning decades.”

*Paul*‘*s fight scene in Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning*

The fight scene

I ask Paul to describe his scene in Final Reckoning. “I play a Russian special forces snow trooper in a pivotal scene set in a cabin that catches fire about halfway through the film. Pom Klementieff is in my scene, along with Simon Pegg – not Tom Cruise, though. This scene is essentially composed of three separate fights happening simultaneously, which makes it incredibly complex. In the background of my fight, another fight is unfolding, so everything had to align perfectly, like a meticulously choreographed dance. We had five actors and three stuntmen all confined to a small space with real fire, so it required extensive rehearsals to ensure everyone was safe and ready.”

Taekwondo expert Pom brought her impressive kicks to the choreography. “It’s crucial to gauge what the actors are willing to do, especially since injuries can delay production. As a stuntman, I often take on the workload to give the actors a breather. They move from scene to scene and can get exhausted; while Tom pushes for as much from the actors as he can, everyone is keen to keep up with him. If Tom is doing it, everyone wants to step up their game and contribute to the stunts.”

I was astounded when Paul told me that this four-minute scene required him to travel back and forth to the UK for two years, with two months dedicated solely to filming it, following several months of rehearsals.

“We had to figure out how to make it work with so many actors and elements in play, including guns, knives and hand-to-hand combat. We worked tirelessly on this scene, refining it before the actors arrived for rehearsals. Then came Tom, followed by the director, who made adjustments again and again. It’s all about storytelling, and this scene is intercut with Tom having a knife fight in a submarine. The editor had to seamlessly integrate these two fights along with several dialogue scenes. It all needed to make sense to the audience, flow smoothly, and build excitement with a palpable sense of danger. The effort was immense, but it certainly paid off – it’s a fantastic scene.

“The most challenging aspect for us was dealing with real flames. CGI fire can look unrealistic, so we had to use real fire, which meant managing the smoke as it filled the set. We were in a studio in London where they constructed the cabin, but the roof was removed and outfitted with extractor fans. Between each take, we had to clear out the smoke, and we sprayed down all the furniture to prevent any fire hazards. The process was tedious, expensive, and required us to wear fire-retardant gear, slathered with gel to protect our skin, while using breathing masks between takes.”

Paul explained how they designed the gas lines so the fire would ignite in one area and spread across the ceiling, around the table, and along the walls. They could extinguish it at will, ensuring everyone knew where the fire would be and when it would start.

“I was incredibly dehydrated between takes, completely drenched, but the worst thing was not the heat but the smoke. We’d wear the masks, and then the director would shout, ‘Action!’ We’d remove the masks, film a section, and then put the masks back on while they vacuumed the smoke out. This routine persisted for weeks and was arguably one of the hardest scenes I’ve ever filmed.”

In fact, costumes often present significant challenges on set. “I had to wear snow gear, and it was incredibly hot. Whenever I go for fittings, I assess the shoes and the costume, and I say, ‘No, these boots are far too heavy for 14 hours of fighting!’ The costume team had to create lighter imitation boots since our mission required military gear.”

In the climax of the scene, you can see Paul fighting Pom; He has her in a chokehold, then he drops her and jumps through a bookcase. It was rigged with hundreds of hollow, paper books that weigh nothing, and the bookcase itself was made of plywood, scored so that it crumbles easily. All the furniture in the scene was padded to prevent injuries; even pots and pans were foam, ensuring safety during the fight sequences. It´s the sound effects that make everything look heavy and realistic, but behind the scenes, “It was like a playground for adults,” says Paul.

How to be a stuntman

I wonder how Paul stays fit. “Daily practice is essential; flexibility is key – you simply can’t skip it. Staying flexible helps prevent injury. It’s a combination of weightlifting, cardio and martial arts. Martial arts is an all-encompassing discipline that incorporates strength, balance, flexibility, timing, and much more. I always say it’s a fantastic form of exercise, plus you learn to defend yourself, which is an important skill to have.”

However, fight choreography differs significantly from real martial arts, Paul explains. “In genuine martial arts, the goal is to go from A to B as quickly as possible while avoiding any telltale movements that your opponent might notice. Screen fighting is a different kettle of fish. For the camera, you want your movements to be as large and obvious as possible so that the audience can easily see what’s happening. Everything has to be exaggerated and shot in a way that makes sense. The true art of screen fighting lies in telling a story through the fights, and that’s what distinguishes great action movies and classic martial arts films from mediocre ones.”

While Paul doesn’t have an agent, he finds work through his contacts. “I’ve had agents in the past for acting, but when it comes to stunts, you collaborate with stunt coordinators. It’s like a family – a very tight-knit group, as you’re literally putting your life in other people’s hands. It’s almost like a tribe, a stunt community. If they think I’m suitable for a particular role, they’ll just give me a shout.”

If reading this has sparked your interest in trying martial arts, Paul can help with that. “When I have the time, I run a gym for kids and adults – anyone who wants to learn is very welcome. It keeps me in shape, too, as training alone can get a bit monotonous after a while. There are plenty of people locally interested in martial arts, and we train together, keeping each other on our toes.”

Passion and perseverance

Paul’s story is a testament to the rewards of following your dreams. His journey from a ‘geeky’ kid in the Algarve to a renowned martial arts star and stuntman is a remarkable tale of passion and perseverance. His dedication to martial arts also shines through in his many stories, which could be made into a movie of their own! Who knows, maybe someday his story will be made into a movie and I know exactly who should be cast as Paul Clark …

Tom Cruise of course!