Action superstar Dominiquie Vandenberg and acclaimed filmmaker Jesse V. Johnson, director of Triple Threat and Accident Man, team up for 2020’s most explosive action blockbuster, The Mercenary. Maxx (Vanderberg) is a legionnaire turned mercenary. When a mission in South America goes wrong Maxx is left for dead, but he is nursed back to health and reborn with a new outlook on life. He tries to live in peace within the confines of his new beliefs surrounded by his new friends at a church. But his peaceful days are short-lived when mercenaries he used to work with cross his path again and he is forced to revisit and face his own demons. His brutal past, war and violence have come looking for him again. His path to redemption is interrupted and Maxx becomes an avenging warrior using the skills that were his trade. Johnson directs from a script by David Filmore. We had the chance to talk with Vanderberg about the film. Here’s what he had to say.
Congratulations on your success, Dominiquie.
Dominiquie Vandenberg: Thank you so much. I really appreciate it and thank you for giving me this opportunity to promote my film, The Mercenary.
You spent time in the French Legion. What can you tell us about those days?
DV: It was a life changing experience where I got to meet some of the most interesting people. Men from more than 150 different countries coming from all kinds of different cultures and religions fighting and suffering together like brothers. Most of the Legionnaires I served in the 2 REP had served in elite or Special Forces units in their own countries before coming to the legion for whatever their reason were.
Have you been able to incorporate some of your experiences in the Legion to your performances or films?
DV: Yes, definitely. Especially when I play anti-hero characters. Some of the most deadly and great Legionnaires were quiet and unassuming. They were not big guys but possessed unreal fitness levels when it came to endurance and resilience. Like the Gurkas, some of them had served in the British military before coming to the Legion. They were awesome guys.
And afterwards, before you made the transition into movies, I believe you fought in underground fight tournaments?
DV: The fights I competed in were not underground. I fought in Burmese boxing on my first leave from the Legion and fought in tribal freestyle Bando while staying with the Karen hill tribes. After my contract with the 2 REP, I became an independent soldier. After the war in Yugoslavia, I moved to Thailand where I lived in Muay Thai boxing camps, mostly at Samasit Camp. When I first got there, I met Stephane Nikiema, a French Thai boxing champion who was training at Yoki Gym in Bangkok. He told me about Daniel, a French fight promoter and bar owner, who lived up north. I decided on moving there. It was rural outside of the big city like going back in time. Thai boxing Legends like Olando, Wonder Boy, Ramnamoen and Superleck trained there. I lived in the camp and shared a room where I slept on the floor under a mosquito net. We had one plastic bowl to wash our buttocks after using the restroom which was a simply a hole in the ground. There were very few foreigners who fought and lived in camps back then. It was a hard life. Today, the foreign fighters are everywhere training in modern camps in the city and going to their air-conditioned hotels after training. Not the Spartan experience it used to be.
Where did you learn to fight?
DV: In Europe I began Judo training at age four and then Greco Roman Wrestling at eight. I begun training in Karate at nine and many other styles such as Dutch Kickboxing, Savate and Muay Thai before becoming part of the Kundokan Karate Budo Group under Mikio Sensei. The group blended old school Judo, Kito-Ryu Ju Jutsu and different karate styles, similar to what master Bluming was doing in Holland.
What was the inspiration for learning martial arts initially?
DV: I was a super active kid and my parents thought that exercise and playing sports was good for me. They did not want to drug me like many people do today I guess. so they enrolled me in Judo because I did not like swimming or soccer.
There’s many benefits to practicing martial arts – what has it done for you both physically and mentally?
DV: Being a martial artist made me a better person. It helped me understand human behaviour and grasp what the world is about. It also helped me adapt to the environment I live in and how things are presented to me because of it. Maybe the most important lesson in martial arts that most never discover in the teachings… How to control my ego and keep it healthy so it does not control me.
What kind of jobs did you do when you first landed in Hollywood?
I lived at the YMCA in Hollywood and taught a judo and kickboxing class there that’s where I met Stephen Quadros aka the Fight Professor. He told me Benny the Jet was looking for a sparring partner for his top fighters and someone to help him prepare for his coming out of retirement fight. He was specifically looking for someone with great Thai clinches and low kicks. Stephen took me to the Jet Center where they tested me by sparring different guys and hired me on the spot. Next thing I knew, I was up in camp with them in Big Bear. I also did lots of jobs in-between on the weekend like construction work and security job at a nightclub. I also did private security with my good friend Oliver Josanovic, the big Serbian. We worked for many celebrities … like Tupac Shakur.
How long was it before you started scoring movie roles?
DV: Mortal Kombat came very quick then many other small parts followed. I auditioned for more than a decade mostly getting bad guy roles. Today as we speak, I don’t have an agent or any rep that handles me. I tried again just recently to get a good agent but even Danny Trejo’s agent thought I looked too rough for her to represent. Just kidding.
When did you meet Jesse V. Johnson?
DV: Jesse and I met on the mortal Kombat film and have been friends ever since.
What is it about Jesse that makes him the perfect action-movie director?
DV: Jesse is one of the best out there. His experience in action is unparalleled. He is the only director that could have done this film with the budget that I had. Imagine what he could do with a Hollywood budget. I hope to see that soon… the man paid his dues.
Does he let you do your own stunts – or, better still, does the insurance company? Ha!
DV: I always want to keep doing my own fight scenes because I never want to be that actor with 3 stunt doubles. On this one, I was my own insurance. I only use a double when filming the same time on different units or for falls not for the big martial art stuff.
How much can you relate to this particular character?
DV: Like Maxx, I was a sniper and I was looking to redeem myself at one point. I got a dog when I first came to LA. I had to love and take care of my dog who gave me loyalty and unconditional love. When someone calling me for an independent soldier job, it was easy to say no thanks no matter how much money it payed. I wanted all my energy to go towards positive creative work and leave my brutal passed behind just like Maxx wanted.
Are you and Jesse talking sequels yet?
DV: I am currently writing The Mercenary Part 2 and planning to publish a poetry book called BEAST, some of it can be found on youtube (Look for D Legionnaire) if some of your readers like war poems.
I know you’re a big fan of Akira Kurosawa movies. If you could star in a remake or any of his films, which would you choose?
DV: I would never do that out of respect for the master. But if … I had to pick one, Yojimbo for sure.