David Will No

While studying physiotherapy at university, David Will No was asked to star in The Huntsman (1993). That short film garnered the attention of action fans around the world and was featured in several magazines. John Woo and Peter Jackson contacted the director with praise for David's acting performance, and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung and Jackie Chan cast him in the action-comedy Mr. Nice Guy (1997). Although he completed his degree, his involvement in the industry never waned. His first attraction was acting, which he has studied for many years at various institutions including the esteemed NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in Sydney, and the Ivana Chubbuck studios in Los Angeles. Like many actors in Australia, he has had his fair share of guest and walk-on roles in various TV serials, but his niche was his physical ability. No's parents both taught martial arts. In fact, his father (Ke-Hyung No) was responsible for establishing taekwondo in Australia and his mother (Robin Marchment) was the first female Australian black-belt. No went on to represent Australia in both Judo and taekwondo. That martial arts ability has seen him work with some of the best in the field on projects like: Jackie Chan's Mr Nice Guy, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and the Enter the Matrix (2003) video game, The Debt Collector, Cobra Kai, and many more. As a martial arts actor, No explored the stunt world further, gaining his Australian stunt qualifications and working in all aspects of stunt work including body control, heights, fire, animals, water, and vehicles. His specialties would become fighting, wire-work, and precision driving. No started making films under his own company name, Furious Films. His talents as a screenwriter and action director quickly became known, and Furious Films started writing screenplays for other companies. Furious Films won the annual pitching competition at SPAA (Screen Producers Association of Australia) and their projects were launched at the Cannes Film Market. Owing to his Korean heritage, No became involved with the Korean film Industry, first as an actor and model for commercials, but later, due to his knowledge of "Eastern vs Western" filmmaking, he was asked to produce. He has shot Korean productions all around the world and has worked with the biggest names in the Korean Industry. During this period, No has cultivated and maintained his skills as actor, producer, stuntman and Action Director - often fulfilling each of these roles in a single project. This seemingly impossible task has made him a crucial asset on many productions. No finally pulled on the director's hat for his own film Forged (2006). This film is the culmination of the full range of many skills and exudes an individual style and perspective that are refreshing to the genre. It has played solidly on the International film festival circuit, picking up Best Director, several awards for Best Film, Best Costume, Best Music, and a cinematography award. In 2008, David had an opportunity to work while spending time connecting with his Korean heritage. During this time, David learnt the Korean language, worked as a producer on many films, TV dramas and commercials, and appeared as an actor on Korean dramas such as Three Days (2014) and Doctor Stranger (2014). He also appeared as himself on the hit TV show Cool Kids on the Block as well as Star English, and trained and earned his taekwondo promotion to 7th Dan blackbelt as well as his judo promotion to 2nd Dan blackbelt. In addition, he directed the short film Battle of Wills (2016) which garnered many awards including Breakout Action Star, Best Horror/Thriller, and Best Cinematography, and received several nominations for Best Actor. In 2016, David returned to Los Angeles and was immediately put to work on Altered Carbon (2018) training the main actor Joel Kinnaman as well as playing a role in episode 3. Since then he has trained many other actors in the ways of screen action. David also acted on and produced the Indie-feature Blindsided: The Game (2018). He opened the Scott Adkins actioner The Debt Collector (2018) and Sylvester Stallone's Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019). In 2018, while recovering from shoulder surgery, he worked on the final season of Jessica Jones (2015) as Assistant Stunt Coordinator, Stunt-viz filmmaker and Fight choreographer. Although based in the states, he continues to work around the world as a action actor, stuntman, and filmmaker.