MUMBAI: Ben Wang knew he had a deep connection to The Karate Kid story from the moment he first saw the 2010 reboot. “It takes place in Beijing, and I had just moved back to the U.S. from Beijing when it came out,” he recalls.
Now, Ben takes center stage in Karate Kid: Legends as Li Fong, a kung fu prodigy navigating life in New York City—and the latest to carry the mantle of the iconic franchise. “It gets me emotional, this idea of going somewhere completely new and having to start over and finding people who help you along the way. And that's what these movies are really about. Behind the kung fu and the karate and all that cool stuff, it's about finding your way, learning to fit in, and finding good teachers,” says Ben.
The new film blends two martial arts legacies—Jackie Chan’s kung fu and Ralph Macchio’s karate—uniting their characters to train a new hero. Wang’s Li Fong is a kung fu prodigy uprooted from Beijing to New York, where he faces a fierce local rival and must forge his own path. For Wang, it’s more than just an action role—it’s deeply personal.
Getting the role wasn’t easy. “I sent in five or six audition tapes, I went to test in L.A. Nothing. Then a month later they're like, ‘Can you come tomorrow? Pack all your stuff!’ I got hired and it was like, ‘Jackie Chan's your uncle and you're teaching Joshua Jackson boxing, Mulan's your mom, Kim Possible is your girlfriend, and the kid from It is your tutor. And oh yeah, Ralph Macchio is here.’”
On set, Wang embraced the spotlight with humility and humor. “Sadie’s way more famous than me,” he jokes about co-star Sadie Stanley. “We're walking on the street and people are like, ‘Can we take a picture with you?’ and turn to me like, ‘You there, can you take a picture of us with her?’”
Behind the scenes, his dedication impressed everyone. Original Karate Kid Ralph Macchio said, “His work ethic, his preparedness, his not taking anything for granted—he will be this generation's Karate Kid!” Macchio added, “He's in almost every frame of the movie, like I was. I didn't have to speak another language, though, like he does. So he's already ahead of me right there!”
Sony Pictures Entertainment India releases Karate Kid: Legends in Hindi, English, Tamil, and Telugu on May 30th.
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