Michael Dudikoff (Michael Joseph Stephen Dudikoff Jr.) is an American actor, model, and martial artist, born October 8, 1954. He gained fame for the lead role in the «American Ninja» action-film series, produced by Cannon Films.
Dudikoff has Russian roots — his father, Michael Dudikoff Sr., was born to Russian emigres Maria Bogdanova and John Dudikoff. His mother, Rita Girardin, was a French-Canadian pianist from Quebec.
Before his acting career, Dudikoff worked at a rehabilitation center for troubled teens and as a waiter. His path into film began with modeling — first fashion shows, then advertising for companies like Coppertone, Coca-Cola, and others.
Dudikoff's early roles were mostly in comedies and TV series, including episodes of the popular shows "Dallas" and "Happy Days." Real fame came in 1985 with the release of "American Ninja," in which he played the lead role of Private Joe Armstrong. Made on a budget of around $1 million, the film grossed more than $10 million in the US alone and became enormously popular abroad.
In the video-salon era of the 1980s-90s in Russia and the former USSR, Dudikoff became one of the most recognizable Hollywood action heroes, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. His films, especially the "American Ninja" series, were enormously popular on video cassette.
Between 1985 and the early 2000s, Dudikoff appeared in dozens of action films, including sequels to "American Ninja," "Avenging Force," "Platoon Leader," "River of Death," "Midnight Ride," "Human Shield," and many others.
An interesting fact: Dudikoff turned down "American Ninja 3" because he didn't want to be typecast solely as a martial-arts master, and he objected to filming in South Africa on principled grounds against the apartheid regime.
After a period of active filmmaking, Dudikoff stepped away from acting for a time (roughly 2002 to 2013) and went into real estate. He returned to the screen in the mid-2010s with films such as "Sea Ninjas vs. Zombies" (2015) and "Fist of the Golden Fleece" (2018).
Despite his action-hero image, Dudikoff differed from the typical "silent, brooding" leading men of the genre — a contrast noted by the novel's character regarding Zhora and the stereotypical action heroes of the era.