Daniel Wu, who played the lead character on AMC's Into the Badlands, almost didn't star in the show, and originally had just a behind-the-camera role in the post-apocalyptic martial arts series. For three seasons, Daniel Wu starred in Into the Badlands as a highly-trained killer named Sunny. At the beginning, Sunny was in the service of Baron Quinn (Marton Csokas), but by the end of the series, Sunny was a wandering swordsman whose main responsibility was protecting his child.

Before joining the cast of Into the Badlands, actor Daniel Wu had an impressively long list of movie roles under his belt. Wu, who was largely associated with the Hong Kong movie industry, was a frequent collaborator of celebrated Hong Kong movie director and former martial arts star, Derek Yee. Wu, who has a background in martial arts, has appeared in several kung fu movies, working alongside notable martial arts actors and directors like Yuen Woo-ping, Stephen Chow, and on numerous occasions, Jackie Chan. Wu's biggest film is Derek Yee's Protégé, an award-winning crime drama which had Wu in the starring role.

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When AMC began developing Into the Badlands, Daniel Wu was hired as an executive producer due to his experience in martial arts. Wu was expected to handle the martial arts side of the series. Wu played an active role in finding an Asian actor who could play the lead character, Sunny. At the time, Wu was uninterested in starring in the show, due to his age. The 40-year-old actor was concerned that the intensity and the frequency of the fights would be too physically demanding because there was a possibility that the show could last for several years [via The Frame].

For this reason, Wu decided to look for an actor in his late 20s or early 30s with enough martial arts experience to play Sunny. When the search didn't yield any satisfying results, Wu decided to play Sunny himself. According to Wu, playing the lead character was "very physically challenging" because of the high numbers of fight scenes he had to shoot, which is more than what would be expected of him in a movie.

One of the reasons why Into the Badlands was so loved by fans was its commitment to presenting viewers with authentic kung fu and beautifully choreographed fight scenes, including the stunning final battle in the series finale. As its star (and one of its executive producers), Daniel Wu was a big part of that, so it's hard to imagine what the show would have been like without him.

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