Jax is a fan favorite Mortal Kombat character, and here's every actor to the part in live-action. During the early 1990s, there was a fierce debate between gamers over whether Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter 2 was the best fighting game. The former was a sensation for its wide variety of fighters and gore - which made it incredibly controversial for the same reason. It didn't take long for Mortal Kombat to become a wide-ranging franchise either, covering multiple video game sequels, movies, TV shows and even a kid's cartoon series.
Mortal Kombat also features an almost embarrassing number of iconic fighters, from rivals Scorpion and Sub Zero to Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage and countless others. Jax was introduced in Mortal Kombat II and is Sonya's partner who comes to Outworld to rescue her. He received his famous bionic arms in '95's Mortal Kombat 3, and became so popular he received his own spinoff game for the PlayStation 1 in 2000 dubbed Mortal Kombat: Special Forces; sadly, it's considered one of the worst entries in the series.
Mortal Kombat's Jax has appeared in almost every entry of the series, including spinoffs and animated movies. Here's every actor to play Jax in live-action.
Mortal Kombat (1995) - Gregory McKinney
Jax only made a brief appearance in 1995's Mortal Kombat movie, played by the late Gregory McKinney. He's Sonya's partner and aides her raid on a club to catch Kano but stays behind when she boards a ship to the titular tournament. American Ninja star Steve James was set to play the role originally but passed away from pancreatic cancer shortly before filming.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) - Lynn Red Williams
Michael Jai White was once set to play Mortal Kombat: Annihilation's Jax but passed to star in Spawn. Lynn Red Williams (American Gladiators) got the part instead, which sees Jax fitted with his trademark bionics arms and fighting with opponents like Cyrax and Motaro. He also acts as something of the comic relief in the sequel and is understandably bewildered by much of what's happening.
Mortal Kombat: Legacy (2011) - Michael Jai White
Michael Jai White first played Mortal Kombat's Jax in a very well-received short dubbed Mortal Kombat: Rebirth in 2010. This was a fan film directed by Kevin Tancharoen (Fame) and was a gritty take on the concept. The positive response to the short led to Tancharoen being given the greenlight to make webseries Mortal Kombat: Legacy, with White returning as Jax.
Mortal Kombat: Legacy also cast Star Trek: Picard's Jeri Ryan as Sonya, and featured an epic fight between Jax and Kano (Darren Shahlavi). Sadly, Michael Jai White's Jax was only in the first season, and viewers never got to see the character don the bionic arms.
Mortal Kombat (2021) - Mehcad Brooks
The most recent live-action Mortal Kombat Jax was Mehcad Brooks in the 2021 film reboot. This version of Jax lost his arms during a fight with Sub Zero, who froze them solid before smashing them. He's later given bionic arms as replacements, though he has to work with them first to get used to his new limbs. He also uses his famous Head Clap fatality move on Reiko during the finale.