An Interview with Sage Croft
If you take away one thing from this interview it is that Sage Croft is an extraordinary young man. Sage jumped into the world of mixed martial arts with both feet when he was just 11 years old. Sage’s natural ability combined with a great deal of dedication and intense training allowed him to began winning championships just 18 months after he took his first class.
But Sage Croft is more than a gifted martial artist, he is also embarking on an acting career. Sage has already appeared on both stage and screen and most recently it was announced that he was joining the cast of The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback. Sage will have pretty pivotal role in the film (more on that in a bit) and co-star with the likes of martial arts/action movie legends like Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock, T.J. Storm and Sasha Mitchell.
Sage and I talk about his upcoming role in The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback, how he got into competitive martial arts and the movie biz and more…
CTB: What was it about martial arts that made you want to get involved and compete?
SC: This is sort of a interesting story. A friend of my Dad’s came to Florida with his son who was competing in a jiu-jitsu tournament and asked if we wanted to come watch. We didn’t even know what it was, but we definitely wanted to support them. And it was the most surreal experience. I walked in and could not believe what I was watching. I actually asked my Dad to enter me right there on the spot even though I didn’t know that the sport was, and never been in any sort of fight or physical altercation in my life. And as they say, “the rest is history”.
CTB: Were you surprised that you ascended in the martial arts world as quickly as you did? I have to imagine a lot of other people were.
SC: I think when you are doing something that feels completely natural to you, you don’t really analyze the progress. You just train and compete. But there is a point where we suddenly realized I was basically beating everyone who had been training for years. And I had to move from training with kids to training with adults in middle school. Again, I don’t think about it too much, as there is ALWAYS someone bigger, faster, tougher, and stronger out there. I just do the work.
CTB: So you quickly conquered the world of martial arts and now you have turned some of your attention to the world of acting. When did you get bit by the acting bug and what got you started on that career path?
SC: Well as much as I would like to think I have have conquered the world of martial arts, I have not. There is literally unlimited depth to what you can learn. And I think by the time you truly become a master, your body stops working due to damage you have taken :-). On a serious note; it began with the casting call for the first The Martial Arts Kid movie where I went to be an extra for some reason. I thought to myself, “wow this is pretty neat”. But I was training Mixed Martial Arts so heavily at that point, I wasn’t thinking about a way to get into it. Then my brother Blake (who is an AMAZING actor by the way) got very involved in theater, so I jumped in with him. That got my attention as to combining the two – acting and martial arts. So I went to a stunt fighting school in which a Director was there watching. I laughed when I heard him ask someone to the side, “why is this kid better than the instructors?”. I don’t say that to be arrogant in the slightest, but I have trained for so long, that it all comes very naturally to me at this point. He asked me if I would be interested in joining a small budget film he was about to do, and I said “absolutely!”. And I just sort of jumped in without having any idea what I was doing. And I loved it.
CTB: It has been announced that you will be a part of The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback and you have a pretty significant role in it as the movie’s bully. Have you had personal experience dealing with bullies? Or maybe the better question is, Is anyone dumb enough to try to bully a martial arts prodigy?
SC: I get this question a lot by parents. The short and honest answer is no. Honestly, no one really wants to confront me in that way (plus I am about as laid back and nice as a person could be – my Dad would be the bully if he knew I was anything other than loving and caring about others). But bullying me would just not make any sense for most anyone. Once a person reaches a certain level of Mixed Martial Arts proficiency (and I’m talking about serious fighting – not classes where you see people practicing forms), then it takes on something people don’t really understand. Most serious MMA fighters you see, do everything they can to avoid the slightest altercations due to the fact they could be put in a position to hurt someone very badly. That is why I am a big believer in jiu-jitsu as a martial art. You can control someone without necessarily hurting them. And that is something I do: I actually teach private lessons to young kids to help them be in a position to protect themselves if they ever needed to. Bullying is a horrible, horrible thing, Physical, mental, and emotional bullying. So if I can help anyone avoid that, then I am pleased with the work I am doing for others.
CTB: Like the original, The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback will star two martial arts legends, Don “The Dragon” Wilson and “The Lady Dragon” Cynthia Rothrock. Now you weren’t even alive in their movie making heyday, but have you gone back and watched some of Don and Cynthia’s movies from the 80’s and 90’s and if so what were some of your favorites?
SC: Well first of all I have a history with Don Wilson that is sort of interesting. When I won the International Kickboxing Federation Worlds, Don Wilson was actually the person who put the belt around my waist. Of course we didn’t know it at the time, but that was going to come full circle as something really cool. In regards to his movies, I have seen several. Of course The Martial Arts Kid where him and Cynthia were amazing. But I think every martial artist has seen Bloodfist. And then of course Batman Forever. But I also saw Paying Mr. McGetty at the Sunscreen film festival where we got to know Michael Baumgarten. Don is awesome. Legit fighter inside the kickboxing ring in every way possible. One of the best, or maybe THE best, of all time.
CTB: What is it about The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback that made you want to be a part of the film?
SC:There are a couple of parts to this answer. Three years ago, I was an extra with no screen time in the first The Martial Arts Kid movie. We heard about a casting call in Cocoa Beach, went to it, and it seemed amazing. And then, last year my Dad and I ran into the Director of that film, Michael Baumgarten, at the Sunscreen Film Festival, and struck up a great conversation with him. He in turn stayed in touch, and ended up connecting me with Oliver Robins from Poltergeist, who cast me in his upcoming film Celebrity Crush. And then it just took off from there. I found Michael Baumgarten to be a warm and caring person. He has spent so much time on the phone with me giving me Directing tips for other projects I am working on behind the camera. So you combine an awesome cast and crew, with a martial arts film where I get to do what I was trained to do, then sign me up!
CTB: This may be the toughest question I have to ask… what is your favorite action movie?
SC: I just absolutely love the movie The Matrix. Between the action and deep message in that movie, I can’t get enough of it.
CTB: Do you see yourself continuing to do more martial arts/action movies after The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback? Any other action icons you are hoping to work with in the future?
SC: It’s hard to say what my future plans are. I love acting, but also love fighting. I seem to have some talent for the fighting part that is legitimately world class. But now acting is taking on a life of its own. A lot of people would rather see me focus on the acting. There are just so many things that can go wrong fighting that can permanently damage your body, and worse than that, your brain. As far as action icons, I could list a whole bunch. But honestly if I had to pick one, I would say Keanu Reeves. That because of the Matrix and the John Wick movies. I would love to jump into that Wick series. It’s just amazing. And as far as other things in the future. I want to work behind the camera also. I directed my first short film and it won a national award amongst thousands of entries. I am working on a short series now, and we will see where that leads. My dream is to go to UCLA or USC film school (although I am training with the Stanford University wrestling team this summer). So we shall see…
CTB: Good luck Sage, your future certainly looks bright and we wish you the very best. And for our readers who would like to be a part of Sage’s upcoming project The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback… there is still time to support the project and get some awesome swag and perks in the process by checking out the movie’s Kickstarter Campaign!
