Philip Ahn

(about his playing Japanese villains in WWII films) Philip Ahn: True, I hated the Japanese, but I told myself that if I was going to play the enemy, I was going to play him as viciously as I could. In 'Back To Bataan' I slapped little children and went so far as to hang a teacher from an American flagpole. I took pride in being the most evil man alive.

(about people believing he really lived like Master Kan from "Kung Fu") Philip Ahn: I was raised a Presbyterian and I'll always be a Presbyterian. I'm an actor, who is paid to read the lines as they have been written. Have I ever questioned their authenticity? I prefer to think the philosophies Kan expresses are genuine, that they are taken from the Tao religion, which teaches everyone to do good and which preaches non-violence until you are backed up a tree and must defend yourself. That is where kung fu becomes justified in our stories. Hence a TV series.