“Last Dragon” Actor Reveals Why He & ‘Sho-Nuff’ Had Beef In Real Life

Posted On : May 27, 2017

“Kiss my Converse.” If you can name who said that classic line, then you’re probably a fan of the 1985 classic movie, The Last Dragon — which starred actors Taimak Guarriello, who played ‘Bruce Leroy Green’; and Julius J. Carry III, who played the villain ‘Sho’nuff.’ The cult classic is about martial artist, ‘Bruce Leroy,’ who aspires to be legendary martial artist, Bruce Lee. While searching for ‘Master Sum Dum Goy,’ a man that can unlock his ‘glow,’ he was faced with another martial artist, ‘Sho’nuff.’ I know my true Old School heads out there remember how ‘Sho-nuff’ was on his bullying stance so hard, he terrorized the whole damn neighborhood, LOL.

Actors Taimak and Julius J. Carry III starred as the leading characters in the iconic movie, The Last Dragon.

Although Sho-nuff was just a character, what most of us would be surprised to know is that Taimak and Julius had a lil’ beef off screen too, according to what Taimak revealed. See why, below….

Real Life Tension:

Sadly, Julius J. Carry III passed away on August 19, 2008 from pancreatic cancer, but his love for acting and dedication to his craft forever lives on. In fact, because Julius was so committed to his role as ‘Sho-nuff,’ he reportedly created tension with  Taimak, as well as other people on the set. In a Last Dragon reunion panel at the D-Lux Entertainment Expo a few years ago, Taimak shared fond memories of the man who had everybody saying the classic line,”Who’s the baddest mofo in town?”

Julius Carry as ‘Sho-nuff

According to Taimak, Julius would walk around in costume on the set all the time, never coming out of character. To create authentic tension, Taimak said Julius would walk up to people and stare them down as only ‘Sho’nuff’ could. He would apparently rip stuff off the wall to maintain his mean persona. In the video below, Taimak shared how he often laughed at Carry III’s antics to which Julius responded. He also said that Julius constantly pushed his buttons to create anger between them because Julius knew that Taimak didn’t have any animosity toward him in real life, so to get the best out of him on film, Julius created tension on set, with the hopes that it would eventually translate on camera. Although Taimak had much respect for Julius, there was one time where Julius’ tactics worked and lo and behold, Taimak let the real ‘Bruce Leroy’ step up…

See Taimak talk about that moment below:

What is Taimak doing now?

Thirty-two years later, the man commonly known to us as ‘Bruce Leroy Green’ still has that “Last Dragon”glow. These days, Taimak practices martial arts in real life. As a child, he would watch martial movies all the time and he fell in love with the arts.  At the age of eighteen, he won the New York State Kickboxing Championship, and was inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2010.

Taimak’s still doing his thing.

At the age of 19, Taimak’s life was forever changed as he starred in a movie that people are still talking about many years later. To inspire young people, Taimak started an organization called Unfolding Dream where he encourages young people to follow their passions. Just as Taimak hasn’t strayed away from martial arts, he hasn’t strayed away from acting as well. ‘Bruce Leroy’ has starred in television shows including A Different World, Alley McBeal, Red Shoes Diaries and Malcolm and Eddie as well as performing in plays.

Julius J. Carry III died at the young age of 56. Carry didn’t have any children and he was survived by his wife, Naomi. Despite the fact that he died so young, his spirit will live on forever as the man we loved to hate, Sho’nuff.

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We salute the incredible people and beautiful memories of that "old school". We’re not saying that every artist and every facet of the soul era was perfect, but the artists’ contributions to soul music and the old school memories of that particular time are PRICELESS.