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Michel Qissi

Michel Qissi

Actor, director and editor · Born September 12, 1962 (64) · Oujda, Morocco

When he was seven years old Michel Qissi began training in boxing. He soon met and befriended a young Jean-Claude Van Varenberg (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who was studying Shotokan Karate, and the two traded techniques in their systems. They grew up together and shared the same love of action films and dreamed of being action stars themselves one day. In 1982, Qissi and Jean-Claude went to Hollywood together to look for a career in action movies. landing their big break in 1986. After obtaining an interview with Menahem Golan of Cannon Pictures they secured a three-picture deal, the first of which was the highly successful Bloodsport. In Cyborg (1989), Qissi worked as Van Damme's personal trainer but had no part in the cast. In the picture, Kickboxer (1989), Qissi was working as a choreographer when he overheard the production crew say they needed a tall Asian-looking guy who had a background in Muay Thai. Qissi had studied Muay Thai years before in Thailand so he volunteered and got the part of Tong Po. Michel Qissi was not credited; however, he was dubbed as Tong Po and even given a make-up job to make him look Asian. His final picture with Van Damme was Lionheart (1990) (AWOL), playing a legionnaire sent to bring Van Damme back to the army. Since then, he returned to his role of Tong Po in the sequel Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991). Qissi also did a few of his own flicks including Terminator Woman (1993) which he directed; he also had a relative Jeanette Agaronoff as the writer for this movie. Extreme Force (2001) was a movie directed by him along side Hector Echavarria as once again looking just like Tong Po but under the moniker Kong Li.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
September 12, 1962 (64)
From
Oujda, Morocco
Works as
Actor, director and editor
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 14% in 30 days

What are Michel Qissi's films like?

Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
34%
Bonds
21%
Survival
20%
Self
16%
Society
8%
Ideas
3%
Family bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRevenge3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeViolence3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 10 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 6 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 5 · Intense 5

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 2

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 6 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 9 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

5 analyzed roles

Usually the Shadow: 3 of 5 analyzed roles.

Shadow
3 of 5
Ally
1 of 5
Trickster
1 of 5

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
8
Dread
4
Thrilling
3
Contemplative
2
Absurd
2
Other
9

How their films linger

Rousing4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy5
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Michel Qissi's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (9).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Michel Qissi's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

19 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Order of the Dragon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    as Commander Rouge

  • Run(2025)

    as Abdul

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • BXL (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Actor

  • The Last Kumite(2024)

    as Wolf

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Killer Ex(2024)

    as Shakur

    Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Denard Anatomy of An Antihero(2021)

    as Khan

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Kickboxer: Vengeance(2016)

    as Prisoner

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • Road to Kabul (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    as General

  • Un Marocain à Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    as Atila

  • The Falkland Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    as DeFuego

  • Extreme Force (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director · Writer · as Kong Li

  • To the Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    as Denard

  • Terminator Woman(1993)

    Director · Editor · Fight Choreographer · as Alex Gatelee

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Bloodmatch(1991)

    as Davey O'Brien

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Kickboxer 2: The Road Back(1991)

    as Tong Po

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films

  • Lionheart(1990)

    Fight Choreographer · as Moustafa

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Kickboxer(1989)

    as Tong Po

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Bloodsport(1988)

    as Suan Paredes

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Breakin'(1984)

    as Passerby in First Dance Sequence (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

Career shape

Star power in the 88th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 19 titles, 18 of them dated from 1984 to 2025; peak year 1990.

Biggest box office

Lionheart (1990)

$24M worldwide

Highest rated

Kickboxer (1989)

Midcredits 62nd

Most popular right now

Lionheart (1990)

Film career

19842025

Peak 1990 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

  • 1984Screen debut· Breakin'

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting19 of 19: 16 only acting, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score38thDirecting2 of 19: 0 only directing, 2 with another roleWriting1 of 19: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleOther crew2 of 19: 0 only other crew, 2 with another role

19 titles, 3 with more than one role — acting and directing overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1980s3 · acting1990s5 · 5 acting · 2 crew2000s2 · 2 acting · 1 crew2010s3 · acting2020s5 · acting

Billing

usually 7th · top billed in 0% of 7 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

How do Michel Qissi's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 38th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 22nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

22ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 10

Approval · how many liked their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 10

Reach · how many have seen their films

53rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 10

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 12 titles are Mixed.

  • Divisive2
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

Denard Anatomy of An Antihero (2021)

98th percentile spread · 38% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Bloodsport (1988)

Midcredits 75th · 66% liked

Reviewers score the acting 37/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 63, detractors 18. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Michel Qissi work with?

People who share at least 2 of Michel Qissi's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jean-Claude Van Damme shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers

Mixed roles