My film is so bad, it’s good

SAMURAI star . . . Mathew Karedas at University Campus Oldham

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Mathew Karedas admits the film for which he is famous is so bad it’s good!

Sylvester Stallone’s former bodyguard starred in “Samurai Cop”, a 1991 low-budget version of “Lethal Weapon” which went straight to video and has since gained cult status.

En route to Europe to promote the sequel, “Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance”, he spoke to students at University Campus Oldham, some of whose work appears in the film.

Six creative media production students from UCO and Oldham College shot footage for the follow-up which is briefly shown on a TV screen in the film. The full three-minute scene is included on the DVD and Blu-ray extras.

On his first trip outside the US, Mathew told the students: “When we saw the end result it so matched what we had shot, it was almost seamless and fits perfectly with the story. We were just blown away. It just shows if you give somebody a shot and let them have that opportunity. You guys delivered.”

Mathew spoke about his time as a bodyguard for “Rocky” star Sly Stallone and said: “It’s eye-opening to be around that kind of wealth but I just wanted to go do my own thing.

“I thought ‘I love being around you, I love learning from you and seeing the business, but I just want to get out there and get one tenth of one per cent of your success’.”

Mathew had hoped to do romantic comedy, but landed the lead in “Samurai Cop” just five days before shooting started.

“That was the fun part of the fairytale,” he added: “I read the script and the dialogue was horrible.

“The director was Iranian, so his version of American dialogue wasn’t really how I spoke. That’s what adds to making that movie one of the best-worst movies ever.

“My acting was horrible. It’s one of those movies you do when you first start out and learn from. You don’t think it is going to be your legacy, which is what it became for me. Accidentally. But better to be known for something I guess than for nothing.”

Mathew’s movie career never really took off — he doesn’t consider himself an actor — he now does stand-up comedy and has a day job as a union foreman.

Over the years, “Samurai Cop” gained a cult following online — thanks in part to the dodgy wig Mathew wears for much of the film.

Work started on a sequel but Mathew, who used his real surname Hannon when he shot the original, was believed to be dead.

“They couldn’t find any Matt Hannon anywhere. The only person that popped up was a guy who was a carpenter on movie sets. They figured that must be him and apparently he had died.”

The script was quickly rewritten to star Mathew after he revealed on YouTube that he was alive and well.

As for the performance, he smiled: “I was able to temper some good acting when I could and do what the director wanted me to do.”

Whether the film is a hit, cult classic or flop, he believes being involved has been a great opportunity for the students — which came about because he is friends with UCO lecturer Dave Robinson.

“Never in a million years did I think I would be making movies again because of ‘Samurai Cop’,” he pointed out.

“The movie became its own little Rocky story and this was was my way of giving somebody the opportunity to be involved in a major release.”