ROANOKE, Va. – Alex Huynh, an actor and stuntman who attended Northside High School, appears in the Oscar-winning film “Sinners” as the Monkey King. The ancestor figure is featured in a sequence the filmmakers called the “surreal montage.”
Huynh said the opportunity came after director Ryan Coogler asked cast members Li Jun Li and Yao — actors who portray Bo and Grace Chow — who they thought should represent their characters’ ancestors.
“Li, who was one of my best friends, said, I know the perfect guy. Ryan looked at some of my martial arts and then some of resume and he said, this is the guy,” Huynh said.
Huynh said his local training at Shaolin Dragons Martial Arts Academy on Williamson Road in Roanoke, under instructor David White, helped lay the groundwork for his career.
“When I was living in Roanoke, I had a lot of thoughts and feelings and ideas that I wanted to share with the world, but I didn’t know how to,” Huynh said. “And the arts and martial arts gave me an outlet to express it.”
After the film’s success, Huynh later reunited with the cast and creative team from “Sinners” for a live performance at the 2026 Oscars in March.
“We got the gang back together,” he said, adding that the group put together a stage show in about five days as a special moment for audiences.
Huynh said bringing his martial arts training and the Monkey King’s mythology to the screen was a surreal experience. He added that the arts can connect people, and he encourages anyone with a passion to take a chance and share their story.
More projects are on the way, Huynh said, but he can’t share details yet.
“The beauty of Hollywood is we love to keep our secrets to surprise people,” he said. “If you turn your TV on every so often, you might just see me pop in here and there.”