June 24, 2011, 10:11 AM HKT
Donnie Yen: The Last Action Hero
By Dean Napolitano
Donnie Yen kicks his way to the top of his profession in director Peter Chan’s ‘Wu Xia.’
For three decades, Donnie Yen has kicked, punched and jumped his way up the rankings of martial-arts movie stars. “Wu Xia,” which opens next month, shows why he’s the genre’s current grand master.
“I think at a creative level I am at a peak,” says Mr. Yen, who’s vaulted to the top of A-list Asian actors in recent years, joining the ranks of legendary martial-arts stars Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
Superstardom came late for Mr. Yen, who turns 48 years old this year. Back in the 1980s, when he started out, Hong Kong action movies were “like the wild west—guerrilla filmmakers, anything goes,” he says. “Those were the primitive days. Back then we didn’t really have the budget. Nowadays, safety comes first.”
After appearing in dozens of movies and television shows, he made leading-man turns in 2008’s “Ip Man” and its sequel—both based on the life of the 20th-century Chinese martial-arts master of the same name—that kicked his career into high gear.
In “Wu Xia,” from director Peter Chan, Mr. Yen plays a repentant killer living in a secluded village whose past catches up with him. The movie, set at the end of the Qing Dynasty in the early 20th century, cost $20 million and premiered last month at Cannes.
Mr. Yen spoke with The Wall Street Journal on the set of “Wu Xia.”
With action sequences, how much is preplanned and how much is improvised on the set?
It really depends. I also worked in Hollywood films—everything there is preplanned, written, as much as possible. Ideally, that is the best way, because everybody knows what’s going on and is well prepared. But it is not necessarily the most creative result. Sometimes we get motivated and stimulated on the set. I remember the old days when I first started in the Hong Kong industry— there was no such thing as planning. They start choreographing the moves on the set.
Does the drama lead the action or the action lead the drama?
I try to make films where the character drives the action. A lot of times films don’t turn out to be that way, especially commercial action movies. But with Peter Chan’s movies, everyone knows it is going to be powerful and dramatic—that’s one of the main reasons why I wanted to be in his film.
Did anyone ever tell you that to hit the big time, you had to go to Hollywood?
I don’t think anybody said those exact words, but for the longest time—in any country in the world— you have this image that if you’re in a Hollywood film, then you’re in international films. That is the ultimate. But I don’t think this is the case anymore, because the China market is getting so big. We have many, many years to catch up. But from a business point of view—and an opportunities point of view—in some ways we are very fortunate as Chinese filmmakers.
What makes a successful action scene?
To get you excited—off your seat. But I think nowadays, most importantly, the audience has to love the character. That is way beyond what an action director can do. It takes a director, a story, a script and all the elements put together. That’s why I’m very happy that I get to work with Peter. I know that drama-wise, story-wise, he’ll make sure you’ll follow the character— that you’ll like the character and, hopefully, you’ll love the character.
Have you reached that goal in your recent films?
Look at “Ip Man”—it’s the same thing. The audience feels it: They clap, they cheer, they cry. It’s a simple concept: When you watch a movie, you want to pull yourself out of reality. You want to live in that world, and you want to live in that action moment. That’s my ultimate standard of a good action sequence.
Are audiences today more demanding?
Absolutely. When I first started doing action movies, there was no acting requirement. That’s why at the beginning of my career I could not act—I’m very blunt about it.
How do you compare your work with that of other dramatic actors?
On one hand, we shouldn’t look at action artists separately from any other kind of actors—actors are actors. As a matter of fact, I think being an action actor takes more skills because they need to tell a story with their body. When I’m fighting or being hit, I’m not actually hitting a person or really being hit. I’m acting. It takes more than just the conventional dramatic approach—especially martial-arts movies, because martial-arts movies take kung-fu mastery.
What’s next for your career?
I don’t want to do action forever. There are too many things in life. I spend too much time on the road. I’ve got to spend time with my family. I think everyone has to draw a line no matter how much passion they have for one thing. I’ll do as much as I can for the next few years. My goal is to take a step back— maybe direct, maybe produce—share my experience of all these decades in the action world. Hopefully, I can find some newcomers and push the standard a little bit more.
Have you found anyone?
I’m still looking. The action standards of today are so high. You can’t just find some young, good-looking kid that does great kung fu and expect him to carry the film. He has to have acting experience. There has to be chemistry between him and the audience.
Release Dates for “Wu Xia”
July 4: China
July 7: Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand
July 21: Singapore, Malaysia
July 22: Taiwan
July 28: Hong Kong, Thailand
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Originally Posted by Zenshiite
