There's no way I'll ever play a bad guy, declared Donnie Yen
9/24/2010 07:38:00 PM
kenmouse
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There's no way I'll ever play a bad guy, declared Donnie Yen.And it's not because the Hong Kong martial arts star is afraid to move out of his comfort zone.
Nor is it to protect his squeaky clean 'hero' image.
The 47-year-old actor explained to FiRST in Mandarin that it was important to him to play 'meaningful' roles.
'Actors are very influential. I must be responsible to the audience and society and consider the impact of my roles. I want them to have a positive impact so that children can watch them too.
'I cannot accept baddie roles just to satisfy my desire (for new challenges).'
Even if he falls victim to typecasting, Yen added that he will continue to act in period action movies as the genre is popular. It is also his strength.
In recent years, he has played heroes in gongfu flicks like Ip Man and its sequel, 14 Blades and Painted Skin.
And he continues to do so as the titular character in Legend Of The Fist: The Return Of Chen Zhen, which opens here today.
FiRST met the candid and personable superstar in Hong Kong, where he was promoting the flick.
Together with director Andrew Lau and co-stars Shu Qi and Anthony Wong, he attended the gala premiere at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre later that evening with his wife.
Japanese actress Norika Fujiwara and former Hong Kong actor Ray Lui also turned up despite the heavy rain and strong winds brought on by tropical storm Fanapi.
Incidentally, back in 1995, Yen had played Chen Zhen in a TV adaptation titled Fist Of Fury.
This big-screen version is a continuation of the original 1972 Bruce Lee classic, Fist Of Fury, which ended with Japanese soldiers firing a barrage of bullets at Chen Zhen.
In Legend Of The Fist: The Return Of Chen Zhen, not only does Chen survive the attack, he goes to Europe to fight in World War I with his Chinese compatriots.
He returns to Shanghai and takes on another identity. When he discovers Japan's plans to invade China, he turns himself into a masked crusader to fight the enemy.
Yen is also Legend Of The Fist's action director and, as expected, creates fantastic gongfu sequences.
But it was one scene with no gongfu that has made an impact.
Mainland Chinese media and fans who watched the preview are raving about the scene where Yen reveals his bare back and buttocks.
In it, Chen Zhen is captured by the Japanese, stripped and tortured.
Audiences get to see Yen's taut, rippling muscles. He confessed that he has never revealed this much before. There was supposed to be a stand-in, he said.
'But I think the stand-in ate too much that week, so he was too big. The scene was essential to the movie and wasn't sexually exploitative, so I agreed to do it,' added Yen.
The crew gave him a pair of shorts to cover himself. But he decided not to wear it to make the scene more realistic. He eventually wore only flesh-coloured T-back underwear.
Enviable physique
His enviable physique was achieved with a lot of hard work, his co-stars said.
Shu Qi said Yen didn't eat during filming and chomped down half a bowl of noodles only when he was starving.
Lau added that he woke up at 6 every morning to do push-ups and warm-up exercises. He also lifted weights.
Yen's punishing regime landed him in hospital.
He said: 'Filming was, of course, tough and not as glamorous as it appears. The film sets are dirty and hot with the spotlights.
'This environment, plus the pressure of being the action director, made me tired and I fell sick. I was put on the drip and given a few injections and (I) went back to filming.'
His many years of playing the action hero are also taking a toll on his health. He started as a stunt double in 1982.
Shu Qi said Yen couldn't even walk properly because of the pain, yet managed to execute jaw-dropping moves during filming.
He confessed that his left leg hurt even as he spoke to FiRST.
'I'm always in pain because my spine is crooked and pressing on my nerves. I did an X-ray recently and the doctor was shocked. He said that most people in my situation wouldn't be able to walk already.'
He added that he exercises at the gym not to look great, but to relieve the tension and pain in his leg.
Given a chance, would he choose not to enter showbiz as an action star then?
Yen thought for a while and said: 'I remember I was at an event and two parents came up to speak to me.
'They told me how their nine-year-old son, who's studying overseas, began reading up on Chinese history after watching my movies.
'It was very meaningful to me and I felt like my efforts hadn't been in vain. I can entertain the audience and influence them too.'
But fame has its downside.
Yen said: 'There are some people who use my name to promote themselves. It's very strange how I seem to be involved in so many things.
'For example, my name could be mentioned just once in an article, but the headline would be of me.'
But he doesn't mind such reports.
He also brushed aside Ip Chun's recent comment that Yen's Wing Chun still isn't as good as that of other actors such as rookie actor Dennis To, the lead in Ip Man: The Legend Is Born.
Ip Chun is the oldest son of Wing Chun master Ip Man, whom Yen portrayed in two movies.
The outspoken actor said: 'That (remark) doesn't bother me because I respect Ip Chun as an elder.
'It's true that I'm not very good at Wing Chun. I'm an actor and hope to do good movies. My intention wasn't to promote how powerful the martial arts style is. If that happens, then I'm happy.'
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