About Donnie Yen: Donnie Yen is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director and producer, action choreographer, and multiple-time world wushu tournament champion.
Doing a movie is a stressful thing. You spend months of you life focusing into that one project, and I want to make sure I do something I really like or I'm really passionate about.
I try to update my arsenal constantly. Learning different martial arts since childhood. To understand what's out there. To really be in tune.
For me, shooting, editing, and scoring rely on rhythm.
I've always been in a rebel.
For years, I looked to Bruce Lee as a mentor as being a Chinese and Asian man living in this country.
There are two types of Chinese growing up in America. One is the kind that does really well in school, with thick, thick glasses. And the other is involved with the gangs.
When you direct a movie, you're basically looking at a story, the way you want to look at it. You bring that director's vision, and I'm totally open for that.
I did a couple comedies to balance myself as an actor and balance how audiences see Donnie Yen as an actor, and I would even say as a celebrity or icon, to some fans. I want to show that I'm not Terminator.
I think a lot of people don't realize that martial arts are just an expression like anything else. It's just that most people are not trained to punch or kick, but you can walk or run or dance, which is also part of expression.
I gained a lot of confidence after 'IP Man' as being a true actor. I went on to tackle what it is an actor is supposed to do before a film. Do a lot of research, get into the character. That's what I did with 'Dragon.'
As an action director, I always try to bring something fresh and new.
An action choreographer is kind of like a dance choreographer. You choreograph the moves and you let the director, cinematographer take into positioning their cameras.
Still, as much as I wish Ballistic Kiss could be a better film, the recognition it gained from critics and at festivals speaks for itself.
There is also a strong following among the urbanites on the East Coast when it comes to martial arts films.
Look at every action movie in Hollywood. Every leading man from Spider-Man to Batman to James Bond, 'Bourne Identity', every one of them possesses martial arts skills.
When you watch my films, you're feeling my heart.
It's a blessing to be given a variety of roles to what I call an iconic action actor like myself.
I think film, to me, as a director, is about telling a story.
If you're playing a cop in a modern film, you don't have to walk with your spine straight up and bow before a fight. There's a lot of free form of expressing yourself as an actor.
I spent a couple of years doing American films. I did a few.
Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong. There's a lot of restriction for contemporary films simply because of subject matter.
