Donnie took months to accept rogue role
I have my own vision when it comes to picking characters. I hope to bring positive energy. I’m a family man. Ip Man is a good example. I don’t mind playing antagonists – I did that in New Dragon Gate Inn and Once Upon a Time in China II – but those are period films. In martial arts films, you can fly around and subvert (natural order).
HONG KONG: Although awardwinning director Wong Jing was full of persuasiveness, it took months of cajoling before Donnie Yen agreed to star in Chasing the Dragon.
In the movie, he is pitted again Andy Lau in a battle of two evil protagonists – a rogue cop and a drug dealer.
On why he had hesitated before taking up the role, Donnie said: “It’s not just about playing a bad guy or not. I have my own vision when it comes to picking characters.
“I hope to bring positive energy. I’m a family man. Ip Man is a good example. I don’t mind playing antagonists – I did that in New Dragon Gate Inn and Once Upon a Time in China II – but those are period films.
“In martial arts films, you can fly around and subvert (natural order).”
The movie is set in Hong Kong during the gangland era of the 1960s and 1970s, with Donnie taking on the role of drug dealer Crippled Ho, and Andy as rogue police officer Lee Rock.
Wong, 62, was first impressed by Donnie’s artistic range when
Donnie Yen, actor
he played antagonistic roles in a pair of 1992 releases ( Once Upon a Time in China II and New Dragon Gate Inn).
Chasing the Dragon came together when he flew with an expert in triad culture to pitch the story to Donnie in Toronto. The trio ended up having an animated discussion that lasted for days.
Donnie, the ever-protective father, was also sensitive to the feelings of his children.
He explained: “But to play a real person – there’s always a chance that my children will be asked by their classmates, ‘Why is your dad playing such a character?’ After all, I’ve got so many young fans from Star Wars. I thought for a long time and finally decided that, as an actor, if you don’t have a strong passion (for acting), you wouldn’t have lasted long in this business. … You should keep striving to evolve.”
As for the move towards more diversified roles, Donnie said: “For me to take up a part like (Crippled Ho), if I succeed, it wouldn’t just bring personal satisfaction, but it would also establish a new benchmark for action actors. Jet Li did that with ( Peter Chan’s) The Warlords ( 2007), and he even took the best actor prize (at the Hong Kong Film Awards) for it.”
Over the next two years, Donnie shall be keeping his focus on contemporary action films.
Chasing the Dragon opens today.