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" For me, I like to have explosive moments, whether it is a particular movement itself in the whole sequence. I like to have shocking moments; for audiences to feel, like, 'Whoa!' It's always been my forte. "

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" My mum lives in Boston; she's famous for teaching wushu and t'ai chi. So from when I was young, my mum and aunt were like: 'You're training; you're not playing baseball or football.' Training every day was normal. Later, when I was almost a teenager, Bruce Lee became my idol. "

Donnie Yen

Day

Baseball

Football

" A period film, where you, for example, where you have a traditional wardrobes, you are bound to act a certain way. But in a modern film, a lot of body gesture. "

" It's a blessing to be given a variety of roles to what I call an iconic action actor like myself. "

Donnie Yen

Myself

Blessing

" When you watch my films, you're feeling my heart. "

" Action choreographer is like talking. When you talk, you have a rhythm. When you act, you have a rhythm. When you're moving your body, you have a rhythm. So as an actor, as a choreographer, the objective is trying to blend everything in - into - ultimately back into that character. "

" I try to update my arsenal constantly. Learning different martial arts since childhood. To understand what's out there. To really be in tune. "

" I'm a very emotional guy. "

" I got nominated for my second film as best young director in the Aikido Film Festival in Japan. "

" Martial art is a form of expression, an expression from your inner self to your hands and legs. "

" 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 act according to the requirements of the character, and if I try to play the role, then I play it truthfully. In my daily life, I'm a laid-back, peaceful guy. I'm just doing my job to act. "

" I just like to choose projects that will allow me as an artist to make my art. "

Donnie Yen

Art

Artist

" As an action director, I always try to bring something fresh and new. "

" 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. "

Donnie Yen

Passionate

Want

" 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. "

Donnie Yen

You

Kind

" 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. "

" Like any other actor, I draw on life experience. "

Donnie Yen

Actor

Other

" I like to stay within the context of the character's background. If he's a cop, I have to make sure the audience is convinced that this person, a cop, can do only so much without a gun. "

Donnie Yen

Audience

Character

" I certainly hope 'Dragon' can leave some legacy behind. "

" I've always been in a rebel. "

" 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.' "

" 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. "

Donnie Yen

Matter

" 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. "

" There's a lot of thinking when you choreograph something. You're not just choreographing some bodies, arms, legs flying around to look cool. It's a lot more complicated and sophisticated. You also have to deal with the connection of the whole film, so when I choreograph, I think of the movement itself, the camera angles, the characters. "

" Better to be called something positive and inspirational than something negative. "

" I love working with older actors because number one, I can learn so much from them because they have so much experience. And it's fun to hear their stories from their era, some of the jokes. "

" I always used to wonder why American actors were getting fat, then I made a U.S. movie. I'm seeing all the food every day, and there's lots of waiting around because making an American movie is very slow. "

" Whether I'm acting or making it, at the end of the day it's telling the story; action, drama. You want the audience to feel it - the story, the action, the scene, or a particular shot. I just keep working on crafting my art, on how to make action movies. "

" There is also a strong following among the urbanites on the East Coast when it comes to martial arts films. "

" For years, I looked to Bruce Lee as a mentor as being a Chinese and Asian man living in this country. "