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" 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. "
Donnie Yen
Free
Fight
Film
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" 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.' "
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" I certainly hope 'Dragon' can leave some legacy behind. "
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" A lot of people don't realize, when you are acting in a martial arts film, you're not just performing martial arts. You're not just performing martial arts. You're actually acting as much as any other actor. "
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" 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. "
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" 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. "
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" 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. "
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" 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. "
Donnie Yen
Growing Up
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" For years, I looked to Bruce Lee as a mentor as being a Chinese and Asian man living in this country. "
Donnie Yen
Country
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Man
" I think film, to me, as a director, is about telling a story. "
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" Martial art is a form of expression, an expression from your inner self to your hands and legs. "
Donnie Yen
Self
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" As an action director, I always try to bring something fresh and new. "
Donnie Yen
Try
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Director
" When audiences look at an action actor like myself, sometimes we are very easily stereotyped or characterized as one type. They forget that we are actors, too. "
Donnie Yen
Action
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" There is also a strong following among the urbanites on the East Coast when it comes to martial arts films. "
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Strong
Arts
East Coast
" 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. "
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Matter
More
Up
" 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. "
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" 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
Like
" It's a blessing to be given a variety of roles to what I call an iconic action actor like myself. "
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Like
Myself
Blessing
" A lot of Chinese martial arts films were based on Chinese martial arts novels. And these novels created a world of putting history, calligraphy, and martial arts into one. "
Donnie Yen
Lot
Martial Arts
World
" Like any other actor, I draw on life experience. "
Donnie Yen
Actor
Other
Like
" 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. "
Donnie Yen
Camera
Thinking
Cool
" I'm a very emotional guy. "
Donnie Yen
Guy
Very
Emotional
" 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
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Baseball
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" For me, shooting, editing, and scoring rely on rhythm. "
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Rely
" When you watch my films, you're feeling my heart. "
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Feeling
You
Watch
" 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. "
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Fun
Love
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" I try to update my arsenal constantly. Learning different martial arts since childhood. To understand what's out there. To really be in tune. "
Donnie Yen
Learning
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" 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. "
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" It takes years of building that experience as a filmmaker, as well as physically. You have to have a high level understanding of martial arts. "
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Building
You
Understanding
" Bruce is the man. He was definitely ahead of his time. "
Donnie Yen
His
Definitely
Ahead
" 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. "
Donnie Yen
Action
Bond
Identity