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" My action follows my characters. If a character is a cop, you cannot be posing all the time, you cannot fly off the roof because it doesn't make any sense - it's not practical. "

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" Many friends of mine told me that normally only guys like a kung fu movie and the girls would be turned off - they want to see a love story. But Ip Man is a family man, so the women see this and go: 'I want my husband to be like this man. He'll be a scholar, he'll be fighting, he'll care for the family.' So we had a bigger audience. "

Donnie Yen

Love

Care

Family

" For me, shooting, editing, and scoring rely on rhythm. "

Donnie Yen

Editing

Rely

" I'm a very emotional guy. "

" 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 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. "

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

" 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. "

" 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 takes years of building that experience as a filmmaker, as well as physically. You have to have a high level understanding of martial arts. "

" 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. "

" In Hollywood, I'm lucky, I only do big movies like 'Blade.' It's much more comfortable: you have a trailer. "

" 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. "

" 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

School

" 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.' "

" I think film, to me, as a director, is about telling a story. "

Donnie Yen

Director

About

" 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. "

" 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

" I have always been a great fan of Peter Chan and many other great directors who specialize in anything outside of action. "

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

Donnie Yen

Art

Artist

" 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 always tell younger filmmakers, it's not just about the acting or the art itself. It's about how big of an audience watches your film. "

" 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. "

" In Hong Kong, particularly, we craft this art for decades. The action choreographer actually is the action director. He takes over and he choreographs with - by himself or with his team, and place the camera where he feels cinematic effect to bring out that choreography. "

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

" 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. "

" I think action movies bring more excitement than tears, but I always want to take it to another level. I mean, I think if one appreciates anything in life to a certain degree, it could possibly bring tears to your eyes. "

" 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've always been in a rebel. "

" 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. "