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
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
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
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
For years, I looked to Bruce Lee as a mentor as being a Chinese and Asian man living in this country. – Donnie Yen
I have always been a great fan of Peter Chan and many other great directors who specialize in anything outside of action. – Donnie Yen
Martial art is a form of expression, an expression from your inner self to your hands and legs. – Donnie Yen
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
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
From my experience as an actor, choreographer, action director, and producer, I understand the elements and the dynamics of being a film maker. – Donnie Yen
I got nominated for my second film as best young director in the Aikido Film Festival in Japan. – Donnie Yen
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
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
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. – Donnie Yen
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. – Donnie Yen
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
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. – Donnie Yen
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. – Donnie Yen
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. – Donnie Yen
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. – Donnie Yen
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. – Donnie Yen
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. – Donnie Yen
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. – Donnie Yen
