Fine, I’ll be an action star, says Donnie Yen1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAFTER attempting to branch out into genres like comedy and drama, Hong Kong’s Donnie Yen has resigned himself to being a martial-arts hero on film.
“When people hear the name Donnie Yen, they associate it with someone who does martial arts. I can accept that… It is not easy being an action star these days,” said Yen, 47.
He was in town yesterday to attend the gala premier of his latest film, Wu Xia, at VivoCity.
Despite his words about being an action star, Yen – who also served as Wu Xia’s action director – still hopes “to allow the audience to see a different side of me”.
“As an actor, it is my responsibility to…continue to challenge myself,” he added. That is why the Ip Man actor took on roles in the contemporary rom-com All’s Well, Ends Well (2011) and the upcoming The Monkey King.
Tellingly, when photographers later asked the actor to strike a “fight” pose, Yen politely refused. The former stuntman revealed that, in the next couple of years, he will be taking a break from period films, focusing instead on contemporary action films, a genre he personally prefers.
