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By Kenny Chee
A WORD of advice for Asian actors from Hong Kong-based action star Donnie Yen: Don't focus on breaking into Hollywood as you may not get very far.
The reason? The market there for Asian actors remains marginally small, despite breakthroughs for actors like Jackie Chan and Jet Li, who have had starring roles in several movies.
"It's all about market share," said Yen, 45, in an interview with my paper. He was in town to promote his latest supernatural movie, Painted Skin, where he plays a ghost hunter.
On the flip side of the coin, he said: "If I were asked whether it would be difficult for an American actor to break into Chinese movies, the answer would be: 'Absolutely'."
He believes in his advice so strongly that he has turned down Hollywood offers that did not interest him, such as a role in movie franchise The Mummy, which stars American actor Brendan Fraser. The last Mummy movie, Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, was released last month and took in more than US$297 million (S$423 million) worldwide. It also starred Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh.
"I didn't see myself having any type of satisfaction as an actor playing (the role)," he said.
Yen also reportedly turned down a film offer from seminal director Francis Ford Coppola in the mid-1990s, because the role called for "a ridiculous stereotype of the Chinese", according to news agency Agence France-Presse.
An actor of 25 years who has made his name in movies like Hero (2002) and Fist Of Fury (1995), Yen gained much of his martial-arts training from his mother, Madam Bow Sim Mark, a world-famous wushu and taiji master.
Born in China, Yen and his parents first moved to Hong Kong, then to Boston. At age 16, Yen went to Beijing to train with the Beijing Wushu Team, studying under the same masters as Jet Li.
Yen was discovered by Chinese director Yuen Wo Ping, who gave Yen his start in Drunken Tai Chi (1984).
Yen has had plenty of forays into Hollywood, starring and choreographing fights in movies like Blade II (2002). His last foray into Tinseltown was in 2003's Shanghai Knights, where he played a villain.
In real life, Yen often wears a constantly-serious expression - just like in the movies.
Yet the actor told my paper that much of the real Donnie Yen appeared in his role in Painted Skin, where he clowns around and spouts comedic one-liners.
"The real Donnie Yen likes to laugh, joke and goof around," he said, cracking a rare smile
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