by SHANTI MENON
Photographed by Dan Chavkin
east magazine
August 2000 Volume 2 Issue 8

Thanks Nameless!

	On the Cover PHOTOGRAPHER DAN CHAVKIN (Outline/LATSI) seems to have caught the serious side of Chow Yun-fat. Though he’s certainly thoughtful, the lanky actor is quick to flash that endearingly horizontal grin. Gracious, chatty, and utterly humble, "The Killer" turned out to be a real sweetie-pie.

Named the world’s most popular action hero, Chow Yun-fat is actually more Mr. Nice Guy than big, bad wolf. He talks to east about hidden dragons and having to master mandarin-now that he’s already fluent in English.

FEW ACTORS CAN LAY CLAIM to a face like Chow Yun-fat's. Expressions flit across his features like quicksilver, his calm eyes registering a revolver’s deadly intensity just before his face splits into a dazzling, nearly lunatic grin. The infinitely moldable actor has spent more than a quarter of a century in show business, starting off as an immensely popular television actor with Hong Kong's TVB. His transition to the silver screen was slow and painful, until director John Woo cast him as Mark Gor in his landmark 1986 film A Better Tomorrow. Chow and Woo went on to make a series of brilliantly poetic action films, before Woo took off for Hollywood. Chow, on the advice of his manager, soon followed.

Though the tall, handsome actor's charisma-People magazine did call him the 'world's most popular action hero' after all-hasn't gone unnoticed, Chow's first three Hollywood films-The Replacement Killers, The Corruptor, and Anna and the King-have earned mixed reviews. Critics wonder if Hollywood knows what to do with Chow's talents. So it's both ironic and perhaps fitting that the picture that might earn him true world-wide acclaim is a martial arts flick, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a Mandarin-language period piece directed by Ang Lee. Chow plays a martial arts master in early 19th century China. (The role was originally intended for kung-fu star Jet Li, but he backed out because of other commitments.) Screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival, the movie was reportedly the most well-received one there. It is expected to rake in monster profits in Asia, where it’s being released on 6 July, and make a decent showing in the west as well, thanks to the now familiar faces of Chow and co-star Michelle Yeoh (Tomorrow Never Dies), not to mention the critical respect accorded to director Lee (Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm).

east caught up with the affable Chow, who recently returned to Hong Kong from Phuket, where he celebrated his 45th birthday. He's waiting to start work on Bulletproof Monk, which is being produced by John Woo. Despite his determination to carve out a niche for himself in Hollywood, Chow is clearly more comfortable on his home turf in Hong Kong. Trim and relaxed, his hair graced with a touch of silver, and every bit the gentle soul he's reported to be, Chow chatted about his 'mommy', his taste for spicy food, and the difficulties of his Journey to the West.

SM: After making Anna and the King, your first romantic vehicle in Hollywood, why would you choose to do a Mandarin-language martial arts film?

CYF: I admire Ang Lee as a director. We had almost finished shooting Anna and the King, and the producer gave me a call. He said, "I really want you for this movie." So after one week's vacation, I flew all the way to Beijing and started shooting again. I'm so glad just to have the opportunity to work with Ang Lee. He's a very talented director, and he is a very kind person.

SM: Is Crouching Tiger a typical martial arts movie?

CYF: Not at all. I think it's a mix between Sense and Sensibility, and Star Wars, and some kung-fu movies. It's kind of futuristic.

SM: Did you have to learn martial arts for the movie?

CYF: Yes. And I also had to learn Mandarin. I know some, but you really have to learn the pronunciation. Just like my English, it's not school trained. When the English controlled Hong Kong, I'm sure that 99 per cent of Hong Kong's people didn't like to talk in English, because they hated it. But after the handover, now everybody wants to learn English. When I first went to Hollywood I could not speak a word. I spent two or three years studying pronunciation and grammar. I watched some TV, but I didn't understand a lot of the slang. [But I realize], in some of the talk shows, that guy, Jerry Springer…he seems to create a lot of hatred between the races: white, black, and Asian. Also between men and women, husband and wife. Sometimes it gets very violent. I don't understand the point of showing that. It's quite nasty sometimes.

SM: Was it more difficult to learn martial arts or English?

CYF: Both were very difficult. Actually, I think it's more difficult to learn Mandarin.

SM: I hear shooting Crouching Tiger in China was very demanding. How did you find it?

CYF: Shooting Crouching Tiger took almost five months, but my part was only three months, mostly in Beijing and in the Yellow Mountains. What was amazing for me is I had the opportunity to go to parts of China new to me. On one occasion we were filming near the Yellow Mountains, in a bamboo farm that was more than 1000 hectares. We have a scene in which the female leads fight on bamboo stalks-the top of the bamboo. The surrounding scenery was amazing, it was gorgeous. Not many people get a chance to see that. I'm dying to go back.

SM: What prompted your move to Hollywood?

CYF: When John Woo moved to Hollywood, my manager said "You should go, look for some other roles." So I gave up on the HK market, spent three years in the US meeting with writers, producers, directors, and introducing myself as an Asian action actor.

SM: Is that the way you wanted to be perceived, initially?

CYF: Yes. People are more interested in action more than in drama. That's where the money is. The first two movies were both action movies. People recognized that with 'Chow Yun-fat', they could at least get some money from the Asian market. And then use that to promote Chow Yun-fat in Europe and domestically.

SM: After your romantic lead in Anna and the King, will that perception change?

CYF: I hope so. Some of the independent producers and small studios prefer Yun-fat acting more than in action. So I'm seeing scripts with more romance and acting roles. It's good, people can see another side of me.

SM: Western audiences probably didn't know there’s another side, that you've actually done serious acting work, everything from dramas to romances and comedy right from the start.

CYF: If you want to survive in Hong Kong, you have to do everything. [In Hong Kong] the people pay HK$50 for a movie and they want to see comedy, action, stunts, drama [all in the same film], you name it. You have to be versatile. Anyhow, anywhere, any direction, you have to do it.

SM: Who taught you to handle guns?

CYF: That was John Woo. And some stunt coordinators.

SM: What about handling women?

CYF: (laughs) Guns are quite cold. Women, in reality, or in a movie, are full of passion and emotion, beauty. Handling women is not like pulling a trigger. It's not easy to fire. Women are very sensitive, so you need to be careful. You have to, uh, lock the safety lock. Sometimes I still don't understand why my wife thinks a certain way. And we've been married 14 years.

SM: Did the move to Hollywood put a strain on your marriage? Was it difficult?

CYF: For us, yes. Especially the food. We could not get used to the hamburgers, or to California food. Luckily in Los Angeles, they have a lot of sushi.

SM: What do you miss most when you are in America?

CYF: My mommy. The smell of my country. In LA, you don't talk about anything but the movie business. Sometimes it's quite boring. But in Hong Kong, you can go everywhere. Visit your friends, go to the supermarket, cook your own food. You can hang out in the small streets, the little alleys in Lan Kwai Fong. Even the smallest places can give me a lot of energy.

SM: What do you like to eat?

CYF: In Central, there's a very old, traditional Chinese restaurant called Yung Kee. Lots of roast duck, very famous goose. In Singapore I like to eat curry fish head. Also the Malay food, popiah - that’s very nice. In Los Angeles we drive all the way to Little Taipei. Otherwise we go to the grocery store and pick up our own food to cook.

SM: You enjoy cooking?

CYF: Oh yes, I like it. It's very relaxing. John [Woo], when he finishes work, he’ll go home and cook for four or five hours. He prepares all the ingredients, chops all the vegetables, prepares the chicken. He’s a good cook too.

SM: Aren't you recognized when you go to the grocery store?

CYF: Yes, people recognize me. This is very normal. I need some time to associate with my fans. They pay a lot of money to see my movies. They have supported me for a long time. Every time when I meet my fans, I try to open up a little bit of my private life for them. In Hong Kong I can go anywhere, to the market, the subway, the buses. They treat me like one of their bigger brothers next door. When they see me, they say hi, like we have a close relationship. It’s very good. Like an old couple-you haven't seen each other for a while, so you spend a long time talking. I enjoy it very much.

SM: Were those first few years in Hollywood frustrating for you?

CYF: Not at all, because when I started in TV, I worked for more than 20 years without stopping. When I came to the United States it was a good chance for me to take a break. Even though I had to study very hard to learn the language, it was still a very peaceful time. It was very refreshing. Like I'm not in the business anymore, like I'm back in my school days again.

SM: You weren't able to finish your schooling, were you?

CYF: I didn't finish school. I did up to grade ten, and then I started to work. My mom couldn't support me. I worked as a bellboy and as a postal assistant. I did a factory worker job for two years during the summer. I packed radios into boxes. One year I worked in an electronic chips company. It was very boring, to do that every day. But good money, for that time.

SM: What did your parents do for a living?

CYF: My father was a seaman for Shell Oil. He was working on an oil tanker, so he’d travel around the world. In one year he'd be home four weeks. When I was young I missed him a lot.

SM: So you became very close to your mother, then?

CYF: My mother is my good buddy. We can talk about anything. I would say she is one of my biggest idols. When we were living on Lamma Island, in a small fishing village, she would make dim sum and I would sell it in the village. I was her right-hand man. My bigger brother and sister had already gone to Hong Kong to look for work. So we became very close, because we had this working partnership. I lived with her until I went to the US, then I got her an apartment next to my sister. Now we're used to it, living separately. She doesn't want to stay with me anymore, now she has her mahjong friends! (Laughs). I don't want to disturb her. She's free as a bird now. She doesn't have to look after me anymore.

SM: What lessons has she taught you?

CYF: One thing I learned from her is determination. No matter how bad a situation is, you still have to struggle through. Especially in the film industry, sometimes you have a hard time, working long hours at a poor location, maybe in bad weather. But you still have to put on a show. I try to create some comedy so everyone will laugh, no matter where we are. I think that's important.

SM: When was the last time you lost your temper?

CYF: Ummm-you mean in a movie? Real life? No. Never. Once you have a quick temper, you will stir up your cancer cells. It's very stupid. A lot of agony and unhappiness can create cancer. Always remember that.

SM: Are you settling into Hollywood now, or do you still feel like a newcomer?

CYF: I definitely feel like a newcomer. Every single movie has a different direction, a new variable, and different characters. In Hollywood, they spend a lot of time to create a character from the script. And directors really know the dimensions of the movie. It’s very new for me to talk to directors about how to portray a character. In normal [English] conversation, I still make a lot of mistakes, but in a movie I have to memorize lines. It doesn't matter how poor your English is, the important thing is that you have to say the line in front of the camera. Memorizing is a kind of a pressure, especially for me. But you also cannot put 90 per cent of your effort into memorizing and 10 per cent into acting, that’s totally wrong. I prefer 10 percent on memorizing, and 90 per cent acting. It's more natural.

SM: What techniques do you use to try to get into a character?

CYF: Instinct is very important. It's good to have a director with totally clear thinking about how the story is going. If you are informed about the story, you can easily handle the character. If you are always using your mind to think about how to project the character in the movie, without talking to the director, I think that's wrong.

SM: Do you every have disagreements with directors?

CYF: Sometimes I have suggestions about changing things, or maybe I want to change a movement, or bring out something with my body language. Then I will suggest it. Hollywood directors, I’m not sure they understand me sometimes. Maybe they’ve seen the John Woo movies, The Killer, something like that. They don't realize who the real Chow Yun-fat is. That’s why sometimes we still have a lot of friction, a gap between director and actor. In Hong Kong, all the directors know Yun-fat as a TV actor, know his life, know his personality. It's easy to work with Yun-fat in a Hong Kong movie. Western people see Asians and they often don't understand our cultures. It's difficult. Just like us, we don't understand American culture sometimes. We don't understand all the slang.

SM: How do you address these misunderstandings?

CYF: Sometimes the director has a very strong opinion, and you cannot move him. Sometimes, I really don't want to talk about it, I just want to get through what I'm doing. I don't want to argue with the director.

SM: Because you know it won't make a difference?

CYF: Exactly.

SM: Do you feel a sense of responsibility to your Asian fans in terms of the roles you choose, or the type of movies in which you appear?

CYF: Not at all. I'm in the acting profession. I still have to survive. I'm not concerned about the fans, but I'm sure that if a character was damaging to the Asian image, I would think about it. On the other hand, as an actor, if you think about it too much, you are not being logical. Sometimes as an actor we have to do away with logic. Sometimes we have to be stupid. There is a Chinese saying, sometimes stupid is a good thing. The people who are too smart, they have a very short life.

SM: How do you feel about becoming a sex symbol in Hollywood?

CYF: (Grimaces) It's not important. It puts you under a lot of pressure. I want to be an ordinary person. They can say they love Chow Yun-fat, but it's not reality. It comes from the character [I play].

SM: Will you work in Hong Kong cinema again?

CYF: I don't think so. Not at the moment. Because I still have to work very hard in Hollywood. I have already done more than 86 movies in Hong Kong, and I really want to do 16 to 18 movies here and see what is going on. In Hollywood, 45 is still young, it’s just like the beginning, really. After all, Sean Connery is 70, right?

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