by BONNIE SIEGLER
1998

The Corruptor is Chow's second English-language feature. After learning the ropes on Hong Kong TV, he's busting up the big screen in his latest, The Corruptor

Proclaimed "the coolest actor in the world" by the Los Angeles Times, Chow Yun-Fat's films have broken every box office record in Asia. A talented actor who has made a career of versatility, he is equally at home in action thrillers, slapstick comedies and tragic dramas. He's the star of over seventy films, including John Woo's The Killer, Hardboiled and A Better Tomorrow. His American -- and English-speaking -- film debut was in The Replacement Killers opposite Mira Sorvino. Next up will be a starring role opposite Jodie Foster in a remake of Anna and the King of Siam.

The son of farm workers, Chow, 43, grew up in a house without electricity. After moving to Hong Kong at age 10, he briefly attended a Maoist school, but quit school entirely at 17 to help support his family with a variety of odd jobs: bellboy, courier, camera salesman and taxi driver. That, he feels, is the secret of his wide popularity: "I think when people look at me they see themselves. If I'm playing a cab driver, I'm the real thing."

In The Corruptor, his second English-language film, Chow plays Nick Chen, one of the NYPD's most decorated officers. Chow spoke with PEOPLE Online's Bonnie Siegler about the challenges of working in English, his days as an "acting machine" in Hong Kong and the perils of doing your own stunts.

What was the experience like working with a big American director?

Very exciting. James Foley is like a crazy man on the set so it was not only exciting but fun. He's yelling at me, jumping all around -- he's like a devil, but I like him very much.

What did Mark Wahlberg teach you about American culture that you didn't know?

A lot of bad jokes and bad words -- lots of street talk, a rap song (Laughs). My dialogue coach said to me 'You are a very good student, right? So don't listen to this kind of talk -- get it out of your mind.'

What was your childhood like?

Very joyful. I was born on a small island, 30 minutes from Hong Kong. My childhood every day was working the farm with my parents. It was just like the people living in the Midwest. But we didn't have snow.

How did acting come about?

When I was in college, my schoolmates saw an advertisement in the newspaper. One of the big TV stations wanted new blood. I went and filled out the application, sent it back, went to the audition -- but didn't get it. [So] I paid $30 a month to go into acting class for a year. We did ballet and modern dance, makeup, hair, martial arts, drama theory and acting. A year later I graduated and signed a contract with a TV station for 14 years. It was with just one station, but different TV shows -- mostly melodrama, soap opera type series. I did more than 1000 episodes. I loved it, but I was like an acting machine. Everyday, 6 a.m. to midnight, non-stop acting. I was paid $90 per month. That was my first contract.

But you're not paid that today?

Today is better (Laughs). In Hollywood, we don't have to work on Saturday and Sunday -- in Hong Kong, we worked eight days a week. In America, as an actor, I feel very respected and comfortable. In Hong Kong, you're just a working machine and treated like a dog. But I did two very successful TV series with not much pay and I'm proud of that work.

With such an action-packed movie were there any incidents of anybody getting hurt?

In this movie [knocks on table] nobody got hurt. But in the Hong Kong productions, lots of people got hurt, even me. No pain, no gain. In Hong Kong I did 80% of my own stunts. Here there are a lot of restrictions. But I'm really not an action actor -- I'm a melodrama actor. [When I'm] working with [director] John Woo, it's not my movements that make it action-packed, but Woo's movements and camera angles.

Was it a hard transition to move from making movies in Hong Kong to the U.S.?

I think the biggest problem was the language. In Hong Kong we mostly speak Cantonese. I think the vowels in English are very hard to learn and here you have to stick out your tongue a lot for making the sounds of "th". We don't do that in Cantonese. English is a lot harder to learn than I thought, especially with my age -- I'm still young but languages are easier to learn when you're even younger.

Would you like to stay in America and do more movies?

I don't think so because I'm still holding a Hong Kong passport. I cannot stay here for more than 6 months; otherwise, I have to pay worldwide tax. This is my wife's most important concern (Laughs).

So you're married?

Oh yes. No children but I have 4 dogs. I live in Hong Kong and so do my parents. I actually think it's better there now with the change in government ownership because everything is so cheap -- so please come on over, along with your credit cards.

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