Donnie Yen Net Worth

Donnie Yen's Quotes

• (On the inspiration of becoming a director) I have always been a rebel, in my whole entire life, since I was just a martial artist. I always have questions in the back of my mind. Why does it have to be this way? Can it be that way? I always try to question and challenge that system and I guess that kind of attitude I brought into the film industry when I was just an actor. I see different films; I see how a director or choreographer would choreograph it. And I say to myself "it can be improved, it can be better and in less time". Or I'd wonder "how come this film is a good film and the other one a bad film, when the budget is not much different?" There are certain techniques, a certain system. When I was an action choreographer, when I used to work for Yuen Woo Ping, I used to grab a whole team of people and just raise questions. To the photographer, or to Yuen Woo Ping: "could it be that way? Could be it, be that? Why not try it this way?" Very soon, I established a kind of trust from Yuen Woo Ping, because I made a lot of his films happen with my suggestions.
• (On learning from veteran Hong Kong action directors) Of course it's Yuen Wo Ping. He brought me into the circle. Some of his filming techniques and styles bear great influence on me. Actually, I admire the techniques of other martial arts directors too; they have their own unique ways of handling action scenes. I hope to learn from them. This is my pursuit of martial arts all along - mixed martial arts.
• (On changing generic fight choreography) Nowadays, martial arts directors go along with the advancement in filming techniques. We can use some techniques to coordinate with non-martial artists. In my early days with Yuen Wo Ping, technology was rather backward, whatever we did depended on the raw skills of the actors themselves; but the actors nowadays are exceptionally fortunate. They could rely on editing, doubles, wires, and even special effects to make them look like they could fight well. But I believe, now that the audiences seek authenticity in martial arts, they could be cast aside. That's why we are looking into real combat.
• (On martial arts training) Music and movement are both expressions of the same basic human energy. They are like paints used to color the screen.
• When you watch my films, you're feeling my heart.

Interesting Facts about Donnie Yen

1. Grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
2. Classically trained pianist.
3. Billed as Michael Ryan in his earlier films, until Ah sau ging gat: Si gou aat sin (1994), released in the Philippines.
4. Can speak fluent Cantonese, English and Mandarin. Can also speak casual Korean, since he learned it as a requirement for his character during the filming of Qi jian (2005).
5. Brother of Chris Yen.
6. Current wife Cissy Wang was the winner of the Miss Chinese Toronto Pageant 2000. She also represented Toronto in 2001 for the Miss Chinese International Pageant.
7. His current wife Cissy Wang is 18 years his junior.
8. Has a son from a previous marriage.
9. He was sent to Beijing, China, to continue his martial arts training and avoid committing crimes with a street gang.
10. He sustained a heavy injury in his right shoulder while making Ching fung dik sau (1985) which still affects him to this day.
11. A big fan of Bruce Lee. He was one of the auditionees for the title role in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993). Jing wu men (1995) and Jing wu feng yun: Chen Zhen (2010) are dedicated to Lee.
12. Has a huge fanbase in Japan which has given him some opportunities to work behind the camera on not only movies but popular video games as well. He directed the cinematic intro sequence of Onimusha 3 (2004).
13. Well trained in various martial arts styles, including wushu, tae kwon do, kick-boxing and boxing.
14. He was supposed to co-star with Brandon Lee in a sequel to Legacy of Rage (1986) but Lee's departure back to the States led to the idea being scrapped.
15. Michelle Yeoh considers him to be the fastest martial artist she has ever worked with.
16. He turned down the role of the main villain in both Tai-Chi Master (1993) and The Legend of Drunken Master (1994) eventually played by Siu-Ho Chin and Ken Lo respectively.
17. A former member of Woo-Ping Yuen's Yuen Clan stunt team.
18. Daughter (2004) named Jasmine W. Yen.
19. Newborn son (2007) named James W. Yen.
20. Can also understand Shanghainese, because his wife's family is Shanghainese.