Donnie Yen - From Cha Pha Lang to "First Grandmaster" Ip Man

Donnie Yen is one of China's top martial arts superstars. Although he was famous late, he is considered by the public as the most martial arts star after the legendary Bruce Lee. A troubled private life, with countless attitude scandals with juniors and colleagues, "Ip Man" Donnie Yen is still loved by a large audience.

Martial arts superstar is rare but successful too late

Donnie Yen was born in 1963 in a martial arts family in Guangdong, China, his mother - Mai Bao Thien is an international martial artist and Tai Chi boxer. Influenced by his mother, Donnie Yen studied martial arts from a very young age.

At the age of 17, Donnie Yen returned from the US and studied at a sports school, becoming a junior of Ly Lien Kiet. While Ly Lien Kiet quickly became famous, becoming "Kungfu King" Cbiz, Donnie Yen struggled with supporting roles that did not resonate well.

With an unsightly appearance, slit eyes, and lack of "tidy" teeth, Donnie Yen received only supporting roles - lucky enough for him to be listed as a new actor in the Hong Kong film industry. . The film that is considered to be a bit impressive by Donnie Yen during this period is Kill the Witness (1989).

In 1992, Donnie Yen brought a different perspective to the audience thanks to two villainous roles in Hoang Phi Hong 2: A self-made man and Tan Long Mon hotel. The most prominent role is in the film Hoang Phi Hong 2, this is the first time Donnie Yen has collaborated with veteran actors such as Truong Thiet Lam, Khuong Dai Ve, and famous actor of the time, Jet Li. The match between Nalan Nguyen Thuat (played by Donnie Yen) and Hoang Phi Hong (played by Ly Lien Kiet), using a variety of weapons such as knives, cones, etc. Classics in the history of martial arts movies.

Later, Donnie Yen also collaborated with Ly Lien Kiet in the film Hero (2002), and the fight between Truong Khong (played by Donnie Yen) and Vo Danh (played by Ly Lien Kiet) was voted as one of The best martial arts fights on screen ever. For the film Hoang Phi Hong: A Man Who Is Self-Strengthening, Donnie Yen was nominated for the best supporting actor award at the Hong Kong Film Festival.

Reputation of the world with Sa Pha Lang and Ip Man

In 1995, the movie Tinh Vo Mon was born, causing a new fever in Southeast Asian countries. The film is 18 episodes long, set in the Republic of Vietnam period, about important periods in the life of the legendary character Tran Chan. The character Tran Chan, once portrayed by Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, is now portrayed by Donnie Yen and has created many new impressions.

In Vietnam, many people know him for this role and many people call him Tran Chan. Although the film was a success, in terms of martial arts performance at that time, he showed that he was heavily influenced by Bruce Lee's role of Tran Chan, from facial expressions to mixed martial arts dance moves. the typical scream of the Ly family.

Donnie Yen starred in director Zhang Yimou's blockbuster Hero in 2002. The film brought his name to the world. The director surnamed Zhang, who is strict, has shown great admiration for Donnie Yen's martial arts performance in this film. Donnie Yen's role only appeared in one scene, the director surnamed Zhang used as a method of embellishment. He hit from start to finish in his appearance, and the shoot took 20 days.

After the failure of Seven Swords, Donnie Yen met up with young up-and-coming director Diep Vi Tin. This meeting marked a new milestone in Donnie Yen's career. Up to now, they have collaborated on 4 films, all of which are famous, that is the trilogy of Sa Pha Lang, Long Ho Mon, Dao Fire Line and Ip Man.

In Sa Pha Lang, Donnie Yen plays police Ma, cold, seemingly lonely but a person with affection. The role gives Chan a l.ot of room for inner acting. In the film, the most impressive part is the bloody and dramatic fight between Donnie Yen and Ngo Kinh and the battle in the living room between Donnie Yen and Hong Kim Bao. Following the success of Saha Pha Lang, Chan - Diep continued to work together to make Long Ho Mon and Dao Hoa Tuyen. These films have all received many nominations and awards.

However, the most successful and influential is Ip Man. The film Ip Man tells about an important period in the life of the famous master Ip Man, in this film Donnie Yen performed a different style than before, which was not to use his famous kicks but the part Most of the martial arts moves are done with hands - a unique feature of Wing Chun.

To perform these martial arts moves, he practiced Wing Chun for 8 months, as well as lost 5 kg to fit the role of Ip Man. In terms of acting, the role has a bit of humor and more inner scenes than his previous films. Mr. Ip Chuan, Ip Man's son, after watching this film, praised Chan and thought that he was the most suitable person to play this role.

In terms of revenue, the film reached 100 million yuan (over 3.5 billion dong) and 25 million Hong Kong dollars (more than 74 billion dong) after 1 week of release, becoming the highest-grossing martial arts film ever. it's time.

Diep Vi Tin once told him: "You need a character so that people will immediately think of Donnie Yen when they mention it". It was not until the age of 45 that Donnie Yen waited for the character Ip Man - his lifelong role, to officially step up to the ranks of the top martial arts superstar Cbiz.

2017 marked the first time that Donnie Yen and Andy Lau acted together in the movie Boss Hong Kong. The film Boss Hong Kong is inspired by two real characters in Hong Kong history: gangster Ngo Tich Hao - nicknamed "Tho" Hao", and police chief Lu Lac. If the "Tho" Hao was once performed by Lu Luong Vy in Ba Hao (1991), it was Luu Duc Hoa who played the clever but equally cunning Loi Lac through two episodes of Detective 500 million Loi Lac (1991). ). The impressive thing of Boss Hong Kong is the participation of two b.ig stars of Hong Kong cinema. As the main character who is prioritized both in terms of acting and exploitation, boss Hao "thom" is the soul of the work under the convincing performance of Donnie Yen. It can be said that this is the film Donnie Yen confirms his acting talent.

Multi-talented in film production

In addition to acting, Donnie Yen also works as an action director and martial arts director. This is Chan's side job, but it has brought him a respectable collection of awards: 7 awards and 2 nominations, including 3 Kim Tuong and 2 Golden Horses. He worked as a martial arts director from the early years of his career, with the hit film Long Tiger 1.

In 2008, when making the film Ip Man, because he had taken on many jobs (practice martial arts, acting), the role of martial arts director Chan was assigned to Hong Kim Bao.

Becoming a director at the age of 34 with the film Legend of the Wolf, so far, Donnie Yen has directed 6 films, including successful films. The 1997 film Killer Kiss was awarded "one of the best films of 1998" by the Hong Kong Film Critics Circle and at the Italian Udine Film Festival. The films Thien Co Van, Legend of War Wolf, and Tan Duong Son Dai Brother are all classified as hits.

He is the only candidate (out of 6) of Hong Kong to win the "Best Young Director" award at the Yubari Film Festival, Japan.

Donnie Yen has acted as a producer and co-producer for 5 films: Painted Skin, Fire Island, Dragon Tiger Gate, Killer Kiss, Legendary Wolf Warrior. In 1997, he opened a film studio called Bullet, but has since disbanded.

Donnie Yen first entered the gaming industry in 2004, with Capcom's popular game Onimusha III. He plays an important role in this popular action game, taking on the job of directing martial arts and performing models for the character. In 2006, Game Dragon Tiger was born based on the movie he played the main character. Legs also model the movement of the main character in this Game.

Private life surrounded by a series of scandals, bullying colleagues

Contrary to the image of the movie, Donnie Yen in real life has always been a controversial actor with markets and scandals for more than three decades in the profession. In which, prominent are the scandals that turn against the master, bully the juniors and use their influence to block the development of the people they hate. In 2012, young director Canh Ve Quoc was angry when talking about the actor: "Donnie Yen is a martial arts master on screen, but a petty person in real life".

In the process of cooperating with many colleagues, the actor surnamed Chan always tries to s.how his position. During the work with Trieu Van Trac, the actor arbitrarily edited the script, giving up a l.ot of the acting land of his colleagues to intentionally push him down the sideline. Trieu Van Trac then held a press conference to declare in front of the media: "Donnie Yen is my sworn enemy".

Donnie Yen and Ly Lien Kiet were originally brothers and sisters who were taught martial arts by great master Ngo Bin. Sticking from a young age until reaching the peak of fame, the two began to have personal conflicts. Specifically, in scenes with fellow subjects, taking advantage of Ly Lien Kiet's injury, Donnie Yen often deliberately hit him to make Ly Lien Kiet injured. Up to now, Donnie Yen is also rumored to contradict most of the b.ig names in the martial arts film industry alone.

Not stopping there, the star "Ip Man" during filming was also accused by the behind-the-scenes staff, not watching anyone. Many filmmakers after collaborating with Donnie Yen expressed their frustration that it was the last time they worked. "Let's try to ask Donnie Yen a question: where is your work ethic? How do you consider the signed contract worth?", the representative of the "Iceman 2" crew angrily denounced the actor in front of the media. announced at the end of 2018.

The scandal with the film crew has not ended, the action movie star continues to be called by many Chinese fans to boycott because of her participation in the design s.how of the fashion house that used to be entangled in the noise of i.nsulting the Chinese. The incident broke out in the context of Chinese people not yet calmed by the similar scandal of Dolce & Gabbana. The actor, in the face of a wave of protests, "redeemed" by canceling all remaining shows, compensating for the contract that lasted until the end of 2019 with his partner, and apologizing publicly on his personal page.

Most recently, the actor and his wife and children left at a Vip party attended by a large number of artists and controversial faces in the business world. According to the disclosure, Donnie Yen feels disrespected by the organizers and thinks that he is discriminated against because he is Chinese. Although the organizers then pleaded, Donnie Yen and his wife did not respect, leading their daughter and more than 20 bodyguards to leave. The action of the martial arts actor's family did not receive much support on social networks. Many netizens evaluated this as the lack of professionalism of the Donnie Yen couple.

In addition to the controversial career, Donnie Yen's private life is also a topic that consumes a l.ot of paper and ink in the press. Before having a peaceful life with his wife, Miss Uong Thi Thi, the actor was married to a woman named Luong Tinh Tu. The two met, quickly got married, and broke up briefly within two years. After everyone went their separate ways, Luong Tinh Tu raised their son alone. For many years, Donnie Yen has been accused of being unfaithful and cold when he does not recognize his eldest son.

Donnie Yen always appears in front of everyone with a glossy image of an ideal husband and father next to his wife and children. However, he was repeatedly criticized by the public for discriminating between his children. Donnie Yen clarified that he was not irresponsible to his eldest son. He said that every month, he provides 40,000 yuan (about 136 million VND) for his ex-wife to raise children. This explanation of Donnie Yen does not convince many people because fatherhood cannot be replaced by m.oney.

Many people criticized Donnie Yen now having a happy life with a new family but forgetting the past with his old wife. It was not until the last few years that the relationship between the father and son Donnie Yen - Chan Van Trac also gradually improved, the actor was present at the graduation ceremony of his eldest son to cheer and congratulate.

Donnie Yen reveals that there is a place where no one can beat him youtuber18:11:20 21/06/2021Recently, Donnie Yen participated in a press conference to promote the movie Nora Fire. Here, the Hong Kong actor shares his success. "In real life, you can beat me. But on the b.ig screen, no one can beat me. Because this is where I succeed." According to the star born in 1963...