King of Kungfu
By admin on 2015-02-03

Name：Donnie Yen

Born：27 July 1963, Canton, China

Background：
Born to a newspaper editor and a martial arts master, Yen began practising tai chi and wushu at the age of four. At 16 he was sent to the Beijing Wushu Academy, where he studied under the master who taught Jet Li. Upon graduating he moved to Hong Kong and was discovered by action director Woo-ping Yen, the man responsible for making Jackie Chan a superstar. Success eluded Yen for a few years, until he made Once Upon A Time in China II in 1992, which paired him with Li in a fight scene that revolutionised the genre and is still widely regarded as one of the best ever committed to film. Less than 10 years later he was making films in Hollywood - Blade II.

What’s he up to now?
Playing Bruce Lee’s mentor Ip Man in the biopic of the same name. Yen being a big fan of Lee’s, it’s a sweet role for him to play. However, it required Yen to learn a whole new martial art, wing chun, the venerable less-is-more fighting style characterised by short, powerful punches.

• 

  The Monkey King (2012)

  A US$57-million fantasy movie, The Monkey King (Da Nao Tian Gong) has announced that Cecilia Cheung, Gigi Leung and Kelly Chen will join its star-laden cast.
  The film, directed by Pou-Soi Cheang, tells a fairy tale story based on a classic chapter from the ancient Chinese novel, Journey to the West (Xi You Ji).

• 

  The Lost Bladesman (2011)

  During the warring period of the three kingdoms, ancient China is in turmoil. To unify the country general CAO CAO, the real power behind the emperor, enlists the aid of the greatest warrior in the land GUAN YUN CHANG (Donnie Yen).However, Guan Yun Chang is a loyal friend of CAO CAO’s enemy LIU BEI. To persuade the peerless warrior to fight, Cao Cao takes his beloved QI LAN (Sun Li).