Jet Li "Interview"on how he played two real-life Chinese martial arts heroes on film.
A: As an actor, I don’t want to become typecast. I don’t want to be known for just playing one character, or for only playing one type of role. That’s why I decided to attempt Fong Sai-yuk ” it gives me the chance to do something different. Fong Sai-yuk is definitely a very different kind of character to Wong Fei-hung.
Wong Fei-hung is a very righteous person ” he is someone that you would respect. But Fong Sai-yuk is very mischievous. Audiences seem to like both characters, even though they are very different.
Fong Sai-yuk is said to have existed in real life. Does that influence the way that you portray him?
Yes, the fact that he really existed did influence me. But even so, when you are playing someone real like that, it comes down to how you perceive them, what your view of the real-life person is. Plus you have to take into account what the scriptwriter and the director think of the character, too.
I’m not sure if I am like him at all, but you do have to like the characters that you play. Fong Sai-yuk is one of my idols, so I put a lot of effort into making it a good performance.The scene where you are trying to save Siao Fong-fong from dying on the rope at the end of Fong Sai Yuk II is very intricate.
Yes, that was a very difficult scene to put together. It took a lot of time to prepare it. But it is always worth taking the time to do something special. There are a lot of action films being made in Hong Kong these days, and a lot of them are costume dramas. So you have to work really hard to do something different, to do something innovative.
What do you think is special about Fong Sai-yuk’s style in the films?
He is very quick and he gets straight to the point ” he hits someone hard and they fall down. That’s one way that he differs from Wong Fei-hung. It’s a bit like the way Bruce Lee used to fight.How do you feel about performing kung fu in front of the cameras?
As I trained in wushu, I am used to performing. I am always looking for different ways to present my wushu skills in front of the cameras.
Was there a script for the Fong Sai Yuk films or was it “flying paper” ” that is, you made it up as you went along?
There were scripts for both of them, but the scripts were very loosely written. When we shot the scenes, things changed a lot, and even more changes happened in the editing room. Actually, everything about Fong Sai Yuk was a group effort ” the directing, the stunts, everything. We discussed everything between us before we made the shot.
Will there be a Fong Sai Yuk III ?
When I was making part one, I already had part two in mind. But whether we do a part three or not depends on how it performs in all our different markets. In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong martial arts cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the genre.
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