No part of this story can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.
Fast forward to the end of 8days.sg’s interview at the Mira Hotel in Hong Kong, iconic action star Donnie Yen directs this question to us: “Did you really like the film?”
We had told the 61-year-old that a media screening of his new action thriller The Prosecutor had the audience applauding when the credits rolled.
“I always say, as a filmmaker, the ultimate mission is connecting with the audience,” he says, before adding, “I’m very pleased to hear that you guys liked it.”
Now, before you think this writer was trying to butter up one of the biggest movie stars in the world, I wasn’t.
Aside from the much-hyped fight scenes, I genuinely enjoyed The Prosecutor for its pacing, storyline, and yes, even that touch of Hong Kong humour.
In the film, Donnie plays Lit Man, a police officer-turned-public prosecutor who navigates the Hong Kong court system with his own brand of investigation.
The crime thriller is based on a true story and also stars Julian Cheung, Michael Hui, Francis Ng, and Kent Cheng.
Though Donnie can laugh about it now, he tells 8days.sg that he almost didn’t act in the movie, which he also directed and co-produced.
According to the Ip Man star, he wasn’t convinced he was right for the role, given his lack of experience in this genre, and turned it down three times.
It took his co-producer and frequent collaborator, Raymond Wong, almost three months to convince Donnie.
“I don’t know why he was so persistent. Maybe he promised some investor, ‘I got Donnie Yen!’” he jokes.
Donnie finally agreed, but only on one condition:
“I told him [Raymond] that it had to be repackaged,” says Donnie, who then took it upon himself to rewrite the script, coming up with 10 drafts before he was satisfied.
“At the start, I also felt it wasn’t interesting enough and as we have seen this type of story so many times,” he explains.
For The Prosecutor, Donnie also credits his wife of 20 years, Hong Kong model Cissy Wang, 43, for her input.
Describing her as a “clear-minded and intelligent woman,” he says Cissy’s perspective always gives him a “sense of balance.”
“People don’t understand that a clear-minded opinion is very important, especially for someone like me who has been in the industry for so many years and has so much recognition,” he says.
He even refers to Cissy as his “boss,” as she not only runs Bullet Films Production, the company they co-founded, and is also the mother of two of his children, Jasmine, 19, and James, 15.
Without giving too much of the film’s storyline away, Donnie says his kids were constantly on his mind when he was directing The Prosecutor.
“I don’t want them to run into problems like this,” he says, crediting Cissy for bringing them up well.
Donnie also has an older son, Jeff, from a previous marriage.
As with any action thriller, injuries are inevitable. However, Donnie tells us there was one accident during the filming of The Prosecutor that made him think he was a goner.
In one of the final fight scenes of the film, Donnie says his opponent accidentally dropped his head on the ground instead of the mattress.
“In that moment, I heard a loud crack sound from inside my neck. I thought I was paralyzed and was really scared,” he recalls.
Donnie had to halt filming and go to A&E at 4am for an X-ray and MRI scan.
“I thought maybe that was it,” he muses. “In my 42 years, there have been so many moments when I realised it was life or death,” he wryly adds.
However, Donnie brushes off any talk that this was his most intense fight scene and says that almost every movie he’s been in has had its risky stunts.
And yet, it seems he keeps going back for more.
“I don’t know why but every time the camera starts rolling, I just continue to do what I do best,” he says.
8days.sg also asks Donnie if Singapore has what it takes to be the backdrop for his next blockbuster.
He tells us he has actually floated the idea before, saying he is always open to filming in new locations.
“I kind of hinted to the Singapore government that if they would like me to film here, they have to give me some sort of support, right?” he laughs.
Guess the ball is in our court now.