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Tony Leung: the unforgettable cowboy leading man of Asian cinema shows his true grit to a legendary director and fellow frontiersman

Interview, Sept, 2005 by Wong Kar Wai

DATE: Wednesday, May 25th, 2005

LOCATION: Orphee restaurant in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Our original plan was to meet at 11 P.M. But Tony changed our meeting to 9 P.M. He goes to bed early these days, as he gets up very early in the morning to work out. This is the Tony Leung I know: Once he is not shooting a film, he will be preparing for his next role.

--WONG KAR WAI

WONG KAR WAI: Did you develop these routines when you were younger?

TONY LEUNG: I grew up in the '60s and '70s. We were not a rich family. There were limited things we could do. So aside from going to the movies, I worked out a lot. We played badminton or rode bicycles in the streets.

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WKW: I wonder if you notice that all the sports activities you like to do--like jogging or riding the bicycle--are individual sports. I mean, I never heard about you playing a sport like soccer.

TL: I used to get very tense in situations involving groups, it's the same with basketball.

WKW: So you prefer to do individual activities. Then why did you take up acting? It is a field where you are forced to deal with many people. It's a team activity.

TL: It's different. When I act, I am not myself anymore; I become someone else. I can channel my emotions. That's why I am so relaxed with acting.

WKW: We have also heard childhood tales of you and Stephen Chow, who directed Kung Fu Hustle, shooting Super-8 movies, and the two of you playing Bruce Lee characters--

TL: It wasn't me who liked acting at the time. It was Stephen. He really enjoyed acting.

WKW: [laughs] But I heard you would always play the leading man, and he would play the villain.

TL: It was the opposite. I was the villain, and he was the leading man.

WKW: Stephen told a different story. He said he had to be the villain because you owned the Super-8 camera. He had to play the villain and die on every occasion.

TL: I believe this has to be--

WKW: Studied and re-examined?

TL: Yeah. It was his camera, and he had all the film. He wanted to shoot the film.

WKW: Both of you started your respective careers at TVB, the major TV station in Hong Kong, where they ran training programs for actors. Was it very competitive to be one of the students?

TL: The television medium blossomed in the '70s. Many of our most renowned filmmakers, like Tsui Hark, Ann Hui, and Johnnie To, began their careers there. To work in television was a very attractive career choice for many young people. Chow Yun-Fat, Stephen, and I all graduated from the TVB's training courses. I never thought I'd become a professional actor. Stephen tempted me. He told me about the TVB classes. [Phone rings. WKW turns off his Blackberry] I remember there were something like 6,000 applicants, and only 60 got in. It was a one-year program. Very competitive. At the end I think only 30 of us graduated.

WKW: You soon became one of the most popular young idols in Hong Kong. People raved about you as the most promising young actor, and you worked with great directors like John Woo and Hou Hsiao-hsien and with co-stars like Chow Yun-Fat. I recently read your filmography and found out that you have starred in over 60 films. For a Hong Kong actor, you have been rather unproductive and lazy! I remember you were shooting three or four movies at the time when we worked together on Days of Being Wild [1991]!

TL: No, I was only doing Johnnie To's Royal Scoundrel [1991]. I remember I had to come to your set in the Walled City in Kowloon each day right after Johnnie's shoot. I was so exhausted.

WKW: As far as I remember, you were shooting three films at the same time: our film, Royal Scoundrel, and A Chinese Ghost Story III [1991]. At a certain point we had to change our shooting schedule because you had to shave your hair off for your part in A Chinese Ghost Story III.

TL: No, I don't think so.

WKW: Yes, you were wearing a wig for the shooting of Royal Scoundrel.

TL: No. How could I have played in your movie if I wore a wig?

WKW: That's why we had to change our shooting schedule and move on to shoot another sequence with the rest of the cast.

TL: No, I was doing A Chinese Ghost Story III much later.

WKW: Then why all of a sudden did you start wearing a wig for Johnnie's film in the middle of the shoot?

TL: Not possible ... maybe you're right. But I do remember that I had been very tired during that period. I used to come to your set hoping that you would take your time with your camera, your lights, and all of the other actors so that I could have some rest.

WKW: It was more than rest, you were actually sleeping. [both laugh]

TL: I remember you guys shot me sleeping. This was actually very good for me in playing that part. It really put me at ease.

WKW: That was a good time.

TL: Yes. But it was also difficult to be in the Walled City, which used to be full of opium dens. It was a place full of untouchables. I remember no one actually shot any footage there before because it was dangerous--it was kind of a sin city. We all thought it was a crazy idea to shoot there. It was dirty, full of rats, and not a place you would want to spend more than an afternoon in. Our set was a small space, and it felt like a prison. I remember water dripping. I wondered if it was raining or the sewage.

Tony Leung: the unforgettable cowboy leading man of Asian cinema shows his true grit to a legendary director and fellow frontiersman

Interview, Sept, 2005 by Wong Kar Wai

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