Donnie Yen Chi-Tan is a martial artist and actor, film director, , and . He is a well known film and television actor in Hong Kong and, more recently, in the West, having been featured in many movies with prominent, internationally known actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh.
Biography
Early life
Yen was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, the son of martial arts master Bow Sim Mark and Klysler, a newspaper editor. He was raised in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. His younger sister Chris Yen is also an accomplished martial artist and rising actress, recently appearing in the independent film ''Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock Around the Dragon''.
From a young age, Yen was interested in martial arts of all kinds, experimenting with various styles, from Taekwondo to . After dropping out of school, Yen decided to stick with Wushu, moved to Beijing to train further with the Beijing Wushu Team. During his training in China, his instructor Mr. Lee demanded Donnie cut his hippie-style mullet as it was inappropriate. When he wanted to return to the United States, he made a side trip to Hong Kong and it was there that he met Yuen Woo-ping, a famous Hong Kong fight choreographer.
Career
Yen's first film role was at age 21 in 1984 in the film ''Xiao Tai Ji''. The film revolved around , and although not a critical success, the film helped Yen to achieve further notability. Over the years, Donnie would send martial arts magazines and books from North America back to Mr. Lee in China. Sometime after filming Drunken Tai Chi and Tiger Cage, Donnie had cosmetic surgery to give him folded eyelids and to straighten his teeth. The changes are very apparent in subsequent films.
However, Yen gained his breakthrough role in 1992 as General Lan in ''Once Upon a Time in China II''. His final fight against Wong Fei-Hung remains one of the most celebrated fights in martial arts films to this day. This fight scene could be considered one of the very best in martial arts films, and has been revisited to an extent in 2002's '''', where Yen and Li face off again. He learned how to use a spear from a man named Master Ma. '''' was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 2003 Academy Awards but lost to ''Nowhere in Africa'' .
In 1997, Yen started a production company known as Bullet Films, and made his debut. Two of his films, ''Legend of the Wolf'' and ''Ballistic Kiss'', in which he also starred, are widely considered to be groundbreaking in their style and tone. Donnie went on to choreograph fight scenes Hollywood films, such as ''Blade II'' and various '''' projects.
He later co-starred in ''Shanghai Knights'' starring fellow Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan. The role of Wu Chow in ''Shanghai Knights'' was originally offered to his on-screen ''Tiger Cage 2'' nemesis, Robin Shou, but due to scheduling conflicts, he had to turn it down and it eventually went to Yen.
Donnie was briefly engaged to ATV actress, Man Yee Man, before marrying in 2003 in Toronto to Cissy Wang, 2000, with whom he has a daughter, Jasmine. Donnie also has a son from a previous marriage named Man Cheuk Yen. Yen choreographed most of the fighting animation in the 2004 videogame ''Onimusha 3'' .
Yen has been very active in Hong Kong cinema as of late and can be seen as Chu Zhaonan in Tsui Hark's wuxia epic ''Seven Swords'', and opposite Sammo Hung and Simon Yam in the brutal crime drama ''''. Both films were featured in 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Also in 2006, he starred as Wong Xiao-Long in ''Dragon Tiger Gate'', an adaptation of a popular Chinese comic book, together with Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue.
Donnie also worked on '''', starring Alex Pettyfer, serving as .
In 2007, Yen starred in '''', which he produced and served as fight choreographer. The film earned him awards for Best Action Choreography at the and the Hong Kong Film Awards.
His next film, '''', is a semi-biographical account of Yip Man, a famous Wing Chun master and teacher to Bruce Lee. ''Ip Man'' will mark a fourth collaboration with director Wilson Yip, reuniting them with co-star Simon Yam and Sammo Hung who will make a cameo appearance and serve as fight choreographer.
Filmography
*''Miracle Fighters 2''
*''Drunken Tai Chi''
*''Mismatched Couples''
*''Tiger Cage''
*''The Last Conflict''
*''In the Line of Duty IV: Witness''
*''Tiger Cage 2''
*''Holy Virgin vs. the Evil Dead''
*''''
*''Cheetah on Fire''
*''Once Upon a Time in China II''
*''New Dragon Gate Inn'' aka ''Dragon Inn''
*''''
*''Butterfly and Sword''
*''Hero Among Heroes''
*''''
*''Circus Kid''
*''Jing Wu Men, television series
*''Satan Returns''
*''Black Rose 2''
*''Legend of the Wolf''
*''Asian Cops - High Voltage''
*''Ballistic Kiss''
*''Shanghai Affairs''
*''''
*''Fist of Fury: The Sequel''
*''Shurayuki Hime''
*''Blade II''
*''''
*''Shanghai Knights''
*''The Twins Effect II''
*''Protege de la Rose Noire''
*''''
*''Fist of The Red Dragon''
*''''
*''Seven Swords''
*''Stormbreaker''
*''Dragon Tiger Gate''
*''''
*''An Empress and the Warriors''
*''''
*''''
