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Tony Leung: A very private film star
2006-03-20
Hongkong movie 'Infernal Affairs' (2002): starring Tony Leung |
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He may be one of the most recognised Chinese faces of his generation and in a glittering 24-year career has brought to the big screen some of Chinese cinema's most memorable characters. But to many -- including those close to him -- actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai remains something of an enigma. "I am a very private person," the star explains. "I am not very good at expressing myself nor show my emotions in front of people. I'm very good at hiding it very well." Ahead of an annual convention beginning Monday that hopes to hammer out ways to save Hong Kong's once flourishing film industry from near-fatal doldrums, Leung remains one of the city's most bankable and decorated stars. In 2000 he won a best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of a cuckold on the the cusp of an extra-marital affair in Wong Kar-wai's cult classic "In the Mood for Love". The gong added to a clutch of awards he had won before -- and more since -- at awards ceremonies throughout Asia, including Hong Kong's Film Awards and Taiwan's prestigious Golden Horse Awards, the Oscars of the Chinese movie world. It's a resume that prompted movie industry bosses in his hometown to adopt him as its ambassador, a job he carries out with aplomb despite his self-professed aversion to the fame game. Backstage at an industry promotion event, surrounded by publicity managers and public relations officers, he is charming and so polite that he insists on sitting only after his guests are sat down. Looking slim and radiant but for a hint of tiredness in his big eyes, the 43-year-old actor tells how his childhood in a broken family had shaped his very private persona. "I grew up in the 1960s when people were really traditional and divorce was rare. Even if the parents didn't get on, they wouldn't have chosen to get a divorce," he says. "I felt very isolated and I was really afraid of telling people that I didn't have a father. So I became more and more detached from the crowd and started to stop talking to other people and hide my emotions. "That became a habit while I was growing up." It is this inability to express his own emotions that keeps this most sought-after of Asian actors in work. "I feel really comfortable about slipping into someone else's character in order to express my feelings. You don't have to feel shy because no one knows it's you. So you can cry, go crazy and show your temper. "To me, it's a relief and a way to help me let off my feelings. I really like that. "That's one of the reasons I like to make films," the quietly spoken actor says with a smile. "Only in films can I release myself." During the interview, Leung betrays little of the unease he speaks of. He talks about himself with ease, sits close to his interlocutor and maintains eye contact at all times. Down to earth and unpretentious, he likes to live a simple life, enjoys reading books and going to cinemas. He is sometimes seen alone picking up a cheap takeaway bowl of noodles in his neighbourhood. -- "Good scripts are more important than fame" -- Leung made his name in television after learning his trade at 19 with a local TV company. Starting out in his career at the same time as fellow Hong Kong stars Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau, he took a number of comedy roles in the early days before moving on to roles in films by such well-known directors as Hong Kong's John Woo, China's Zhang Yimou and Taiwan's Hou Hsiao-hsien. Much of his best work, however, was made with acclaimed director Wong, notorious for working without a script, winning him his highest accolade so far in 2000 with the Cannes best actor award. Not your usual Asian action star, the versatile actor has appeared in more than 70 films and TV series, and played comic roles, martial arts heroes, police officers, and even a gay man in Wong's 1997 taboo-busting film, "Happy Together". It was the womanising writer character that he played in Wong's romantic epic "2046", that earned him the nickname "Asia's Clark Gable" -- mostly because of the Gable-esque pencil moustache he sported for the role. Although shooting without a script can prove difficult, Leung says he has a unique way to work with the director as a result of a strong bond that has been forged between them through years of working together. They hardly utter a word to each other on set, he says. "We don't talk to each other much on set. He doesn't talk to me because I know so well what he requires of me to a point that I know what angle he wants from where he puts his camera. "We know each other's working habits and methods very well; sometimes, too well," he says. Both often keep a distance during filming to give each other fresh ideas for shoots. "If we make a film together every year, he would be tired of me and I would be bored of him. So we'd better separate for a bit before we start our next project," Leung says. "2046" took almost five years of stop-start production to make before it was finally completed. Leung's next production with Wong will be a kung-fu movie about martial arts legend Bruce Lee's trainer. While most actors at this stage of their careers would be dreaming of working in Hollywood, Leung says his first priority is to choose good scripts. "I really enjoy the process of filmmaking, in different places with outstanding film workers. It makes me happy and it's fun. "I don't need more money. I might not want to become more famous because I would have less freedom. There's no difference where you make a film as long as there's no language barrier," he says. Leung says he "wouldn't feel uncomfortable" about making an English-language film, which he has never done before, and hopes to break his duck with an adaptation of a novel by a favourite writer, American crime author Lawrence Block. Leung says he has asked the writer to adapt one of his books into a screenplay, which he hopes to shoot in the United States and play the lead character. As the interview ends Leung is unfailingly polite, offering a handshake and wave before disappearing back into his familiar and private world.
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