Written by: Edward Douglas
Published in: comingsoon.net on September 24, 2007
Some day, everyone in the United States¨Cparticularly the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences¨Cwill recognize China¡¯s Tony Leung as one of the greatest dramatic actors of our times. He was amazing in Wong Kar-Wai¡¯s In the Mood for Love and 2046, originated Leonardo DiCaprio¡¯s role in Martin Scorsese¡¯s The Departed in the original Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs, and who can forget his romantic role opposite Maggie Cheung in Zhang Yimou¡¯s masterful epic Hero?
With his latest movie, Ang Lee¡¯s Lust, Caution, Leung is one step closer to Hollywood, although it¡¯s another Chinese language period piece like the ones Leung has done so well in the past. Set in World War II Shanghai, Leung plays a Chinese politician collaborating with the invading Japanese, who has an affair with a pretty young woman (newcomer Tang Wei) who happens to be a mole for a group of young revolutionaries who plan to assassinate him.
It was thrilling that ComingSoon.net finally had a chance to meet and interview this amazing actor, especially to learn that he was such a pleasant and gracious person to talk to, and also that he spoke perfect English, which isn¡¯t always the case with Chinese filmmakers and actors we interview.
ComingSoon.net: Is the book on which ¡°Lust, Caution¡± based very well known
in China?
Tony Leung: I think Eileen Chang is a very well known writer in the 20th
Century. In that period of time, she¡¯s very well known.
CS: When was it first published?
Leung: (To his manager) When was it published?
Leung¡¯s Manager: The book was not published until 30 years after (WWII). I
think in the ¡¯70s or ¡¯80s. Ang would have more accurate information, but she
wrote it some time earlier and kept revising it and published it thirty years
later. It¡¯s only 28 pages.
CS: How was it received when it first came out? Was it controversial?
Leung¡¯s Manager: It was not known to be one of her best known books, because
she has many very famous books. This is something that was published as a
short story within a longer book.
Leung: And the most interesting thing is she¡¯s been writing this short story
for ten years.
CS: So you¡¯d read the story and were familiar with it?
Leung: Mmm. Ang gave me the book when we first met, so I read the book first
before I read the script. I found the story very interesting, and I was very
curious how and why she spent ten years writing the short story like this,
only because it has a lot of space that you can create your own stories. What
really attracted me was the character.
CS: Oddly, Ang¡¯s last movie was also based on a short story. They must have
developed your character a lot more for the screenplay.
Leung: Yeah, they wrote a lot more.
CS: What were some of the things you noticed that were different or better
about your character in the script?
Leung: It¡¯s more rich. I think in the script they add more context to the
character. He added a lot about how before he moved to Shanghai, before he
became chief of the secret agents, he was still human and after he moved to
Shanghai, a lot more about the relationship between him and the girl and to
his wife, too. That was not a lot in the short stories.
CS: When I talked to Tang Wei, I asked her about working with you, and she
said that you were very generous about helping her since she¡¯d never done a
big movie like this. Can you talk about doing a movie with a first-time
actress and whether your system was different because of it?
Leung: I think it¡¯s much easier to work with someone who is not experienced,
because she doesn¡¯t have a specific style or way of acting, so it¡¯s much
easier to work with and more interesting, because they¡¯re very unpredictable.
(laughs) You never know how she¡¯ll react, so it¡¯s more interactive and it¡¯s
more fun. I think what I can help her out with is to just make her relax, and
make her feel more comfortable, and she¡¯s very talented. I think it¡¯ll just
come out subconsciously, but you have to make her really comfortable.
CS: I assume as an experienced actor, you can do multiple takes the exact
same way, but being less experienced, does she do each take different?
Leung: Ang Lee is very demanding, so actually, we had to do many, many takes.
Ang always asks you to make more variations, different takes, yes.
CS: When you saw the final movie, were you surprised about any of the
decisions he made, since you never know what might end up in the movie?
Leung: But somehow you know.
CS: Tang Wei mentioned that when Ang filmed your love scenes, it was just
the four of you¡
Leung: Ang, the DP and sometimes the camera assistant or the soundman.
CS: How was it going from having a big crew for all those epic scenes to
something intimate like that? Had you ever done something like that before?
Leung: This is my first time. I think our love scenes were so intense so it
makes us more relaxed to do it in a mini-group.
CS: Did you not even do that on the Wong Kar-wai movies like ¡°2046¡å when
you were working in smaller spaces?
Leung: Yeah, but not as small as this one.
CS: You are somewhat of a chameleon in your roles, in that it¡¯s not always
easy to tell it¡¯s you. You definitely look very different in your role in this
movie, so do you deliberately try to look different in your movies?
Leung: Yeah, I really made a lot of changes this time, because Ang really
wanted me to be a different Tony Leung this time, so I changed a lot before
the real shoot. I tried to change my body language, even my voice. I used a
different voice, even my expression and it really helps me a lot. Ang taught
me to walk like his father. He remembered the men from that period of time
used to walk like this, especially the officers, and I studied the gestures
from some documentary and also from books, psychologically. I read a lot of
books about how the secret agents functioned at that time. I wasn¡¯t familiar
with the history, so I had to study a lot of books.
CS: Was this the most research and preparation you¡¯ve ever had to do for a
role?
Leung: Yes, yes. You have to do as much detail as you can to bring more depth
to the character, so actually, after I saw all the real characters in life, I
tried to figure out how Mr. Yee grew up, and where he was born, and how he got
into military school, so I made him very detailed.
CS: The romance in ¡°In the Mood for Love¡± is never consummated on-screen,
while this one we see the sex in full detail. Can you talk about the
differences between your character in the two movies?
Leung: Oh, they¡¯re so different. The characters are so different, and it made
it very difficult to play Mr. Yee, because I tried very hard to get out of
that character, Mr. Chow from ¡°In the Mood for Love,¡± especially when I was
working for this movie. Any time I wear that kind of costume with that hair,
it reminds me of that character. It¡¯s two different kinds of characters. I
think this one is more masculine, darker. It¡¯s very different.
CS: Did the period costume help get you into the character?
Leung: I think the costume didn¡¯t help me much this time. I think the make-up
really helps. It made me look more pale, so that makes me¨Cat least when I saw
myself in the mirror¨Cthink, ¡°This is Mr. Yee.¡± Without the make-up and the
other stuff, it¡¯s really difficult.
CS: Difficult in what way?
Leung: Somehow, I was in that character (Mr. Chow) for eight years, and it was
also a period movie, especially after you put on those costumes and have very
similar sets. It¡¯s very easy for me to jump back to that character. I remember
one night when I was doing the scene where I walk Tang Wei back to her
apartment. When I did the walking scene, I said, ¡°I just cannot do it. I
cannot find the right rhythm to walk. I just walk like Mr. Chow.¡± He had this
sound coming from his high heels, and that hair gel, and you just feel like
you¡¯re walking in Mr. Chow¡¯s rhythm.
CS: You¡¯re also doing the ¡°Red Cliff¡± movie with John Woo and that¡¯s a
period piece like ¡°Hero,¡± so are you able to use some of the martial arts you
learned for ¡°Hero¡±?
Leung: It¡¯s a very different thing. In ¡°Red Cliff¡±, it¡¯s a real war happening
in those times. It¡¯s very different.
CS: How was it working with John Woo again after so much time?
Leung: I worked with him twice, and he¡¯s still very energetic. (smiles) I
think this is his dream, ¡°Red Cliff,¡± he always wanted to do this, but he
never had the chance, and he told me he always wanted to do this. I think this
is his 31st movie made in China, so I think it means a lot to him.
CS: There¡¯s been a resurgence in period pieces in the last few years. Do
you think that the success of ¡°Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon¡± is what¡¯s
allowed so many Asian directors, both Chinese and Japanese, to make these
types of epics?
Leung: No, I think every Chinese director wants to do some historical epic,
and you can only do it in China, because you can¡¯t find that kind of landscape
(anywhere else).
CS: Did you see ¡°The Departed,¡± Martin Scorsese¡¯s remake of ¡°Infernal
Affairs¡±?
Leung: Yes, yes, of course I saw it.
CS: What did you think about the changes they made to it?
Leung: I¡¯m a big fan of Martin Scorsese, so I think it¡¯s very Scorsese and
it¡¯s really hard to compare, because we have different culture and
backgrounds. He¡¯s doing it in his own style and very different from ours,
which is more stylish, and he¡¯s very solid on the script, also on the
background of the character. I think he did a great job.
CS: And what did you think about Leo¡¯s portrayal of your character?
Leung: I think he portrayed it in a very different way. I don¡¯t mind very much
because I like DiCaprio.
CS: They also built-up his back story a bit.
Leung: Right, right.
CS: You¡¯re one of China¡¯s top dramatic actors, you and Chow Yun-Fat. Where
do you see yourself in the future? Do you see yourself doing Hollywood movies
and has it been deliberate that you haven¡¯t done anything here?
Leung: No, I think I really interested in working with people from different
countries. I did a little like I worked with Tran Anh Hung on a Vietnamese
movie and I worked with Hou Hsiao-hsien or even Zhang Yimou. To me, that¡¯s
foreign language, because I don¡¯t speak Mandarin. Actually, I would love to
work in Hollywood, too. I think once in my lifetime, it would be a very good
experience for me, but I haven¡¯t found the right script. I should find the
right script or the right man in order to do that.
CS: Did you have a lot of people approaching you for their movies after ¡°In
the Mood for Love¡± and ¡°Hero¡± or ¡°Infernal Affairs,¡± all of which were fairly
high profile?
Leung: Yeah, I have some offers, but I¡¯m not interested in the role they
showed me, so not at the moment.
CS: There aren¡¯t that many strong Chinese characters in Hollywood movies
either.
Leung: Right, not much so¡
CS: Would you ever consider doing an independent movie, even if it¡¯s
something like playing someone¡¯s father?
Leung: Yeah, I would love to, in the near future.
CS: We¡¯ve mainly seen you playing a romantic lead, but never a father or a
family man with kids. Is it hard in China to get away from the things people
are used to you doing?
Leung: Of course. Once you¡¯re an icon of something, it¡¯s hard for you to
change.
CS: That must be why Hollywood is always so intriguing to Asian actors,
because there you can do something completely different, for better or worse.
Leung: Mmm-hm.
Lust, Caution opens in New York on Friday and in other cities on October 5.
Source: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=37398