2007: Exclusive Interview on Tony Leung

Exclusive: Chinese Superstar Tony Leung

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