I Once Hoped that I Could Be Second Bruce Lee: Donnie Yen

I once hoped I could be the second Bruce Lee one day, said Donnie Yen in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday.

Yen, a Hong Kong star, cultivated his interest in the martial arts when he was little with the help of his mother.

"My mother forced me to practice Chinese martial arts in the beginning when I started to like it. She woke up at 05:00 or 06:00, dragged me out of my bed and made me practice martial arts. I went to school after practice. I gradually found myself gifted at and adept in martial arts. You know kids. When they discover they have some talent in a certain area, they would like to spend a lot of time on it. I felt I was quite good at martial arts. I worshipped Bruce Lee then and hoped I could be the second Bruce Lee one day,” said Yen.

After spending two decades in the film industry, Yen had his international breakout role in Ip Man, a movie based on the master of the Wing Chun form of martial arts and one of Bruce Lee's teachers.

"I became popular after more than 20 years of acting in movies. I couldn't have achieved what I have now without this time period. Without the experience, I may have not been able to play Ip Man (the grandmaster of the Chinese martial art Wing Chun) with such a flavor. So, I always tell the media that acting in movies is to reflect characters through their life experiences,” said Yen.

He made his debut at CCTV's 2016 Spring Festival Gala with a martial arts performance.

Yen is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director and producer.
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