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swordsman 2

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I started production on Swordsman 2 at the same time that I was making Once Upon a Time in China 2. While I was very clear about the Wong Fei Hung character -- how he acted and how he thought -- I had a hard time getting into the role of the swordsman, Ling. One of the reasons for this was because when I started filming Swordsman 2, I had not read the book that it was based on (The Proud and Laughing Warrior, by Louis Cha) and so I didn't have a good sense of the protagonist's inner motivations. And there was no luxury of doing the research on the character or even thinking it through. Going straight from one film set to the other, there was no time to think.

As we started to film, I often found myself asking the director, "Wait, explain this to me again ... "

The part of the plot that I couldn't get straight involved Ling's multiple love relationships; it was a complex interweaving of storylines involving five different women.

As is common with movies, we shot scenes out of order to expedite filming. As a result, I would play a love scene in the morning with one female character; in the afternoon, my character was scheduled to flirt with another. This was nothing like my real life experience! I was not used to this type of behavior. Now, Wong Fei Hong's chaste romance with 13th Aunt signified a steadfast commitment that I felt was very similar to my own attitude towards women and love. But Ling was mystifying to me. I constantly asked the director, "Tell me again why I like this one girl, but start chasing another one as soon as I turn my head?"

He answered, "Oh, you're a rake. You belong to the wandering brotherhood of warriors and you're very easy-going. All the girls are attracted to you and you like to flirt back. It's all part of your happy-go-lucky philosophy."

"I don't think I can do this!" I said. "How am I supposed to have so little respect for love? Flirt with one girl, then cozy up with another one behind her back, and as soon as the second one leaves, flirt with the first one again ..."

He said, "Hey , this isn't about you! You're not playing yourself. You're playing Ling, the proud and laughing warrior. Don't make him into Jet Li. You've got to become the character."

So I did my job, but honestly, I'm not sure I was ever able to really inhabit the character during the entire shoot. Ling had a lot of behaviors that I didn't approve of and couldn't identify with. And so I wasn't able to give that role the same energy that I invested into my portrayals of Wong Fei Hong or Fong Sai Yuk. In those films, I became the character. In this film, I was just acting a role.

The experience taught me that the actor cannot completely separate himself from the role that he plays. After Swordsman 2, I set up my own production company. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't have to take any other roles that would feel too forced. Sure, the movie was considered a great success and made a lot of money, but I hadn't been able to understand the character and that bothered me.

Interestingly enough, after making that film, I went through some professional experiences that allowed me to appreciate Ling's attitude towards the politics of the jianghu, or warriors' realm. I began to see that modern day people could still be motivated by power and fame to do some really terrible things. I saw how your dearest friends in the morning could become your sworn enemies by afternoon. I had experiences that made me sigh deeply and say, "Ah, now I understand why the warrior laughs and sings. How dirty and dissolute this wilderness is." When faced with so much betrayal, how can you not learn to laugh off the vagaries of fate? Ling's feelings about the jianghu began to make a lot more sense.

As for his romantic temperament, I don't think I'll ever understand that as long as I live.

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