Donnie Yen quotes

Better to be called something positive and inspirational than something negative. (Donnie Yen)
As an action director I always try to bring something fresh and new. View quote
Donnie Yen
For me, I like to have explosive moments, whether it is a particular movement itself in the whole sequence. I like to have shocking moments; for audiences to feel, like, 'Whoa!' It's always been my forte. View quote
Donnie Yen
I think a lot of people don't realize that martial arts are just an expression like anything else. It's just that most people are not trained to punch or kick, but you can walk or run or dance, which is also part of expression. View quote
Donnie Yen
Martial art is a form of expression, an expression from your inner self to your hands and legs. View quote
Donnie Yen
I always tell younger filmmakers, it's not just about the acting or the art itself. It's about how big of an audience watches your film. View quote
Donnie Yen
Bruce is the man. He was definitely ahead of his time. View quote
Donnie Yen
I'm a very emotional guy. View quote
Donnie Yen
My mum lives in Boston; she's famous for teaching wushu and t'ai chi. So from when I was young, my mum and aunt were like: 'You're training; you're not playing baseball or football.' Training every day was normal. Later, when I was almost a teenager, Bruce Lee became my idol. View quote
Donnie Yen
There are two types of Chinese growing up in America. One is the kind that does really well in school, with thick, thick glasses. And the other is involved with the gangs. View quote
Donnie Yen
For years, I looked to Bruce Lee as a mentor as being a Chinese and Asian man living in this country. (Donnie Yen)
I think every actor wants to try out different things. View quote
Donnie Yen
Look at every action movie in Hollywood. Every leading man from Spider-Man to Batman to James Bond, 'Bourne Identity', every one of them possesses martial arts skills. View quote
Donnie Yen
My action follows my characters. If a character is a cop, you cannot be posing all the time, you cannot fly off the roof because it doesn't make any sense - it's not practical. View quote
Donnie Yen
If you're playing a cop in a modern film, you don't have to walk with your spine straight up and bow before a fight. There's a lot of free form of expressing yourself as an actor. View quote
Donnie Yen
From my experience as an actor, choreographer, action director, and producer, I understand the elements and the dynamics of being a film maker. View quote
Donnie Yen
When audiences look at an action actor like myself, sometimes we are very easily stereotyped or characterized as one type. They forget that we are actors, too. View quote
Donnie Yen
I spent a couple of years doing American films. I did a few. View quote
Donnie Yen
Action choreographer is like talking. When you talk, you have a rhythm. When you act, you have a rhythm. When you're moving your body, you have a rhythm. So as an actor, as a choreographer, the objective is trying to blend everything in - into - ultimately back into that character. View quote
Donnie Yen
Whether I'm acting or making it, at the end of the day it's telling the story; action, drama. You want the audience to feel it - the story, the action, the scene, or a particular shot. I just keep working on crafting my art, on how to make action movies. View quote
Donnie Yen
A lot of Chinese martial arts films were based on Chinese martial arts novels. And these novels created a world of putting history, calligraphy, and martial arts into one. (Donnie Yen)
Doing a movie is a stressful thing. You spend months of you life focusing into that one project, and I want to make sure I do something I really like or I'm really passionate about. View quote
Donnie Yen
Like any other actor, I draw on life experience. View quote
Donnie Yen
An action choreographer is kind of like a dance choreographer. You choreograph the moves and you let the director, cinematographer take into positioning their cameras. View quote
Donnie Yen
For me, shooting, editing, and scoring rely on rhythm. View quote
Donnie Yen