Kicks, for real

 

An experienced choreographer today, Chen tumbled into filmmaking in 1997, after being selected in a kungfu contest held in the US by Yuen, who was looking for assistants to help with The Matrix.

"Tiger was a shy boy who spoke little English then," Yuen recalls in the prologue to Chen's book, From Sichuan to Hollywood. "But I knew he would be something when I saw him perform in the contest."

The Matrix was the first time Hollywood had invited a Hong Kong stunt team. Although the Wachowski brothers were loyal fans of Yuen, the Warner Brothers' bosses were not sure about the choice.

So at a dinner, Yuen asked Chen to display his skills with the nine-section-whip, a traditional Chinese weapon. The stunned producer turned to Yuen and said: "I want my actors as good as him after three months."

Chen immediately got to work on Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne, putting them through the most basic skills, such as stretching and splits.

Reeves wanted to come up with his own style, recalls Chen. He did not want to merely copy Bruce Lee, Jet Li - or Chen.

Being a stunt mentor to stars for 12 years, Tiger Chen fights for himself this time by starring in the new martial arts movie Kungfu Man.

The stuntman told him to watch films of Lee and Li every night and combine what he saw with what he was taught.

"You will see in The Matrix series that Reeves' style is unique," Chen says. "Of my star pupils, he is the most hard-working and interested in Chinese culture."

Chen told him about the panda, landscape and food of his native Sichuan, and shared the philosophy and culture behind tai chi. Sometimes, they also talked about girls, exchanging ideas about relationships.

When making The Matrix II, Reeves' former girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, died in a car accident. Chen and Reeves never really talked about it. "What I did do was to make the training less harsh," says Chen.

The actor helped him with the screenplay of Kungfu Man and part of the funding.

"Maybe we built a bond because I am the person who tortured him the most in his life," jokes Chen.

He has also worked on projects such as Kill Bill and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, building a close relationship with Yuen, who treats him like his own son.

But he never forgot his dream to make his own film. After all, it was Jet Li's 1982 film, The Shaolin Temple, which motivated him to learn martial arts at 8.

Chen left for the US after graduating from a kungfu school at 20, working as a coach and performer. Sometimes, he had to do dishes in restaurants to make ends meet.

"I wanted to see the outside world and realize my dream," he says. "I told myself the worst thing would be to end up performing on the street."

When he first joined Yuen's team, he was the only one who did not speak Cantonese, and was not used to Hong Kong cuisine. But, recalls Yuen, the young man never complained.

When making The Matrix, he dislocated his shoulder while going through a routine with Reeves. But he continued with the training and ended up having to undergo surgery.

Chen did not invite any of his star friends to join his film project or even guest star in it.

"They are superstars, and people will not like a film just because Reeves or Liu are in the cast list," he says. "Finally, it depends on my own efforts."

Looking to the future, his dream is to direct a film. "I will then really have a film of my own."