The kung fu guru has been captivating audiences for over four decades. His comedy approach to action movies has proved a winning combination. He follows up his success with the "Rush Hour" movies and "Shanghai Noon" with the sequel, "Shanghai Knights", in which he again stars opposite Owen Wilson.
How did you combine the roles of star and fight coordinator?
I just wanted to be on the set every day. Even if I had a holiday, I wanted to go and see Owen [Wilson] and help out when he had an action scene. I was the fight coordinator, so it was my job to make everybody comfortable.
Tell us about choreographing the Big Ben fight sequences...
At the beginning it was really tough. Many years ago, I did the clock tower stunt. It was a really good fight sequence so I was worried about how we could make it different. Then, after we had figured out how to do it, I was more comfortable. And we had all the sword fighting and the British way of fighting. The final result was good.
How much did you enjoy having a different backdrop for the characters?
I think for us it's good to have a certain place to help the comedy. Otherwise, if we just stayed in the Wild West, it wouldn't be any fun at all. For the next one, "Shanghai Dawn", we might go to Africa.
Director David Dobkin tells us this film is more like your Hong Kong movies. Do you feel that way?
Yes. In "Rush Hour 1" and "Rush Hour 2", they promised all sorts of things but at the end of the day, they cut the hours, they cut the budget. But they always said: "Let's do it Jackie Chan-style". And I say: "If you want to do it Jackie Chan style, then one day is not enough." But David Dobkin really knows to give me whatever days I want. This is why everybody loves this movie and loves the action sequences. Everybody asks me why is this better than the "Rush Hour" movies, and it's because I could do whatever I wanted.
