How did you make the connection between pop-star and actor?
I started doing movie work coincidentally but then I found that, I think it's all about creation. Whether you're writing a song or acting in a film it's all about the process of creating something. And I think that process is very interesting. It's not just acting. I'm just as interested in directing or camera work or any other of the new technologies of how they make movies, of how they make dreams. It's very interesting.
How much training was involved for House of Flying Daggers?
I'm not at all qualified for action movies. For this one, I practiced just the basics of using a sword for about a month. But the only thing we could learn was the basics. We didn't know what kind of action would be involved in the role. The action director likes to arrange or think the scenes on set so every day we arrive and wait for him to choreograph the scene and then we learn and we shoot.
That sounds quite dangerous...
It is!
So was the story perhaps more attractive than the life-threatening action?
For this movie, when I first heard the story, I really thought of it as a love story. I didn't even consider the action. This is a love story that the director wants to tell.
Are there any similarities between Daggers and Hero?
The common ground they both share is about sacrifice. When you make a choice you have to sacrifice something else for what you're after. In Hero it's about self-sacrifice I think, whereas in House of Flying Daggers it's a little different.
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