"Warriors Two" HKL Interview:
My relationship with Mr. Hung began
when I first went to Hong Kong. He taught me the technical aspects. He
coached me throughout the film. Mr Hung was the main person who taught
me what films were all about. The relationship between Mr Hung and I
may have been destiny. Director Hung and I had a very good
relationship. The way I see it, the movie we made together was the best
movie ever. Through that film and through Mr Hung I learned what films
are about. The passion of the movie, the focus of the movie and the
love of the movie all came from director Hung. Those memories hold a
special place in my heart. I admire and love him as a director. That’s
why I got involved in the movie. The most important thing was Mr Hung
was enormously skilled as a martial artist and as an action director
and he knew what kind of skills to expect from me. He knew what kind of
ability I had, he had confidence in me. So whatever qualities he saw in
me were what got me into these martial arts films.
We had a discussion
about the film. I think my fighting moves will last a long time in the
minds of my fans. And the reason why I like director Hung is, when a
particular role is beyond an actor’s ability, especially when a lot of
risk is involved, he encourages the actor to perform. He definitely
demands difficult movements from the actors. If an actor puts 90% of
himself into the role, Mr Hung demands 120%. He has the ability to get
that extra 30% from the actor. When I compare him with other directors,
when I worked with them it was a lot easier, there wasn’t as much risk
involved for the actor. But working with Mr Hung requires a lot of hard
work and it’s very risky work. But even though it was so hard and so
risky when we were filming, in spite of the risks, once the filming was
finished it was worth it. Watching myself, „Well, I did it! How did I
do it?” I impressed myself. He made me surprised at my own abilities.
I
was picked up by Sammo Hung of Golden Harvest when I was in Hankok gym.
In 1976 I moved to Hong Kong for the first time. This was the film that
introduced me to the Hong Kong movie business. For me, as a Korean, it
wasn’t easy to get a leading part in a movie. So I was very lucky to
get it. I had a hard time getting into the role. But I got a lot of
support from the other actors. It was their friendship and support that
enabled me to play the role. For me to make use of my Tae Kwan Do to
its full extent in the film was all due to action director Mr Hung. He
was the one who enabled me to show off those skills.