Donnie Yen: If I don't return home with bruises and injuries, how do I show how much I've given to my work?

Singapore eases its Covid-19 restrictions today (Aug 10), just in time for a star-studded Hong Kong action blockbuster which slinks its way into our cinemas this week.

Raging Fire — director Benny Chan's swansong before he died of cancer on Aug 23 last year — stars Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse, and features guest appearances from 80s Hong Kong celebrities like Ray Lui and Simon Yam.

It's chock full of intense and fast-paced action choreography and car chases, and naturally, Donnie, 58, and 40-year-old Nicholas, don't disappoint.

AsiaOne was on the phone with action star Donnie last Friday, where he shared more about the film from Berlin, Germany, where he's currently filming John Wick 4 (yes, with Keanu Reeves!).

Inevitably, the interview veered to whether he injured himself while performing the daredevil action sequences. In one scene, his character, police inspector Cheung Sung-pong, comes home after raiding a villain's den and reveals a wrecked body full of bruises and injuries.

"My body looks like that every time I film an action film. Don't talk about Raging Fire. I'm filming John Wick 4 now, and I go back like this, too. It's very normal," Donnie told us.

"If you don't return home from work [with bruises and injuries], how do you show how much you've given to your work?"

In Raging Fire, Sung-pong is an extremely righteous man and it cost him career promotions and brought him a few enemies. When his principles cause his protege Yau Kong-ngo (Nicholas) and the latter's team to be imprisoned, chaos is unleashed.

Donnie added that he's passionate about movies and has high expectations of himself. His injuries accumulate after years of filming action films, and is aggravated with each film. His wounds (including old ones) never got better and won't get better, he said, adding that he's perpetually in pain.

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He added: "It's become a mentality. If you want to make an action film, then you've got to make it the best and the most thrilling. And when you finish work for the day, you limp back home, realising you can't straighten your back and you've injured yourself here and there. It feels horrible. You have a shower and go to bed, but you can't sleep."

Nevertheless, he's thankful his wife Cissy Wang is very capable and takes full care of their Hong Kong production company, allowing him to devote his time to movies.

Raging Fire opens in cinemas here on Aug 19, with sneaks from Aug 13.

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kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com