'I want it to be more passionate, but I can't': Tony Leung on kiss with Charlene Choi and working with Andy Lau in new movie The Goldfinger
Tony Leung was in Singapore on Dec 21, 2023 to promote his new movie The Goldfinger.
PHOTO: Shaw Organisation
PUBLISHED ONDecember 22, 2023 5:29 AMByYeo Shu Hui*Minor spoiler ahead
In the new crime thriller movie The Goldfinger, Cheng Yiyan (played by Hong Kong film icon Tony Leung) and Zhang Jiawen (singer-actress Charlene Choi), get drawn into the heat of the moment and the latter leans in for a kiss, which almost grows into something passionate.
When Tony's actress wife Carina Lau watched the scene, she was dissatisfied, claiming that Charlene did not kiss him "fierce" enough, according to a report by Hong Kong publication HK01 yesterday (Dec 21).
Speaking to Singapore media at the press conference for The Goldfinger yesterday, Tony, 61, was asked about this kiss scene.
"In the movie, the move by Charlene's character shocked me, my character felt that something was wrong and did not continue further," he shared.
He added with a laugh: "So the initiative is not from me, I want it to be more passionate, but I can't."
As the audience burst into laughter, host Danny Yeo asked director-scriptwriter Felix Chong how many times they shot the scene.
"I think we shot three times. I chose the second take because it was already quite fierce," Felix said, earning chuckles from the audience.
Tony, Felix and executive producer Ronald Wong were in town yesterday to meet the press as well as fans at Universal Studios Singapore, where a gala premiere for the movie was held.
The Goldfinger is set in the 1980s and centres around the rise and fall of con-man Cheng Yiyan, who builds his own international conglomerate through a series of bold investments, messing with stock markets and involvement in corruption and fraud, leading to a 15-year cat-and-mouse chase with Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) principal investigator Liu Qiyuan (Andy Lau) to uncover the truth.
Starring alongside Andy Lau after 20 years
The movie also marks the 20th year since Tony and Andy worked together in Hong Kong action thriller film Infernal Affairs in 2002 — also written by Felix.
Speaking about working with Andy, 62, again, Tony shared that he felt it was timely as they haven't been working together "for a long time".
He said: "I actually felt very happy because it is always a joyful experience to work with Andy. So when I heard that he was involved in it, I felt very relieved. Especially in playing a new role, when you have a production team that you are familiar with, you feel more at ease."
Tony added in an interview later that he felt Andy's acting is different now.
"His performance is much calmer and extensive as compared to before. It could be because of more life experiences and also continuous performance, which resulted in differences in acting," he said.
Tony also told Andy during the Hong Kong premiere on Dec 20 that they should not play opposing characters in the future, but partners — including partners-in-crime.
"Partners may not necessarily be good characters, bad characters can also be partners, such as gangsters. I hope that each experience is new," he explained.
'I am bolder to try new things nowadays'
When asked how he has changed as an actor over the past 20 years, Tony replied that he is more willing to step out of his comfort zone now.
"I am bolder to try new things nowadays. In the past, I was more used to performing within my comfort zone and would work with production teams that I am familiar with… But now I am more willing to try out projects with different directors or in different countries. For example, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is my first step out," he elaborated.
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"Next year, I am playing a neuroscientist in a European film with a Hungarian director. To me, these are all new experiences and opportunities that I did not dare to try out before."
With various achievements and box office hits over the years, Tony was asked if he had once thought he would be a superstar.
He replied humbly: "I have never thought of it. Acting has always been my interest and it did not change even now. I am still committed to it. Because to me, it is something fun and each performance allows me to be exposed to different things, different lifes and also learn new information.
"I feel that this is fun because for most jobs, you may basically do the same thing every day. But for actors, with every character that they play, they also have the opportunity to explore different worlds each time."
Achievements as motivation to do even better
In September, Tony was awarded the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival. He also received his first Golden Rooster Award in November.
Despite his accomplishments, Tony felt that these are not assurances for the future.
He said: "I don't feel that having certain awards means you will act well in the future. This award may only represent certain films or the recognition of efforts that you have committed to in the past.
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"Every character is different, it doesn't mean that you would also succeed in playing these characters in the future. Such as my next film, it all depends on the reception from the audience when it is released. I am also not sure if it will be successful.
"So I still have the motivation to do well. There is no particular ambition that I have to reach a certain goal, I just simply wish to put in my best effort to play every character well."
The Goldfinger, which also stars Simon Yam, Alex Fong, Phillip Keung and Catherine Chau, opens in cinemas here on Dec 30.
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