Donnie Yen wants to break free from "Ip Man"

8 Oct – Donnie Yen does not want to be stuck playing Ip Man for life, reported Sina website.

The 50-year-old actor, who talked about his new movie "Special ID" recently, expressed, "I know that people like "Ip Man" very much. I can keep on making sequels but the truth is I don't want to continue be stereotyped into a role. I want to show improvement."

Donnie also added that he has done his research before filming "Special ID", saying, "Aside from learning mixed martial arts, I also studied Chow Yun-fat's interpretation of his character, Ko Chau in "City On Fire"."

The actor also expressed his hopes to continue making modern action flicks after "SPL" and "Flash Point", and added that he wished to make "Special ID" a part of his mixed martial arts trilogy.

When asked if performing three different roles – actor, producer and action director – in "Special ID" stressed him out, Donnie said, "Doing all three things left me with only three hours of sleep every day. I also get injuries all over my body. But I still persisted because I feel like I am one of the pillars of Hong Kong kung fu films, and I hope that the entire world will learn how strong kung fu films are through my movies."

"Special ID", which also stars Andy On, Collin Chou and Zhang Hanyu, will be released in cinemas on 18 October.