Donnie Yen Was Nearly Blinded By Jet Li Twice On Two Film Sets - 8days Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Donnie Yen Was Nearly Blinded By Jet Li Twice On Two Film Sets

Two narrow misses filming two box office hits, 10 years apart, which could have left him blind in both eyes.

donnie_yen_blinded_jet_li

Way before Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen, 60, became synonymous with legendary martial arts hero Ip Man, he was already a respected actor and choreographer in his field.

He had starred in many martial arts movies since his debut in the ‘80s and is known for doing his own stunts (well, maybe not all the scenes in his new movie Sakra).

In an interview with GQ, the star broke down some of his iconic characters and shared on-set anecdotes.

One of his most memorable experiences was when he was nearly blinded by Jet Li while filming a lengthy pole fight in 1992’s Once Upon A Time In China II. That pole fight is a defining scene in the movie, arguably one of the best action sequences in Hong Kong cinema.  

“There was a shot where Jet Li is wired up and we both have these thick poles and they're quite heavy. If they hit you in the head, they'll knock you out. There was a move where he spins 360 degrees, swings at me and I block it. After about 30 takes, he missed. Instead of coming [from top down], he comes across horizontally. He whacks me right on my eyebrow and I get knocked back about eight feet. Five seconds later I said, ‘Wait!’ I drop my hands and blood was spilling. I kid you not, it was spilling like a shower spray. It was like...Kill Bill,” he recounted.

Donnie was rushed to the hospital where he received six stitches [near his left eye] but was back on set the next day.

“The day after, they call me and say, 'Are you okay? Can you come in for close-ups on the right side?’ At that time, I thought, ‘Close-up? You will see my stitches.’… But they shot me from the other side so you can’t see the [wound],” he said.

This scene was the highlight of Once Upon A Time In China II
A heroes reunion

The pair reunited 10 years later in the wuxia film, Hero.

Donnie recalled that they spent 21 days shooting a fight scene in the courtyard of a temple, and this time Jet nearly blinded Donnie’s right eye.

“I remember he was wired up with a sword. Although these are prop swords, they are still quite sharp. This whole shot was one take, about 50 moves or something. At the end of the shot, maybe the 48th, 49th move, he strikes down with his sword. He went, ‘Boop!’ And I back up, Jet said, ‘Donnie, there's blood spilling out of your face,’” said Donnie.

“He whacked me on one side and 10 years later, he whacked me on the other side. Six stitches again, two times, both sides close to my eyeballs. I could have been blind."

He continued: “I started laughing and I said, ‘Oh this is gonna be great. This movie is going to make a lot of money. The last time we did this, the movie was a box office success.”

He was not wrong.

Face off with his idol

During the interview, Donnie also talked about working with his idol, former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, in Ip Man 3.

“When I realised he was going to be in Ip Man 3, I was excited and at the same time, a little bit nervous. What if he knocks me out?” said Donnie.

Well, Donnie ended up being the one hurting Tyson.

"It was an accident. He was coming at me with a flurry of punches, and I was supposed to block his punches with Wing Chun techniques, and in Wing Chun sometimes we use the elbow. When I was going at it [with his elbow], maybe I had a bit too much power behind it and I accidentally hit one of his fingers,” explained Donnie.

“I didn't know about it and he didn't mention anything. The next day he came in, he had something wrapped around his finger and he joked, ‘Donnie broke my pinkie.’”

Photos: hk01

Advertisement

Shopping

Advertisement

Want More? Check These Out

Watch

You May Also Like