Tony Leung Says He Chooses His Roles Based On Gut Instinct; Doesn't Rule Out Working With S'porean Filmmakers Or Actors

No part of this story can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.

“I never drink Coke,” we overhear Tony Leung whisper to one of his minders, as the 63-year-old rummages through the fridge at the Marina Bay Sands hotel, before opening a can of Coke. He has a grin on his face, as if he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to.

Maybe Tony assumed the media crowding the hotel suite on the 54th floor was too busy setting up mics and cameras for his roundtable interview to notice.

But c’mon, this is Tony Leung who counts some of Asia’s best work in film, In The Mood For Love (2000), and Infernal Affairs (2002), as his own, and is also known for being incredulously shy in public.

When we ask when the last time he had the fizzy drink, the bemused Tony widens his eyes in surprise that someone noticed. 

“I don’t remember. I used to drink more water, but I don’t know why I need some bubbles suddenly,” he replies.

But one thing is clear, Tony never gets bored of being asked how he prepares for his roles. This he reveals after when we ask if there was a question he always welcomes during interviews.

The screen legend is in town for Silent Friend, screened at the Singapore Film Festival (SIFF), where he plays a neuroscientist obsessed with researching the “thoughts and intelligence” of a gingko tree during isolation due to the Covid pandemic.

He describes the role as the one he's taken longest to prepare.

“I spent six months on this role because of all the books, which are not an easy read for me, or understand,” he tells 8days.sg.

During this time, he visited three universities to research how neuroscientists work, even staying on campus in one of them.

“I’ve never been to university. But because of this movie, I had a chance to stay in a university campus, and I had to shoot many scenes in the library. It is as if I went through university life, and that means a lot to me,” he says. 

Tony is known to be highly selective of his projects, a fact that even Silent Friend’s director Ildikó Enyedi, who's also here today with Tony for our chat, knows.

But Tony gives a different take.

“I take projects by instinct, and I trust my gut feelings,” he says, before turning to Ildikó, and saying that was precisely why he agreed to work with her from their first meeting which happened via Zoom.

So, will he ever work with a Singaporean filmmaker or actor get one day?

“Yeah, why not? In my 40 years, I never plan. I just let things happen. If something comes, I find it interesting, no matter whether it is Singapore, Europe, or the States, I will take it,” he quips.

Alas, that day will have to wait, as Tony also admits there isn’t anyone on our little red dot that has caught his eye, or that he's crossed paths with yet.

Gut instinct, right?

One thing we do know is his next movie role. During a ticketed dialogue session at Marina Bay Sands the night before, he revealed he will be playing a serial killer next, a role which Tony admits will be a stretch.

“I don’t know… It is quite scary. This is the dream of one of my director friends. I am not sure if I want to do it or not. I will only do it for him,” he lets on.

To prepare, the director showed him psychological horror film The House That Jack Built (2018).

“It’s really horrible. I couldn’t watch it at one go. I had to watch it over three, four days. It is too heavy," he grimaces as he covers his face.

We ask if him he had already promised his director friend he will take up the role, to which he said he did.

“It will be a big challenge. I hope it won’t be too dark, and I hope it won’t take too long,” he tells us, before shuddering slightly.

And with that, we wrap up the interview. But not before Tony subtly nicks another beverage from the room. This time, it looks like a bottle of beer. He knows we noticed again, gives us a slight wink before he leaves the room.