Experts Roundup: The Rise of Donnie Yen

In the first of this new, topical series from Budomate Magazine, I joined a range of guests to analyse why action star Donnie Yen didn’t immediately catch popularity with the Blade and Highlander movies of the 90s, and whether his mainstream appeal will impact on future work.

I said: "Those of us who’ve been watching Donnie Yen for years, mainly in his Hong Kong work, already know he is super talented. We’ve seen his best stuff. Eastern stars picking up small roles in Hollywood is good exposure but unfortunately, they’ve been underused, historically speaking. However, I feel it’s changing now. In films like Rogue One and Xander Cage, the ensemble setup, and characters are much better written and a stronger vessel for someone like Donnie to show what he can do. I know people who’d never seen a Donnie Yen film leave the cinema and say he was their favourite in Rogue One!

Whether or not the quality is affected comes down to the scripts he gets. For Donnie, with franchises like Star Wars and xXx under his belt, he has a pretty great launchpad for his Hollywood career which can only be a good thing."

Read the full article here