Jude Poyer began his carreer as an actor and stuntman in 1996 in the Hong Kong Film industry. A lifelong fan of cinema in general (and action films specifically), Jude (also known by his Chinese name, Wong Chi-hung) studied both acting and martial arts for a number of years before making the move from his native London, England to the action capital of the East. Since then, he’s had the chance to work with many of the industry’s top names: people he once admired from a distance as a fan. These include : actors Jet Li, Yuen Biao and Michelle Yeoh, directors Tsui Hark, Christopher Doyle and Andrew Lau, as well as masters of action choreography, Ching Siu-Tung, Sammo Hung and Tung Wai. Jude is also a member of the Hong Kong Stuntmen's Association.

1. How did you get involved with the HK movie business ?

I've always been a fan of movies. Even when I was very young, I watched a lot of videos. When I was about 8 years old, I discovered martial arts and acting - two big passions. As I grew up, I watched more and more action films and Hong Kong films, and developed a real love of them. I was training in martial arts and doing acting classes too. As a teenager, I knew I wanted to make my career in films. I could have opted to go to Drama School or Film School, but in the end I thought going to Hong Kong and trying to get work and an education on film sets (getting paid and getting some great experiences at the same time), was the way for me.


2. Can you relate your martial background and the styles you learnt ?

I did a little Judo, then got into Shotokan Karate, that's my foundation style. Over the years I've trained in or dabbled with Wu Shu, Tae Kwan do, some boxing and others. I've trained with and taught alongside, for example, Kempo guys and Cheung Kune practitioners, so have been exposed to quite a few styles. I should add, though, that for me, the interest has always been predominantly in the "art", rather than the "martial". I like performance and the beauty of motion. Learning to defend myself, or how to hurt people has never been high on my list of priorities.


3. Did you suffer from discrimination by the local people because of your foreign origin ?

Discrimination exists everywhere in the world. In time, I found the HK movie people got to know me, what I'm like as a person, what I can and can't do in terms of performance, and looked beyond the tone of my skin, or my round eyes. If folks had really been racist, I doubt I'd have lived and worked in Hong Kong for eight years, made so many movies, and married a Hong Kong Chinese lady !



4. What do you think of the working opportunities in HK cinema for a foreigner ? Did your knowledge of Cantonese help you to widen your working choices?

Right now, things aren't good for most performers in Hong Kong. The number of films is shrinking, and the number of shooting days isn't generous too. Roles for Westerners are usually most plentiful in action films, and not many of them get made in Hong Kong anymore. It's sad. I was fortunate to work a fair bit in TV and commercials, not just doing action, but a bit of acting too.
Of course the range of parts on offer to gwailos in Hong Kong is limited. I'm quite lucky in that I got to do more than just the typical "nasty white guy" on occasion, but a serious actor would eventually tire of the roles on offer.


5. You've managed to join the Hong Kong Stuntman Association, something quite rare for foreigners. What does it mean to you?

Basically, being a member helped me on occasions when perhaps action directors didn't know me. Anyone can say he's a stuntman, but by being a member, the coordinators at least knew I (probably) wasn't completely useless! I remember on "The Medallion", Jackie Chan was a bit worried about me sitting off camera when they were doing minor explosion - his action director Nicky Li said "Big brother, don't worry, I know him. He's in the stuntmen's association".
Going back to your question of discrimination, being in the association helped me feel accepted into the Hong Kong stunt scene, I guess it made some folks a bit less wary of me. It also feels good to be a part of a group of people whose members include the likes of Tony Leung Siu-hung, Yuen Bing, Ridley Tsui, and Stephen Tung - people I've admired for years.



6. You already fought great martial artists like Chui Man Cheuk or Yuen Biao, can you relate us this experience?

Chiu Man-cheuk was an incredible performer - a very versatile martial artist. "Fist Power" was an extremely low budget film, shot in 13 days. I worked for just two and a half days. I remember being very happy to get the job, because I really rate Chiu, and to be honest, he was one of the few remaining martial arts stars in Hong Kong. Donnie Yen was still making films, but Jackie and Jet were in the West, and Fan Siu-wong was doing TV in China, - all the other leading men in Hong Kong weren't really action folks.

I remember they started "Fist Power" very shortly after "Body Weapon" - same star, director, and much of the same crew. Not after I shot my fight in the park with Chiu, I saw "Body Weapon" in the cinema, and I realized that "Fist Power" too, was just a knock-out-quick B movie, and would never be a classic. When I finally saw the film, I was disappointed further by the editing, which I don't think made the most of the techniques we were doing on location. I guess the film was edited in a hurry too. I'd have loved to fight Chiu on a film of a larger scale, like "Blacksheep Affair".

Going back to the shooting, though, I had a good time working on the film. It was physically draining, but I admired Ma Yuk-seng's unbelievable speed at thinking up choreography, director Aman Cheung's calm and controlled manner as director, and the cameraman Choi Sung-fai's ability to make a leather purse from a sow's ear.
Chiu, and I couldn't communicate too well verbally, what with Cantonese being secondary languages to both of us, but we got on fine, and we were able to communicate through action.

As for Yuen Biao, well I have so much admiration for the man. He's a great performer, a humble person and it was an honour for me to fight him on screen.



7. To Stay just a little bit more on Yuen Biao, this is not a secret that Biao did a lot of stunt double in his early day on many movies, and he double a lot of people like Samo Hung, Lam Ching Ying and even Jackie Chan. There are rumours on the internet which say that Yuen Biao did some stunt doubling for Jackie Chan on Drunken Master, what do you think about this theory ?

I don't know about that. I think it's unlikely that he did because by 1978 he was working quite a bit for Sammo. It's not impossible, though. You can see him double Jackie in "My Lucky Stars" and "Heart of the Dragon".


8. You don't have a lot of scenes in the movie Star Runner, did you shoot more than we can actually see in the movie ? Can you tell us more about the shooting ?

Originally, I got the call for that film about a year before shooting. I was told that Chin Kar-lok had recommended me for a film to be made - a prequel to "A Fighter's Blue", to star Edison Chen. Well, eventually, it turned into "Star Runner" starring Vanness Wu from the huge Taiwanese band F4. We filmed at the same place that I've worked on about 5 or six films at, and I was told I was playing an Australian kickboxer. Yes, some footage did get cut, but basically that's because most of what I did was used in the montage with all the fighters and the early bouts. So I shot more stuff of me hitting the pads (Ricardo Mahmood was playing my trainer), getting into the ring, and a few more techniques when I fought a stuntman. Also my fight with Vaness was a bit longer. After he knocked me onto the canvas, I spat out my gumshield and acted dazed…no surprise it was cut out…these "odds and ends" are often trimmed to streamline a movie.

Chin Kar-lok is a very approachable, down to earth guy. He also helped get me on the American film "Ultraviolet". Daniel Lee, the director was very polite too. He came over, shook my hand and thanked me after we shot my little fight with Vaness. I was just doing my job! Gosh, it really was a polite set, cos Vaness, who's this huge pop idol in Asia was very polite too, and even said to me after we were done, "Sorry for really hitting you for real. They told me to!"



9. In the documentary Red Trousers we see that Ridley Tsui is very strict and hard with his stuntmen, can you tell us more about the way he works ?

Well firstly, before we go any further, let me say that away from the set, Ridley is a very different person. He has been generous and encouraging to me, especially when I first arrived in Hong Kong, and he taught me a lot. He can be hard on set, but sometimes I think it's like an encouragement, to make you do your best. Some people respond well to it, and figure there's less to fear in the stunts than in the boss. Others find a gentler approach gets them comfortable and relaxed. For me, I look at Ridley as the last of the "old guard" of action directors. Yes, he's young, but he's also been through Opera training, and working under strict folks like Sammo. Tough is what he knows. Ridley himself has performed some of the most impressive stuntwork I've ever seen, so I guess he feels the tough approach often gets results.

I've been on sets where action directors have been swearing at me to get it right. I keep a cool head and don't let it get to me - it's water off a duck's back. I prefer people to be nice to me, but who doesn't ?


10. You've been under the direction of a lot of famous choreographers, can you tell us if there is major difference between the way they work ?

Everyone has their own style, as you can probably tell by watching a film. In terms of choreography, I'm quite confident that if I turned on the TV and an action scene from a HK film or series was on, I'd be able to guess the action director 85% of the time. Some have techniques they are fond of using, for example Ma Yuk-seng likes ridgehand strikes, while others have a particular way of controlling the camera when they film. I found Ma's (modern day movie) style suited me, because it's quite rough n ready, but with a few kicks thrown in, which suits my Karate background.

I can't really go into this too much here, because it's too big a subject. Here's one possible difference you'll find: some action directors appreciate your input as the performer, for example "I kick better with this leg" or "how about I follow that up with this technique?" Others, just want you to do as you're told (as best as you can).


11. I saw that you did some work for HK Legends, like the "Ballistic Kiss" documentary on the Full Contact DVD, or some audio commentary and interviews. Do you enjoy to share your knowledge of the HK Cinema with the fans ?

I enjoy doing work for Hong Kong Legends very much. I try to think as a fan "what would I like to see?" and then put what I know to use. That documentary on the "Full Contact" dvd was rushed together in very little time, and I think it's ok considering we hadn't even visited the set before. I was a bit upset about the editing of the action scene. I had done a cut for them to see, and it was very Hong Kong style. I didn't have anymore input on the editing, and the finished cut is much more in line with UK TV style. I had more time to prepare the wirework docu on the "Duel to the Death" dvd, and I hope people will think it's better.



12. What do you think of the current situation of the Hong Kong Cinema, and do you think there will be a revival of hong kong action movies in the future ?

There will always be some kind of Hong Kong film industry, but I don't see a return to the glory years. At least other exciting film industries are emerging in Asia, such as in Korea and Thailand. Perhaps, in time, China will truly open he door to Hong Kong's industry. That hasn't happened yet. The HK films made for Mainland approval are far too bland and don't have that dangerous quality which once gave HK films their edge.

Because the Hong Kong industry is in such decline, I'm focusing my attention more towards the West. These days I'm busy training up my skills to make me a better, more rounded stuntman, doing lots of diving and horse riding etc…


Thanks for taking some of your time to answers this interview.

It has been a pleasure. Thank you for your time.


Our warmest thanks go to Jude Poyer for answering our questions.

- Official website : http://www.jude-poyer.com/

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