Born in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, China, on July 27, 1963, Donnie Yen (Yen Ji-Dan) is an actor, martial artist, producer, director, and action choreographer from Hong Kong. Find out about Donnie Yen’s job, family, dating/affairs, height, age, and physical characteristics. Find Out How Much Money He Has This Year and How Much He Spends? Also discover how, at the age of 60, He accumulated the most of his wealth.
| Popular As | Yen Ji-Dan |
| Occupation | Actor,martial artist,film director,producer,action choreographer |
| Age | 60 years old |
| Zodiac Sign | Leo |
| Born | 27 July 1963 |
| Birthday | 27 July |
| Birthplace | Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, China |
| Nationality | Chinese |
We advise you to look through the whole list of famous people who were born on July 27. He belongs to the renowned actor group of 60 years of age or more.
Donnie Yen Height, Weight & Measurements
At 60 years old, Donnie Yen height is 1.73 m and Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb).
Physical Status
| Height | 1.73 m |
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb) |
| Body Measurements | n/a |
| Eye Color | n/a |
| Hair Color | n/a |
Timeline
When Yen was questioned by reporters in March 2020 during the press tour for Disney’s live-action Mulan remake if he would be interested in appearing in a superhero film, Yen disclosed that Zack Snyder had offered him a part in Warner Brothers’ Justice League and Aquaman, but he had turned it down because of scheduling conflicts. Nuidis Vulko was the role offered; however, Willem Dafoe ultimately took the role.
In February 2020, Donnie Yen intervened to provide HK$1 million to Wuhan’s frontline medical staff in response to the coronavirus pandemic affecting China and the rest of the world. In addition, he created and dedicated a brief video to express gratitude to all Chinese medical professionals for their efforts in combating the coronavirus; Yen has over 11 million followers on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. He also gave the front-line medical staff a painting that he and his two kids had completed.
In Ip Man 4: The Finale, which was released in 2019, Yen played Ip Man one last time. Protesters in Hong Kong that year called for a boycott of the movie, pointing to Yen, co-star Danny Chan, and producer Raymond Wong’s pro-Beijing positions. Despite this, the movie was a box office hit, making more than three times its $52 million budget. It also became the highest grossing Chinese film in Malaysia history and the third highest grossing Chinese film in North America in the previous five years.
Critics praised Yen’s acting versatility and his outstanding portrayal of the late Ng Sek Ho, the film’s main character, when they released Chasing the Dragon in September 2017. In most of Asia, Chasing the Dragon was likewise a big hit with viewers. Chasing the Dragon is considered to be among the top 5 Hong Kong movies of 2017.
Alibaba CEO Jack Ma and longtime friend Jet Li called Yen in 2017 to discuss working together on a short martial arts movie called Gong Shou Dao, which aims to promote a new style of Taiji as an Olympic sport in the future. Yen canceled his participation in the movie while on vacation celebrating his and his wife’s anniversary. Yen said that “friendship is not measured by money” and that he hoped his participation would help spread awareness of Chinese martial arts to a global audience. He declined payment for his participation in GSD. In exchange, Yen and his spouse Cissy were taken aback when Jet Li and Jack Ma assisted in celebrating their wedding anniversary on the set. The entire
On November 11, which is China’s Singles’ Day, the 20-minute GSD short film made its debut on Youku and Jet Li’s official Facebook page. It has received over 100 million views globally. Chinese internet users commended Yen’s quick thinking and acting skills in the video, and the majority of viewers (more than 190,000) chose Yen as the video’s standout moment.
Yen started shooting Big Brother, an MMA movie, in late 2017. In the movie, Yen plays a high school teacher with unusual teaching strategies and a troubled past.
Late in March of 2015, news of Ip Man 3 broke. Yen returned to the title role of Ip Man, Bruce Lee’s master of martial arts. Mike Tyson, a retired boxer and former heavyweight champion, has officially joined the cast. Donnie Yen stated that he was thrilled to collaborate with Mike Tyson because he was a huge fan of the boxer and had watched many of his professional matches. At a press conference, Mike Tyson declared that he was a huge fan of Donnie Yen and that he had seen each of the first two Ip Man films more than three times. He also expressed his gratitude for being invited to the third and final installment of the trilogy.
Ip Man 3’s principal photography started on March 25, 2015, and it was completed and released in December 2015 to positive reviews in select Asian and global theaters early in 2016.
In order to play Ip Man again in Ip Man 3 and as the blind warrior monk Chirrut Îmwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Yen once again toned down his muscular frame in 2015. Yen had his body completely redone for his part as Xiang in XXX: Return of Xander Cage, starring opposite Vin Diesel.
Yen visited refugee camps in Thailand in 2015 and brought gifts and donations for the campers. In addition, Donnie Yen represents the global nonprofit organization Save the Children as an ambassador.
To enable celebrities to use the legal system to protect their honor and reputation, Yen founded the Yen’s Honour Protection Fund in December 2015. Yen stated that the fund “[seeks] to assist and render help to everyone who needs it, most importantly to heal and repair the hearts and dignities which have been affected.” After Yen defeated Geng Weiguo (also known as Tan Bing) in court for defaming her and hiring internet users to threaten Yen’s family, this fund was created.
Donnie Yen was asked to speak as a guest speaker for WE Day Vancouver in October 2014, in front of 20,000 young people. He discussed the challenges he had to overcome as a child and how those challenges helped him become the current martial arts champion.
The Weinstein Company contacted Yen to play the male lead in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel and confirmed in February 2013 that it had acquired the film’s rights. Photos of Harvey and Bob Weinstein visiting Hong Kong in March 2013 to meet with Yen and convince him to accept the offer appeared in Hong Kong magazines. Yen was cited as saying, “The first is that my schedule this year is very packed,” in reference to reports that she was thinking about taking the role.
The first movie is already such a classic, which is the second. I worry that there will be too much pressure because the original is unmatched.”
The Weinstein Company revealed in May 2013 at the annual Cannes Film Festival that Yen would play the lead role of Silent Wolf in the Crouching Tiger sequel, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, with Yen’s mentor and leading female action star Michelle Yeoh reprising her role as Yu Shu Lien. It was disclosed that the film would be shot in Mandarin and English in order to cater to a global audience.
Go.Asia is a new online charity platform that Donnie Yen and his wife Cissy Wang co-founded in 2012. It encourages people to volunteer and support their local communities.
Producer Avi Lerner reportedly extended an invitation to Yen to star in The Expendables 2 while he was on vacation in the United States in August 2011. Yen was reportedly thinking about the offer, had a lot of movies on his plate, and would decide whether or not the script appealed to him later. Yen later admitted to the Hong Kong media that he had turned down the part.
2011 saw Yen announce his foray into new artistic genres, including
the comedy All’s Well, Ends Well (2011) and All’s Well, Ends Well (2012), in which she would be collaborating with Carina Lau and Sandra Ng, respectively. Both movies demonstrated Yen’s versatility as an actor and achieved enormous critical and commercial success.
Following the completion of The Monkey King 3D’s filming, Yen announced that he was taking a six-month hiatus in order to spend more time with his family and be present for his children as they grow.
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, which was released in 2010, featured Yen as the fight choreographer. Yen said that he incorporated Jeet Kune Do moves into this movie as an homage to Bruce Lee, who portrayed Chen Zhen in the 1972 movie Fist of Fury. In addition, he used Wing Chun and several other MMA components in the movie. According to Yen, the idea underlying Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do is comparable to mixed martial arts (MMA), which is why the movie had to include a variety of martial arts techniques.
2010 saw Yen take on the role of Chen Zhen in Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, a role that had previously been held by Bruce Lee. It took him six months to regain his muscular physique for the role, requiring a very careful and focused diet plan. With a diet heavy in protein and supplements of vitamins and minerals, he reached 165 pounds for the part. While filming The Lost Bladesman, in which he plays Guan Yu, a Chinese general renowned for his size and spear-fighting prowess, he kept his bulk and physique.
Yen was cast as Chen Zhen in Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen in 2010, still fresh from his role as Ip Man 2. Bruce Lee had previously played the role of Chen Zhen. He needed to get back to his muscular frame for the part, which required a very careful and focused diet plan that took six months. He hit 165 pounds for the part by concentrating on high-protein beverages and vitamin and mineral supplements. He played Guan Yu, a Chinese general renowned for his size and spear-fighting prowess, in the movie The Lost Bladesman, and he kept this bulk and physique throughout the shoot.
Yen played the lead role in Ip Man (2008), a semi-biographical film about Bruce Lee’s Wing Chun master Ip Man. Yen’s fourth film with director Wilson Yip, Ip Man, brought him back together with Sha Po Lang, Sammo Hung, and Simon Yam, his SPL co-stars. With Yen in the lead role, Ip Man became the biggest box office hit to date, earning HK$25 million in Hong Kong and 100 million yuan in China.
Yen’s work as a choreographer won him “Best Action Choreography” awards at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards and the 2008 and 2011 Golden Horse Film Awards.
Near the end of 2007, Yen added a new martial arts system to his arsenal. He was offered the role of Wing Chun grandmaster and mentor of film star Bruce Lee, Ip Man, in a 2008 film named after the grandmaster. He worked hard and studied Wing Chun under Ip Man’s eldest son, Ip Chun, for 9 months before tackling the role. Ip Chun has since praised Yen for his effort, his skills as a martial artist, and his ability to grasp the full concept of Wing Chun much faster than anyone else he has taught.
Yen has drawn a lot of attention, nevertheless, not only for his physical attributes but also for his commitment to his roles and the extent he goes to in order to embody the appearance and physical characteristics of the characters he plays. In order to more accurately depict the slender Ip Man and the techniques of wing chun, which emphasize technique over strength, Yen lost more than thirty pounds in 2007 and reached a weight of 120 pounds. He achieved this by adhering to an extremely rigorous diet plan that restricted him to a simple diet high in vegetables.
The majority of the fight animation in the 2004 video game Onimusha 3, which starred Takeshi Kaneshiro and Jean Reno, was choreographed by Yen. Yen continued to work in Hong Kong cinema in the 2000s, playing the roles of Ma Kwun in Wilson Yip’s brutal crime drama SPL: Sha Po Lang in 2005 and Chu Zhaonan in Tsui Hark’s wuxia epic Seven Swords. In 2005, the Toronto International Film Festival screened both films. Later that year, Yen starred alongside Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue in Dragon Tiger Gate, a Wilson Yip adaptation of the manhua series Oriental Heroes by Wong Yuk-long. In Stormbreaker, starring Alex Pettyfer, Yen also served as the action choreographer. Wilson Yip and Yen kept working together on Flash Point (2007), where he
In addition to producing and choreographing the action sequences for the movie, he played the title role. For his role in Flash Point, he was awarded Best Action Choreography at both the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Film Awards.
When Jet Li was filming Hero in 2002, he made it clear to the director that, because of Yen’s martial arts background, he should play his opponent, Sky. Li personally invited Yen to return from Hollywood to appear in the film, making this their second on-screen collaboration since Once Upon a Time in China II, which was released ten years earlier. Yen portrayed Jackie Chan’s adversary in Shanghai Knights in 2003.
Yen is a well-known action star in Hong Kong. Yen has demonstrated proficiency in a variety of martial arts, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Wing Chun, Tai Chi, Boxing, Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, and Wrestling. Yen, one of the most well-known movie stars in Asia in the early 2000s, is a regular among the region’s highest paid performers. In 2013, Yen made HK$220 million (US$28.4 million) from six commercials and four movies.After returning to the US, Yen received requests to choreograph fight scenes in Hollywood movies like Blade II (2002) and Highlander: Endgame (2000). The directors were impressed by his choreography and abilities, and they asked him to make brief cameos in both films.
Later, Yen would learn about and pursue knowledge of other martial arts forms. He would eventually earn black and purple belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo, respectively, and pursued instruction in Parkour, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Boxing from a variety of instructors. His return to the United States between 2000 and 2003 increased his exposure to mixed martial arts (MMA). He took a break from his Hollywood debut to study the different styles of martial arts. When Yen returned to Asia, he used his newly acquired MMA knowledge, which was demonstrated in movies like Special ID (2013), Flash Point (2007), and SPL: Sha Po Lang (2005). This was a clear sign of Yen’s progress.
Yen founded Bullet Films in 1997 and directed his first two features, Ballistic Kiss (1998) and Legend of the Wolf (1997), in which he also acted as the main character. Yen nearly went bankrupt at the age of 34. Despite receiving positive reviews from critics, the films he directed and produced through his own production company did poorly at the box office. To make ends meet, Yen was compelled to borrow money from loan sharks and his production team.
ATV’s 1995 television series Fist of Fury, which was adapted from the 1972 film of the same name starring Bruce Lee as Chen Zhen, starred Yen as Chen Zhen. In the 2010 movie Legend of, Yen returned to the character of Chen Zhen.
the Fist: Chen Zhen’s Return.
Yen’s effectiveness as a martial artist has been verified by one documented incident. In the late 1990s, Yen and his then-girlfriend, Joey Meng, were reportedly at a nightclub, according to news reports from Hong Kong news channels. Meng was harassed inside the nightclub by an unruly gang that had developed an interest in her. They continued to cause trouble despite Yen’s warnings to leave her alone. The gang attacked Yen after they left the club with Meng. Eight gang members who were later hospitalized were beaten by Yen.
Following the completion of Drunken Tai Chi and Tiger Cage (1988), Yen achieved his breakthrough performance in Once Upon a Time in China II (1992), wherein he portrayed General Nap-lan in a fight scene with Jet Li’s character, Wong Fei-hung. In 1993, Yen starred in the movie Iron Monkey. In the 2002 movie Hero, Yen reprised his role as a spear (or qiang) fighter alongside Li’s character, an unidentified swordsman. The movie received an Academy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Foreign Language Film.
In 1984, Yen made his cinematic debut in the movie Drunken Tai Chi, where he landed his first leading role.
Born on July 27, 1963, Donnie Yen Ji-dan is a multi-champion world wushu tournament champion, actor, martial artist, film director, producer, action choreographer, and stuntman from Hong Kong.
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