Tony Leung, Lifetime Award Winner at Venice, Relishing First European Film Role
02.09.2023 - 12:45
/ variety.com
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Renowned Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai ditched his quiet, brooding persona on Saturday in Venice, where he is to receive a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award. Instead, at a press conference in his honor, Leung positively gushed about his upcoming first European movie role and about the strengths of the “golden era” acting training he received in Hong Kong in the 1980s. Leung has made a speciality of saying little in many of his films.
In his first Venice film, “City of Sadness,” Leung pays a mute. In “The Grandmaster” he lets his fists and feet do the talking. In “In the Mood for Love,” Leung’s facial expressions are far more expressive than words.
And on many public occasions, Leung keeps the repartee to a minimum, amps up the soulful glare and goes long on banal gratitude. Awarded the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at Busan in October, Leung muttered a few thanks, beamed and stepped away from the podium. At the Asian Film Awards in March, where his wife Carina Lau presented him an award for his contribution to Asian cinema, Leung was similarly sheepish, not expansive.
So, in Venice, it was a refreshing change to hear his gravelly tones used at length. Leung expounded on his lengthy preparation for acting roles. These range from literary research for the non-speaking role in “City of Sadness” through to understanding of the science of neurology for next year’s Ildiko Enyedi film “Silent Friend.” “I spent a lot of time to prepare my characters.
I was brought up to suppress all the feelings inside. I don’t show all my feelings in front of others. But after I got into acting class, I found a way to express myself in front of other people without being shy, because they don’t
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