Donnie Yen

Donnie Yen Chitan Chinese 甄子丹 Jyutping jan1 zi2 daan1 pinyin Zhēn Zǐdān born 27 July 1963 is a Hong Kong actor filmmaker martial artist and action director His accolades include three Golden Horse Awards and five Hong Kong Film Awards He is best known for portraying Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man in the Ip Man film series namely Ip Man 2008 Ip Man 2 2010 Ip Man 3 2015 and Ip Man 4 The Finale 2019 He also served as a coproducer of the spinoff Master Z Ip Man Legacy 2018 Born in Guangdong Yen developed an interest in martial arts at a young age and began experimenting with various styles including tai chi and other traditional Chinese martial arts At age 18 he auditioned for action choreographer Yuen Wooping in Hong Kong He landed his first starring role in the 1984 Hong Kong martial arts action film  Drunken Tai Chi He made his breakthrough role as the antagonist General Naplan in Once Upon a Time in China II 1992 opposite Jet Lis character He appeared in several other Hong Kong kung fu films including Iron Monkey 1993 and Wing Chun 1994 In 1997 he starred in his directorial debut film Legend of the Wolf Yen made his American debut in Highlander Endgame 2000 followed by a cameo in Blade II 2002 He went on to appear in the American films Shanghai Knights 2003 Rogue One 2016 XXX Return of Xander Cage 2017 Mulan 2020 and John Wick Chapter 4 2023 He has continued to be active in Hong Kong cinema appearing in the wellreceived films Hero 2002 SPL Sha Po Lang 2005 Flash Point 2007 14 Blades 2010 Wu Xia 2011 Kung Fu Jungle 2014 Chasing the Dragon 2017 Enter the Fat Dragon 2020 Raging Fire 2021 and The Prosecutor 2024 among others In television Yen portrayed fictional character Chen Zhen in the television series Fist of Fury 1995 he reprised the role in the 2010 film Legend of the Fist The Return of Chen Zhen For portraying Ip Man in the Ip Man film series 20082019 Yen is credited by many for contributing to the popularisation of Wing Chun in China Alongside Kung fu particularly Wing Chun Yen is also known for incorporating elements of mixed martial arts MMA into his action choreography Aside from his acting in 1997 he established his own production company Bullet Films which choreographed the action for Western blockbusters like Blade II 2002 and Stormbreaker 2006 Description above from the Wikipedia article Donnie Yen licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia