Donnie Yen stars alongside Diesel in 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage', released on January 20th in the U.S.
Actor Donnie Yen has spoken about the fun he had filming his brand new movie xXx: Return of Xander Cage alongside Vin Diesel and made a rather odd comparison to the new action movie.
“It’s great to work with Vin – I like his films, he makes very fun, exciting films… if you’re an adrenaline junkie, you’re going to get loads of it. I would describe it as a better-looking Ocean’s Eleven.”
The 53 year old actor plays Xiang, a role that sees him play second fiddle to Diesel’s Xander Cage. He saw it as an opportunity to expand his range and showcase his talents in a new light.
Donnie Yen at the European premiere of 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage'
Yen was attracted to the character because it allows him to “show the world outside of Asia and China that I’m not just the hit-man person, the martial artist, the hero who’s always really serious… He’s deadly in this film, but he’s fun to be with! If he’s not in conflict with you, he’ll grab a beer and hang out with you!”
More: Vin Diesel travelled the world to assemble the cast for ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’
Most recently, Yen was seen in the extremely popular and successful Rogue One. He says that blockbuster projects such as that and xXx represent a chance for him to do something that has a different tone to the martial arts movies that made his name.
“This is about entertainment, this is about bringing fun to audiences in a world that is full of headaches, frustrations and stress,” he explained, seeming to reference the turmoil of 2016. “You watch a movie like this, you feel good about the world, you feel good about yourself!”
Vin Diesel with fans at the US premiere of xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage
In addition to it being attractive to audiences, Yen also thinks that Xander Cage was fun for him on a personal and professional level.
More: Vin Diesel needed to play a ‘very happy’ character after ‘Furious 7’
“In the last ten years, my roles have either been very serious, or the genre of the films was either ‘period’ or ‘epic’… nothing like this film. I’ve been waiting for another film where I can just jump in and have fun, so this was perfect for me.”
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