Jet Li as real-life martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia in 'Fearless'. - RightHONG KONG (AP):
Jet Li is urging audiences to keep expectations low for his eagerly anticipated fight scenes with Jackie Chan in the upcoming Hollywood movie The Forbidden Kingdom, because it's not that kind of movie and they are both getting too old.
In a phone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, 44-year-old Li said he and Chan, 53, talked about working together for more than a decade.
"When Jackie Chan and I first wanted to work together 15 years ago our passion was at its peak. We were both in our 30s. Our desire to succeed was very strong," Li said. "Now we joke that when we watch the The Forbidden Kingdom our combined age is 100."
But, he added, if the audiences still want fight scenes, "we'll oblige".
The martial arts stars come to blows in The Forbidden Kingdom because of misunderstandings rather than genuine animosity and the story doesn't really call for anything more, Li said.
"How intense are the battle scenes? My mentality is to not have high expectations," he warned.
Fantasy journey
The Forbidden Kingdom, due out in the United States early next year, is about an American teenager's fantasy journey to ancient China to rescue a mythological monkey king. The idea for the film originates from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, in which a monkey king, a pig and a friar guard a Buddhist monk in search of religious texts.
Li plays the monkey king and a silent monk, while Chan will play another monk called T'sa-Ho.
But audiences should no longer look for reflections of Li's true character or beliefs in the films that he appears in. "I'm done talking about my aspirations for martial arts," he said.
Li said Fearless, a 2006 film about a brash, proud young man's transformation into a sage master, captured his true philosophy of martial arts, but that all his movies since then have merely been a means to an end.
"I don't necessarily identify with the stories I act in. I don't necessarily have to agree with their handling of violence and life. I'm just an actor ... I just do my job," he said. "Often when I go back to the hotel after shooting I reflect on why I'm doing this."
The actor's focus, he says, is One Foundation, a charity he launched recently to promote disaster relief and mental health among youngsters, and that acting gives him the profile to promote the cause.
"If I don't have the platform of movies,how can I get the chance to promote my beliefs?" he said. "It's quite a painful choice."
Li, a former Chinese kung fu champion, made his name in Hong Kong movies with the Once Upon a Time in China series before moving to Hollywood.
Li said he will next appear in the third instalment of The Mummy series as a Chinese emperor. He said he is scheduled to start filming in late September, with shooting to take place in China and Canada.
Jackie Chan - Contributed photos
