Hollywood has come a long way since its early days when it comes to the representation of people from all walks of life. Donnie Yen, known for his performance in ‘IP Man‘ series, still believes that the film industry continues to stereotype Asian people when it comes to names.
In a recent interview, the 59-year-old actor revealed the original name of his character from ‘John Wick 4‘ and said that stereotypes still exist in the industry. He plays a blind assassin in the upcoming action flick. So let’s find out in detail what Yen said about all this.
Donnie Yen On Asian Stereotype In Hollywood
Donnie Yen will be playing the role of Caine, a blind assassin in the upcoming action thriller film ‘John Wick 4.’ However, the actor has revealed that his character was named something else which unveils Asian stereotypes in Hollywood.
In an interview with GQ magazine, the ‘IP Man‘ actor revealed the original name of the character. “The name was Shang or Chang,” he said. “Why does he always have to be called Shang or Chang? Why can’t he have a normal name?”
He further added, “Why do you have to be so generic? Then the wardrobe again — oh, mandarin collars. Why is everything so generic? This is a ‘John Wick’ movie. Everybody’s supposed to be cool and fashionable. Why can’t he look cool and fashionable?”
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His Character Was Modified In ‘John Wick 4’
After listening to his constructive criticism, the film’s director Chad Stahelski made several changes to the character. One of them was obviously the name. Yen then modeled the character to the legendary Bruce Lee as a homage.
The Chinese actor maintains that he had “a very respectful experience working on ‘John Wick‘. “Overall, I enjoyed making the film.” This is not the first time he experienced stereotypes in Hollywood.
When approached to place blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe in Disney’s ‘Star Wars: Rogue One‘, Yen said the character was a typical Chinese martial artist. Later, changes were made and his character was given a touch of humor.
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