Donnie Yen recounts borrowing money from loan sharks to survive

While action star-director Donnie Yen now enjoys the success of his four-decade career in showbiz, there was once a time when he only had HK$100 (S$17) in his bank account.

The 62-year-old was a guest on Hong Kong talk show The Spirit of the Lion Rock Fred Ma released on Nov 17, where he recounted his challenges while pursuing his passion for filmmaking in 1997 after setting up his own production company Bullet Films.

He said: "We will definitely meet challenges in life. In my long film career, I really met a lot of them in the first half of it. When I was at my poorest, I only had HK$100 in my bank account," he said.

Donnie's company produced two films, Legend of the Wolf (1997) and Ballistic Kiss (1998).

He told host and former Hong Kong politician Frederick Ma: "I was in debt to loan sharks. I made movies back then because of my belief. I also rejected some movie offers, about 10 of them.

"Back then, I felt I should film the movie well. Now when I recall those times, I feel very silly... I invested my own money into the film, because Hong Kong films are usually made using profits from the sales of films overseas. I sold the film to different countries and used that money as cashflow.

"During that period, I insisted on not accepting any movie offers because I didn't want to be distracted while doing my own work."

One of them was Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Jing who offered him HK$3 million to appear in a film. Donnie said when he thinks about that time now, he felt he should have taken some of the offers, so that he could use his earnings as cashflow.

"I didn't have money to pay the staff salaries, so I borrowed from loan sharks," Donnie said.

Ma commented that the interest rate from loan sharks is very high, and Donnie agreed, sharing people around him then had also told him that, but he needed the money to continue his operations.

"Luckily, about three to four weeks later, I received some money and was able to resolve the issue," he said.

Donnie also said he felt very stressed at the time and had thought his career as a filmmaker was over, but more than a decade has passed by quickly since then.

"I think everyone must have a passion for what they do. Without love, no amount of money can make them achieve excellence."

He had shared previously that when he faced money woes from failed movie investments in the past, he was "frustrated" and wondered if he had "entered the wrong business and considered quitting" but ultimately persisted in pursuing his dreams.

Donnie will be in Singapore on Dec 1 for NoonTalk Media's first Golden Singa Awards. He led the panel of final juries for the international film awards ceremony, which is presented in conjunction with the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) 12th Singapore Media Festival.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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