Feel the True Power of Actor Jet Li UNLEASHED!
BY Joseph B. Mauceri

- Action film star Jet Li reunites produced by Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional) to bring to the screen the tale of Danny, an unfortunate man who knows little of life, except the brutal existence that his keeper has so crudely and cruelly fashioned for him.

UNLEASHED, directed by Louis Leterrier (The Transporter), takes place on the meanest streets of Glasgow, fiery gangster Bart, played by Bob Hoskins, is merciless with anyone he takes even a passing dislike. Bart maintains his chokehold through his enforcer Danny (Li), who he has kept since boyhood as a near-prisoner by his “Uncle” Bart and trained to attack and, if necessary to kill.

Danny’s chance encounter with soft-spoken blind piano tuner Sam played by Academy Award Winner Morgan Freeman, who allows Danny to experience a kindness and compassion for the first time in his life. It is Sam’s love of music that permits Danny to experience its transforming power. A gangland coup separates Danny from Bart and takes refuge with Sam and his spunky teenaged stepdaughter Victoria, Kerry Condon. Sam and Victoria open their home and hearts to Danny, but the mob will not give up so easily. Danny must fight to protect his new family and bury his troubled past.

Jet Li is a world-renowned martial arts master who most recently starred in Zhang Yimou’s critically hailed hit movie “Hero,” which was an Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign-Language Film.

Born Lian Jie Li in Beijing, Mr. Li began studying the art of Wushu (the general Chinese-language term for martial arts) and was enrolled in the Beijing Amateur Sports School at the age of 8. After three years of extensive training, he won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu team. As part of a world tour in 1974, he had the honor of performing in a two-man fight for President Nixon on the White House lawn. For the next four years, he remained the All-Around National Wushu Champion of China.

Shortly after retiring from the sport at the age of 17, he was offered numerous film roles. He embarked on a movie career with a starring role in Chang Hsin Yen’s “Shaolin Temple.” The release of the film propelled him into instant screen stardom and also spawned two sequels.

In 1998, he came to America to make his first English-language film appearance in a pivotal role in “Lethal Weapon 4,” the final film in the blockbuster series directed by Richard Donner, produced by Joel Silver, and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. He subsequently reteamed with Mel Gibson to produce the telefilm “Invincible,” directed by Jefery Levy and Tony Ching.

Mr. Li next stars as real-life martial arts legend Fok Yuanjia in Ronny Yu’s “Fearless,” reteaming with martial arts choregorapher Yuen Wo Ping, and Focus Features. 

In 2003, Li ventured into the world of computer games by starring (and fighting) in the motion-captured computer game “Rise to Honor.”

W.O.F. I know you’re particular about the film projects you do these days, what attracted you to this film?

Jet Li: About two years ago I was talking to my friend Luc Besson and he gave me some scripts and ideas to think about. At first I wasn’t interested in this film because it sounded too familiar me. I wanted to make something else and do some type of character that I never had the chance to play. I wanted to make a film where violence isn’t the only solution. So Luc came up with this idea that I play this character that is treated like a dog and is saved by music.

Danny maybe mentally only eight-years old, but he’s very strong. He’s one of the coolest guys because he fights, and he hurts people, but he doesn’t understand life. That’s like being an animal. Morgan Freeman, through the music, brings me back and makes me human again. When Danny becomes normal again, he doesn’t want to hurt people anymore – he wants to take care of them. That’s what’s special about the movie. It’s not jus a movie about fighting.

W.O.F. Did you do anything special to help you play Danny?

Jet Li: I spent seven-months living in Danny’s world, working with my acting coach. I had to forget who Jet Li is. I had to build up this character even before I could go do the work. I spent a lot of time on location and didn’t even go back to the hotel. I had my bottle of water, a loaf of French bread, and the weather was very cold and it made me feel very lonely. I cried! I thought that Jet Li would go back to his five-star hotel, but Danny would stay here. It’s the only place for Danny. I was so deep into the character for seven-months, so I couldn’t make another movie. It took me about a year after the film to recover.

I worked so hard on Danny that I felt sorry for my manager, assistant, and lawyers because they were asking me to look at new material while I was making this film. I told them to leave me alone because I am Danny, not Jet Li, and I don’t want to look at scripts or take meetings. I stopped everything just for Danny’s life.

W.O.F. Was the approach to the martial arts used in UNLEASHED different than in any of the other films you’ve worked on?

Jet Li: I think our action choreographer Woo-ping Yuen did an amazing job on this film. We used the martial arts here to help the story and character. In the beginning Danny is an animal so we decided to make his movements more like an animal’s. He’s more concerned about knocking his opponent down first. He can only concentrate on one thing, and than he can move onto his next opponent. In martial arts is not only just punching but also being aware of where all your other opponents are. That’s a big difference. As the character grows up he has more control and he doesn’t want to hurt people. He now has feelings. He’s thinking more and when he’s forced to fight later in the film Danny is fighting in amore traditional martial art style.

W.O.F. Morgan Freeman mentioned that he was a bit intimidated by your cinematic reputation. The character you play, Danny, is a powerful man who is changed by compassion, love, and music. Do you believe that love is more powerful than martial arts?

Jet Li: The most powerful thing in the world is love. Even though Danny is this powerful man who hurts people he is capable of love. Morgan’s character is more powerful than Danny because he has love and he has a family. It is that love that saves Danny.

W.O.F. Danny’s life is saved by music. Does music have a special place in your life?

Jet Li: I think music is very powerful because it is an international language. No matter of age, religion, or culture, music can touch your heart. When you let it, your emotions will come out. It can change a lot about you. Personally, I listen to a lot of Tibetan chanting. It makes me very calm and peaceful.

W.O.F. I understand that it was Morgan Freeman’s idea to play his character as being blind. How do you feel that helped the story and you with your character?

Jet Li: It helped me a lot. The people who can see me, Danny, he is like this caged animal and it might not make them feel safe. Because his character can’t see him it not only makes him comfortable with Danny, but Danny comfortable to be around him. It allows him to come close and bring Danny back from being an animal.

W.O.F. The second sequence in the flight club pits you against a female opponent. Do you have any reservations about fighting a woman?

Jet Li: She is a very good and professional fighter. She’s not a normal girl she’s a fighter. Working with a fighter is a lot different than working with an actor. When you go to hit an actor they get very nervous, but when you work with a fighter they tell you they don’t even feel the punches. Professional fighters know how to control their bodies.

W.O.F. In terms of working with professional fighters, is there a core group of professional that you work with on all your martial arts films?

Jet Li: They’re not just good fighters, they know how to make a movie and that’s two very different things. In China there are a lot of martial art athletes, but they don’t know how to make a movie. Making a movie that uses martial arts is something completely different. In those types of films you can look very powerful, but in real life you don’t anything that can hurt people.

W.O.F. The director mentioned that you were a bit cautious about being romantic on screen.

Jet Li: I don’t think so. I’ve made a few movies where the girls have kissed me but I’ve never had the chance to kiss the girl on screen. In terms of the character, Danny has the mentality of an eight-year old. So he is shy, but I think it was okay for him.

W.O.F. UNLEASHED is more about the character of Danny the dog than it is about the martial arts sequences. You really had a chance to see you act. Is that something you hope to be doing more of in your future movies?

Jet Li: The reality is that you need to prove you can do something first. I made a lot of movies in Asia before I came here to the United States. I came here a few years ago and stared in an English movie. I proved I could do an action. I took an even bigger risk with this film to prove that I am an actor. All actors want to challenge themselves. I think I proved I can act and maybe in the future I’d like to prove I could do a comedy, or something different. You want to try, but at the same tie you nee to prove it to the studio that you can make that kind of picture first.

W.O.F. Would we ever see you in a movie where you didn’t fight?

Jet Li: That’s the question that I’ve been asking myself, and so have my fans, since I began in this industry some 25-years ago. I want to try. Again, you need to prove yourself to the studios, and to yourself, that you can do it.

The audience is always the boss. The studio always smells what the audience wants. Than they decide the next step. That’s why I always say that the worldwide audience is m boss. If he audience says they want to see me make a film with no action in it than I’m sure I’ll get the studio’s support.

W.O.F. Given the strenuous workout you go through on a martial arts action film, do you ever think about retiring?

Jet Li: I may take breaks, but I will work as long as I can. I tried to retire once from the movies in 1997.Than I met a Buddhist Master from Tibet who told me that I couldn’t retire, even though I was good enough, but that I still had a responsibility to the world. I never thought about that so I continued to work and change my career.

There are a lot of kids, around the world, who look at me. I can’t just make myself happy and make money. I need to do something for them, like make this kind of movie that says martial arts is cool, but even more important is love and your family.

W.O.F. Well I understand that you made your wife a promise that when she became pregnant with your first child that you would put your career on hold, and you did just that. Was it hard to get back into acting after that time off?

Jet Li: I made that promise to my wife 15-years ago. I told her that if we were still together after ten-years we would get married. We need this time to test our relationship. If we get married, and she becomes pregnant I stop working. The first time a woman becomes pregnant she has a lot of feelings and emotional changes. Because of that I turned down working with Quentin Tarantino. I can make a lot of movies in my life – I’ve already made over 30 – but I can’t have 30 children. So that’s why I decided to stop working.

W.O.F. It was mentioned in several magazines that you were on vacation with our family in the South Pacific when the Tsunami struck.

Jet Li: Last year I took my family to the Maldives on vacation. He next morning the Tsunami came. I was playing with one of my two daughters, and the babysitter, by the swimming pool. I saw the water come and didn’t think much of it. In a few seconds the water began coming strong so I grabbed my daughters and the babysitter and headed back for the hotel. A few steps later the water was up to my chest and when I looked back the swings and the swimming pool were one. The hotel was disappearing. I was basically standing in the Ocean with them. I tried very hard o go back to the hotel, but at the last moment the water took the babysitter and youngest daughter. The hotel people saved them. I tried very hard to fight with all the debris in the water and try to protect my daughter. I was very close to death. The water came up to my mouth. It really make me think that no matter who you are, how much money you have, or if you’re famous, one minute nature can rear up and you’re gone. So I decided that I could pay back to the world, and not just by making movies with a nice message. Some people may say that the movie is garbage, but I believe in its message. In the meantime, I’ve donated money to Tibet to build a hospital and school. I’ve also donated some money to help children here. I will continue to do my share because of all the love I’ve received from the fans.

W.O.F. I’d heard that you’re working on creating a new foundation to help people.

Jet Li: I believe that we are all human beings and one family. That’s why I’m working on creating a new foundation called “The One” Foundation. “One” to me means that we are all part of one big family. I saw a lot of bad things happening in the world. Every time we see this we donate money for three months and than people forget. My idea is for a foundation where we are already prepared for when the next bad thing happens. Maybe it’s not for this generation, but for the next one. The foundation will still be there. I don’t want to beg, but just ask for one-dollar a month, from one family. Today you help one family and tomorrow you could be helping yourself. I know it’s a good idea but I still have a long way to go because of all the different legal issues in all the different countries.

W.O.F. What will are you working on next?

Jet Li: Right now I’m working on a film director Ronnie Yu in China and fight choreographer Woo-ping Yuen. We don’t have an English name yet, but we’ve already shot a month of on the film. It’s like this Asian film called “Face of a Legend.” It’s a great character because I can put my life’s experiences into it. I get to talk about my experiences in the martial arts and the different disciplines. There are a lot of questions that fans ask me tat I can answer through this film.

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