Like fellow leads Shu Qi and Vicki Zhao Wei, Karen Mok Man-wai was recruited for director Corey Yuen Kwai's So Close with scant action movie experience. Until now, she has occupied herself with drama (All The Way) and the occasional flirtation with comedy (Shaolin Soccer).
'We're all new to action movies, so we were all kind of lost,' says Mok (right). 'We were always coming to the set and saying, 'So, how are your bruises today?''
But, she says, once the trio got into their exhaustive training regime, they rose to the challenge. 'We basically trained every day in the mornings for three hours, getting warmed up, stretching, then going through the basic kicks and punches,' Mok explains. 'And then Corey would choreograph the scenes, letting us try things out to see what we were good at and what we weren't so good at. In the end, we were always trying hard to do as much of our own stunt work as possible.'
It helped that Yuen was at the helm - a past master of directing female leads and the action genre. Mok says she went through Yuen's back catalogue so she would know what to expect once the cameras started to roll. 'I had watched his films with Jet Li and you just sit there and say, 'I hope one day I can get even close to what Jet Li is up to,'' she says. 'But Corey is very patient. He's like the daddy. He wouldn't be too hard on us, but he was still the boss. Sometimes with girls though, you get a punch in the head and go a bit teary and a bit squirmish, and then he goes all soft and gets really worried.'
In So Close, Mok plays the go-getting policewoman Hong opposite hard-core crime sisters Lynn (Shu) and Sue (Zhao). And, says Mok, their characters on screen aren't a million miles from what you get in real life. 'Zhao Wei is like a little boy,' Mok laughs. 'She's really fun to be with, always making jokes. Very chirpy, very cheerful and it's great to have a person like that on board for a film that basically leaves everyone exhausted at the end of the day. 'Shu Qi, well, her real self is not like the general public would expect. They see this sexy figure - and she is sexy - but she is pretty down to earth.
'I'm a tough cookie. My character is a bit like me in terms of getting what she wants. If I have my mind set on accomplishing something I make sure I do it properly.'