SCRIPT: JuJu Chan, the 'female Bruce Lee' and 'Wu Assassins' Netflix star [April 3, 2020]
- When you've answered all the questions, watch the clip again while you read the script
- Reading along with the script is a good way to practise your English pronunciation
[1] JuJu Chan: Every time when I have this belt system, I’m very competitive. So to me, I want to be better … which … I love challenges.
[2] Text on screen: How do you feel about being called the “female Bruce Lee”?
[3] JuJu Chan: It’s an honour to be called anything Bruce Lee. And, honestly, I don’t think anyone can be anything Bruce Lee, because Bruce Lee is so iconic, he is the one and only. So for me, being called the female Bruce Lee, I guess it’s a motivation for me to do better. To live up to that standard, I know I need to work hard to achieve more, and don’t let … [anyone] who call[s] me that name to be disappointed.
[4] Text on screen: How did you get into martial arts?
[5] JuJu Chan: I started when I was 10 years old. At that time, I started because I love action films. Because when I was very young, my father loved watching movies with us at home. I would just copy whatever was on TV, like the moves. So, like, Jackie Chan was jumping from building to building, and doing all this kung fu fighting. And then Jet Li and Donnie Yen and you know, like doing all these amazing martial arts. So I would just follow and break a lot of stuff at home.
[6] JuJu Chan: [But] then, my parents were like, it’s very dangerous for me to just copy moves and not actually know how to do it. So they wanted to send me to learn something properly. The closest kung fu school at that time to my home was a judo school, and that’s how I started in judo first.
[7] JuJu Chan: And after judo, I learned karate, and then Chinese kung fu, hung ga, wing chun, and … [taught myself] nunchaku. After that, I also learned tae kwon do. So I got my black belt in a very short amount of time because of all the previous martial art training that I had. I got selected into the Hong Kong team [and] started to compete for Hong Kong in some international championships. And then I got scouted to represent Hong Kong to do Thai boxing. So, it makes me a more all-rounded martial artist which is great.
[8] Text on screen: What’s your favourite fight scene?
[9] JuJu Chan: Recently I filmed a TV series, it just came out on Netflix, called Wu Assassins. Obviously, I love all the fight scenes. You can see really long shots of me doing all the moves in one take. The kitchen right is one of my favourites. We were fighting in the kitchen, making use of surrounding things – the pans, the noodles and incorporating [them] into the fight – making it very dynamic.
[10] JuJu Chan: When I’m doing it, I do the complete three, four minutes of fight, I’ll do all the moves myself. I enjoy it so much. Yeah, it’s just brilliant. And I am very fortunate and happy to be able to work with such an amazing action team. Action choreographer Dan Resotto, he is amazing. He spent a lot of time with us choreographing it, and I would love to work with him again in other films.
[11] Text on screen: How do you stay in shape?
[12] JuJu Chan: My routine kind of changes all the time throughout the year. But, definitely, I work out in the morning. So, usually if time permits, I will do two to three hours. If my morning if really tight, then probably one hour. When I’m preparing for a new project, I will spend more time. I can spend half a day in the gym.
[13] Text on screen: You’ve made a few pivots in your career. What else would you like to do?
[14] JuJu Chan: I love acting because every project is different. And every character, I make it really different, too. Even if it’s maybe the same type, like an assassin or a strong female. The way I made it, like the look, say I cut my hair for Wu Assassins.
[15] JuJu Chan: Stuff like that, I love creating new characters with my appearance, with the way I talk or small gestures. I just enjoy it a lot. So right now, I’ve done a lot of action films but I would love to do romcom, comedy – I love comedy – a musical. It would be great to do an action musical.
[16] Text on screen: What can you tell us about your future projects?
[17] JuJu Chan: Yeah, there are a lot of exciting things coming up too. I recently shot a film in Cyprus called Jiu Jitsu with Nicholas Cage, Tony Jaa and Frank Grillo. It should be coming out in March, that’s what I heard.
[18] JuJu Chan: There’s another independent film called Hallow Point. An action film with Luke Goss, me, and Michael Pare. It’s coming out at the end of this year. And the director let me do more creative stuff, so I had a chance to choreograph my own actions, I’m waiting to see it. There are also projects that I am producing with my husband. So, all action-based.
[19] Text on screen: Who is your dream ensemble to work with?
[20] JuJu Chan: I would love to work with Ang Lee or Zhang Yimou. I love Zhang Yimou’s art direction and his take on action films is amazing. The Rock, Jackie Chan, Meryl Streep (I don’t know how to fit it into the equation but I love Meryl Streep), Keanu Reeves, Sammo Hung, there are so many more. I would love to keep collaborating with Stephen and other Hong Kong filmmakers to bring Hong Kong action films to the world again.