Donnie Yen’s action choreographers on his and Jackie Chan’s lasting influence on movie making

John Salvitti learned martial arts from Donnie Yen’s mother, and Yen himself, before working for the martial arts star as an action choreographer

Kenji Tanigaki, action choreographer for Henry Golding’s Snake Eyes film and Japanese series Rurouni Kenshin, has worked with Yen since the mid-1990s

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Kenji Tanigaki (left) and Donnie Yen on the Shanghai set of Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010).

Published: 5:45pm, 13 Jul 2021Updated: 6:35pm, 13 Jul 2021

The only Japanese member of the Hong Kong Stuntman Association, Kenji Tanigaki speaks Cantonese with a Japanese accent when he choreographs action scenes in Donnie Yen Ji-dan’s movies.

Tanigaki first worked for Yen as a stuntman in the TV series Fist of Fury (1995) starring Yen and co-directed by the late director Benny Chan Muk-sing. Adapted from the eponymous Bruce Lee classic, the show portrays Chen Zhen, the fictional protégé of Qing dynasty martial arts maestro Huo Yuanjia.

The success of Fist of Fury turned Yen, who played Chen in the series, into a superstar, and the two would collaborate on another project featuring the character, in the 2010 film Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen.

In an interview with the Post, Tanigaki recalls how he left an impression on Yen with his stunt work in Fist of Fury. “He had to fight many Japanese [in the series]. He asked me to help him out in 1996 when he started his own company [Bullet Films] to be a director.

Kenji Tanigaki (left) and Donnie Yen on the set of Special ID (2013).

“When directing Legend of the Wolf (1996), he started to put together his own stunt team. He didn’t have enough money [to pay the crew] then. The experience was very harsh. But I enjoyed it a lot.”

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