Beijing-born Jackie Wu Jing doesn't have problems getting his tongue around Cantonese in his latest movie Fatal Contact. 'The character has a lot in common with my life,' says the 32-year-old action star.
Indeed, the role bears an uncanny resemblance: Gao Gang is a national martial-arts champion whose attempts to find a footing in Hong Kong are met with challenges and pitfalls. 'The movie is about leading a simple and honest life and pursuing true love with utmost perseverance and dedication,' Wu says.
The struggle is sometimes ugly. Gao, in town for a short-term performance with a Peking Opera troupe, soon finds himself embroiled in the bloody world of illegal boxing matches.
Wu might not have to resort to a life in Hong Kong's netherworld to make his name, but the path to fame and fortune has been daunting all the same.
Arriving in Hong Kong as one of the most popular martial-arts performers and actors of his generation on the mainland, he has had his work cut out trying to adapt to Hong Kong's celebrity circus.
His role as a brutal fighter in Wilson Yip Wai-shun's SPL didn't propel him to the forefront of the industry as expected, and he admits he hasn't adapted perfectly to life in the limelight here. 'Anyway, I've coped well so far,' he says.
What Wu wants, however, is to break out of his niche as merely a fighter. In Fatal Contact, the acting is as important as the visually captivating action sequences, he says. 'Feelings are always the backbone of a movie. We don't fight for fight's sake. It's just that sometimes the feelings are obscured by violent acts.' Still, Wu spared no efforts in doing the fighting scenes.