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AsianConnections:
Who is the most inspirational person to you?
Chow
Yun-Fat: I think my mother. She is
a very tough lady. And she taught me how to survive, because
we grew up in a very poor, bad situation. When I was young,
I had to carry two baskets to selling our dim sum from village to
village, from mountain to mountain. So I have a very good
experience with her as a partnership. She was my role model
when I was young, how hard she worked, working so hard in such very
bad situation, and everyday working and living in agony. Because
my father was a seaman, so every year he just come back about three
weeks, and then he'd be gone. So almost a single lady, have
four kids in our family, and she put a lot of time to just for living.
So she is a very optimistic lady, even though no matter what the
situation, she still stands very firm. Very stiff, and very
straight. She never bowed to her environment. So she
is one of the heroes in my life when I was young.
First
when I was in high school, I had a lot of movie idols, like John
Wayne, Steve McQueen, James Dean, and Marlon Brando. Especially,
I don't know why in the old days we had a lot of good top guys in
movies like Cagney and Clint Eastwood.
AsianConnections:
How do you feel about being called the "Clark Gable" of
Asian actors?
Chow Yun-Fat: Overwhelming.
Too much for me.
AsianConnections:
What do think about men being emasculated now in the late 20th
century?
Chow Yun-Fat:
Now, I can sense
that even in Hong Kong, a lot of younger actors, they lost their
strength to struggle, [they are] more aggressive in the luxury way.
You know, "I want this, this, this." But in the
old days, you can see especially after World War II, everybody was
living in a very a calm situation, the whole country wanted to build
up a society. Everybody worked in a very peaceful harmony.
Now, after the economy boom in the eighties and nineties, now to
the year 2000, everybody's?now you can see a lot of material things
in the market. Because for the young generation, they cannot
afford it, [to] buy all the stuff in front of them, and now the
pacing of life is going very fast, all over the world. Maybe
they have lost the security, because there are too many violent
things going on. Especially in modern days, the parents must
go out to work and leave the children at home just only watching
TV, so they don't have a guideline to what is life. In the
old days you can see the parents always take the kid, [and] taught
them how to be a good man. Now everything is the TV as a media
to guide them and as a baby-sitter.
AsianConnections:
The values are superficial?
Chow
Yun-Fat: Yes, yes. So you can see that no
matter where, in the United States, Europe or Asia, the second generation
can be very aggressive. [The second generation say], "I
want to be rich, I might as well have a lot of money. [They
say] "When I have money I have power."
AsianConnections:
Do you make your home here now?
Chow Yun-Fat: No, I still stay
in Hong Kong with my mom. We have a saying that, if your parents
are still there, you cannot go far away.
AsianConnections:
Do you think King Mongkut, given a choice, would have taken a life
with Anna, and say he didn't have to be king anymore or a life with
all his wives. Which would he pick? Did he want to be
with one woman?
Chow
Yun-Fat: Actually, I buy [into the idea as] one
of the English kings. He sacrificed all his power.
AsianConnections:
King Edward?
Chow
Yun-Fat: Edward. Living in Paris.
AsianConnections:
To be with the woman you want to be with.
Chow
Yun-Fat: Yes. I mean, for reality, I'd hate
to be a king, because everyday you have to manage all the documents
and arrangements to meet all the ambassadors from all over the world,
and plus your life line. Tons of tons of concubines to kill him.
Waiting to be served. And we are not talking about one night.
Every night! Oh, exhausted! [laughter] You know,
that's why in the old days in China, you can see kings not living
longer than 45! [laughter]
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