The Hong Kong stuntman reviving classic kung fu
Philip Ng, star of new movie Stuntman, reflects on Hong Kong’s golden action film era when Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan reigned – and why it’s back
“I play an action actor a little bit over the hill who needs a new movie to bounce back,” says Ng. “He runs into his old mentor and this whole drama ensues.”
Set squarely in the sets of 1980s and 90s Hong Kong action films, Stuntman is a homage to the heroes who brought the most creative, insane and often illegally shot scenes to a geocultural movement that remains distinctly “Hong Kong”.
Looking to recapture those halcyon days, Ng portrays Wai, a former stuntman turned action star who must team up with overbearing veteran stunt choreographer Sam, played by Stephen Tung Wai, himself a sifu, with a half-century of experience in the danger game.
The stunts in the film are as freewheeling and death-defying as those from back in the day – although not shot guerilla-style – and meant the stuntmen were cast to play, basically, themselves.
“I think it’s funny the directors cast me as that character, because some people say it’s like me playing an arrogant version of myself”, says Ng, following the Hung Hom screening (to which the trio’s car was driven safely and within local speed limits). “But that’s not me. I just took on blueprints of different people that I’ve met in the industry.”
