Gary Daniels was born in 1963 in England. After having played some minor parts in Television in series TV like Miami Vice, Gary Daniels do his first steps in cinema with 2 Filipinos action movie with small budget. After that he returns to Los Angeles where he begins his career in small budget�s action movie intended for the video market before he did the movie for which he received the recognition of the Hong Kong cinema�s lovers : City Hunter. Gary Daniels, who was always passioned by this kind of cinema get the chance to works with hirs idol Jackie Chan. He will benefit from a 3 week pause during the shooting to also play a minor part in Mission of Justice in a scene where he fight againt the queen of the girls with guns: Moon Lee. After this small passage to Hong Kong, Gary goes back to the United States where he builds him up a career and become a star of direct to the video. We could see him in movie like Fist of the North Star, a live adaptation of hokuto no ken or Bloodmoon directed by Tony Leung Siu Hung and produced by Ng See Yuen.

HK: How did you start in the movie business ?

G: I wanted to be in the movies since I was about 8/9 years old. I saw a trailer for a Bruce Lee movie and straight away knew that was what I wanted to do. I didn�t really get involved in film or t.v in the U.K, I spent my youth studying martial arts and watching every kind of martial arts movie I could get my hands on. I went to Florida in the U.S when I was 20 and there I studied acting for about 18 months while doing some commercials and bit parts on t.v like Miami Vice. I then went to the Philippines where I did leads in 2 low budget action movies and a lot of commercials; it was a great learning experience for me. I then went to L.A where I was hired for several low budget martial art movies and it just rolled on from there.

HK: Can you relate your martial background and the styles you learnt ?

G: I started my training at 8/9 years of age with a system called Mongolian kung Fu, the teacher was very rough and basically taught a systemized form of street fighting which wasn�t real pretty but made you tough. I really enjoyed the kicking aspect so when I was about 13 I took up Tae Kwon Do. After earning my black belt at 16 I was disqualified from 3 tournaments for knocking out my opponent so I decided to take up kickboxing and fought in the P.K.A and trained with a boxing coach for 3 years. In the states I studied Muay Thai, tried Taijutsu and Aikido for about a year each but finally met my sifu Winston Omega and have studied with him for the past 13 � 14 years, his system is Sillum Wong ka Kune.

HK: How did you get your part in City Hunter ?

G: I had been sending my tapes to H.K for years getting polite replies, thanks but no thanks. When finally my tape got to one of Jackies guys named Fong who I believe was an editor and I guess I just looked right for the part of ken in City Hunter.

HK: Was it a dream to play in a Jackie Chan's movie ? What kind of relationship had you with him ?

G: Yes it was a dream to work with Jackie as I had been a fan since I was about 12 or 13. That movie came early in my career so I was not so experienced; I wish I could have the chance again. My relationship with Jackie was professional, some days he was a lot of fun to be around and would chat a lot about his life and career but other days he would be so tired and a little colder. He was actually shooting City Hunter during the day and doing night scenes for Crime story so he would get very tired.

HK: Was it difficult to adapt you to the rythm of the Hong Kong choreography ?

G: A lot of people talk about the rhythm of H.K fights. A lot of time the movements are designed for small Chinese stuntmen that have never lifted weights so are much looser, consequently there way of moving is a lot different than bigger westerners. I didn�t feel I had much problem with adapting but I will never move the same as a small Chinese guy.

HK: In City Hunter you have a great scene when you play Ken from Street Fighter, can you tell us more about that scene ?

G: Doing the street fighter scene was pretty tough; the set looked more like a construction site than a movie set, due to all the rigging for the wire work. I was put on a machine that spun me around so much I wanted to puke but I couldn�t let them see that. I saw ken Lo carried off the set in so much pain due to being on wires for so long in such a painful way. We shot all through the night so there was a lot of fatigue, but I would never complain as I was just happy to be there. That fight was right near the end of the shoot so there was a great atmosphere on the set while shooting that scene, we actually had a lot of laughs.

HK: I heard that there was no script on the set and the dialogues was given to you just before shooting. So you can't really make a background for your character. Do you think it's for this reason that foreign bad guys are so caricatural characters in Hong Kong movies ?

G: Its true there was no script, so yes, pretty much you play a stereotypical bad guy in Chinese movies. The acting style in H.K is very different than in the U.S. Here �less is best�, its about being more subtile, internalizing everything, whereas in H.K, especially on a movie like City Hunter the acting is generally �over the top�, more visual.

HK: Richard Norton was the other "gweilo" on the set; did he give you some recommandation ?

G: Richard did not really give me recommendations but it was good to have someone with Richards experience around. He is a really good guy and I remember after my first scene in the movie where I did my solo training scene, I was so sore due to the amount of takes we did, unlike in the U.S. Richard was laughing as I hobbled off the set because I had been so enthusiastic going in. I couldn�t walk properly for 2 days after that scene.

HK: What about your relationship with the other members of the crew ? Was there any language barrier considering you speak english and not the local dialect, Cantonese ?

G: I got on very well with the crew and came particularly good friends with the D.P, Gigo Lee, we are still good friends till today. I got on well with the stunt guys and the director Wong Jing, a very funny man. I learned a lot of Cantonese while I was there and I think the H.K crew respected that.

HK: In the out-takes of City Hunter we can see that Jackie got angry because for the final fight, Richard Norton couldn't follow the rythm of the choreography and finally he used a double for this fight. Do you know more about that?

G: I wouldn�t say Jackie got angry, maybe just a little frustrated, remember as I said he was often very tired. Richard is a good martial artist and actor but as a said, a guy who weighs over 200 lbs is not going to move the same as a 155lb Chinese guy. Please remember everyone in H.K is doubled, including Jackie Chan and Jet Lee, that is their way of doing things. They will do what it takes to provide the best on screen entertainment.

HK: You made another Hong Kong movie called Mission of Justice which cast the 2 queens of the girls with guns movies : Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima. Can you tell us more about this experience ?

G: I did 1 fight in that movie. Jackie broke his ankle while we were filming City.Hunter so we all had 3 weeks off. I was asked if I would do that scene and was happy to work with Moon Lee. Actually it was a mistake as we were shooting near the water and they wanted me to jump off a stack of canoes piled about 10 � 15 feet high and very unstable. When I landed off balance I cracked my heel and was in great pain. I had to see a Chinese herbalist for 3 weeks to try to heal my foot before we resumed filming on C.H. That was not too smart !

HK: Why didn't you continue to shoot Hong Kong movies after that ? Is it because the role offered to foreigners was not good ?

G: Actually the parts in H.K movies for westerners are always pretty much the same and they do not pay so well. I was lucky on City Hunter but usually they would rather use a local just to come in and fight than pay the airline ticket, hotel accommodation and per diem of a foreigner. Honestly I would love to go back and work in H.K or China again. Hopefully I will.

HK: How do you see the action in Hong Kong compared with the action in the USA ? Do you try to use what you learnt in Hong Kong in your US movies ?

G: Of coarse I love H.K action movies, I love the way they shoot their action, it is second to none. They are so advanced in their thinking, their choreography and the way they shoot. But it takes time to shoot the way they do and in the smaller action pics in the U.S we are just not given that luxury of time. In H.K. they can take 2 � 3 weeks for 1 fight where in the U.S we get 3 � 6 hours ! I tried to do it the H.K way but you need a team on the same wave length and if the director and D.P do not understand your vision you will not get the result you are after. In H.K an action director will take over the set when it is time to fight and the director may not even be on the set but that will never happen in America.

HK: In 1995 you play Kenshiro in the movie "Fist of the North Star" which is actually the adaptation of the Manga : Hokuto No Ken. Did you know the Manga before shooting the movie ? and how did you prepare your part ?

G: Yes I was familiar with the animated movie before being offered the role of Kenshiro. It is tough to bring a comic book character to life. I personally changed my training to put on more muscle to try to look more like the comic and I read 2 volumes of the comic book. More recently I have watched all of the t.v series and I wish I had seen that before shooting as you get more feel for his character.

HK: What are your favorites hong kong movies ?

G: Wow, there are so many. I am a big fan of a lot of the early Kung Fu movies before they started speeding up the camera and using wires. I like the original Drunken Master, Fearless Hyena, Snake in the eagles Shadow, Young Master. I liked Prodigal Son and Warriors Two. Any movie with Tam Tao Liang and Hwang Jang Lee, the 2 awsome kickers. Eastern Condors was another favourite. I like John Woo�s hardboiled, A Better Tomorrow and The Killer and Bullet in the Head, these 4 had some of the best acting I have seen in H.K films. I enjoyed Fist of Legend and more recently So Close. How can I forget Fong Sai Yuk. There are more but I cannot list them all.

HK: What are your next projects ?

G: Times have slowed down for me, I just finished a sci fi / action film with Dolph Lundgren and have a couple of scripts to read.

HK: At last, what would you want to say to our readers ?

G: I just want to say thanks to the readers who have watched my movies and supported me over the years.

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Interview by Tavantzis Nicolas (Ryo Saeba), April 2004.
Original version: www.hkmania.com/Dossiers/garydanielseng.html
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