In control & breaking the mold
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Danial Wu proves he is more than a pretty face. Tony Zhao / For Dhina Daily |
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The film was a mockumentary, revealing newly founded Hong Kong boy band Alive's struggle in the entertainment industry. They were required to wear ridiculous costumes, pay for "professional" fans and help create gossip. Only one of them could sing, but their album became a hit after digital enhancement in the studio.
One character says in the film about show business: "It's all about how you look, who you know and how you present yourself."
"I still hold exactly the same idea about the entertainment industry," he says. "This industry is all about producing hollow and fake things, that's why we need to put something truthful in making them."
His latest effort is Control, a film he stars in and produces. It is a futuristic thriller to be released on Dec 5.
"We had thrillers before, but not futuristic ones," he says. "I want to provide something different. When Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) was a success, everyone wanted to make costume kung fu dramas; romantic drama sells, so everybody is making it now.
"If I can tell stories people do not normally see and they can think in a different way, to me that is a success already."
Control is set in a scientifically advanced futuristic city. Wu plays an insurance salesman who commits perjury to save his mother. After that he is threatened by a secret figure who forces him to commit more crimes, including robbing a bank.
Wu found a top insurance salesman in Hong Kong who gave him seven classes where he learned all about the profession. He also managed a two-week rehearsal, discussing script and acting skills with director Kenneth Bi and co-actors Yao Chen and Leon Dai. The rehearsal process is rare in Hong Kong films, which have become known for their speed in shooting and high efficiency.
"I would love to live as the character, like what Daniel Day-Lewis did in making My Left Foot — you know he even stayed in the wheelchair when taking a break. In Hong Kong if you did that people would think you are insane. So we try our best to achieve some balance."
Unlike some pretty actors who deliberately play ugly roles in an effort to make the audience focus on their acting, Wu never did that.
"That approach, I may be a bit harsh, is pretentious," he says. "Great actors move people by emotion, not their look. A handsome actor is great if he achieves that; an ugly actor is not great if he cannot."
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