As Donnie Yen turns 60, a look at some of the Ip Man actor’s early roles before he was famous, and how many times he’s fought Jackie Chan on screen

Donnie Yen Ji-dan may be best known for his Ip Man films, but he started acting in the 1980s, debuting in Drunken Tai Chi and appearing opposite Stephen Chow

To mark his 60th birthday, we look back at some of the Hong Kong star’s early roles, the time he had money troubles, and why we know he can dance

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Donnie Yen in 2016. To mark the Hong Kong kung fu icon’s 60th birthday, we look at his work before the successful Ip Man film series. Photo: Getty Images

Nicole Tan

Published: 7:15am, 27 Jul 2023Updated: 7:27am, 27 Jul 2023

July 27, 2023 marks the 60th birthday of Hong Kong kung fu actor Donnie Yen Ji-dan.

He is best known for injecting mixed martial arts into Asian cinematography and popularising the self-defence fighting style of wing chun kung fu through his Ip Man movies (2008-2019).

But Yen began acting in films and on television long before that. We look back at his early career, and dig up some less well known facts about the actor.

It all started with Drunken Tai Chi

Although the actor had his breakthrough success in the 2000s with Ip Man, his acting debut came in Drunken Tai Chi (1984). Yen plays Chan Chuen-chung, who learns tai chi to defeat the assassin who killed his family.

This was one of more than 40 movies in which he appeared in the two decades before Ip Man was released.

“Drunken Tai Chi” in 1984 saw Yen’s acting debut.

He starred in a movie with Stephen Chow Sing-chi

Four years into his acting career, Yen was cast in Raymond Lee Wai-man’s 1988 film The Last Conflict, a TV crime thriller produced for Hong Kong broadcaster TVB. He plays Dick Kwan, an Interpol officer who is recruited to help Chow – who plays Lau Ting Kin – and the Hong Kong police investigate a gang.