John Woo

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Birthday:

23 September 1946, Guangzhou, China

Birth Name:

Yusen Wu

Height:

164 cm

Born in southern China, John Woo grew up in Hong Kong, where he began his film career as an assistant director in 1969, working for Shaw Brothers Studios. He directed his first feature in 1973 and has been a prolific director ever since, working in a wide variety of genres before Ying hung boon sik (1986) established his reputation as a master stylist specializing in ultra-violent gangster films and thrillers, with hugely elaborate action scenes shot with breathtaking panache. After gaining a cult reputation in the US with Dip huet seung hung (1989), Woo was offered a Hollywood contract. He now works in the US. Show less «

I'm not a master; I'm just a hard-working filmmaker. I would like everyone to see me as a friend rather than a master.

I like doves. They look so beautiful, like a woman. For me they represent peace and love and purity. And sometimes they're seen as the messe...Show more »

I like doves. They look so beautiful, like a woman. For me they represent peace and love and purity. And sometimes they're seen as the messengers of God, so they're important to me because I'm a Christian. Show less «

[on Tom Cruise] When he talks, he has so much energy it's almost like he's dancing. So I used that to choreograph his action scenes.

[on working in Hollywood] Even though I enjoyed the opportunity to work in Hollywood, I never got used to their system. I didn't like much o...Show more »

[on working in Hollywood] Even though I enjoyed the opportunity to work in Hollywood, I never got used to their system. I didn't like much of the studio people. Well, there are too much politics and so much going on, and a lot of them have nothing to do with the movie. It's all about power, it's all about egos. Show less «

[on his childhood living in a Hong Kong slum] I had to fight to survive. Whenever I got beat up, I got upset, I also ran into the theater to...Show more »

[on his childhood living in a Hong Kong slum] I had to fight to survive. Whenever I got beat up, I got upset, I also ran into the theater to watch a movie. But I have a very strong character, I never surrender, I [am] never afraid, no matter how big they are, how cruel they are, they never beat me down. I didn't have money. I just sneaked in or watched the movie from the peephole. I have found my heaven in musicals. When I watch a musical, it makes me believe life is still beautiful. There are still a lot of beautiful people in the world. So I like the costumes, I love the song, I love all those smiles, I love those dance. In theater I found my heaven. Show less «

[on Akira Kurosawa] I love Kurosawa's movies, and I got so much inspiration from him. He is one of my idols and one of the great masters.

[on Mean Streets (1973)] I saw this film before I directed my first movie. Even after I directed my first movie, I didn't have much confiden...Show more »

[on Mean Streets (1973)] I saw this film before I directed my first movie. Even after I directed my first movie, I didn't have much confidence. I must confess, I think I started a little too young. I should have learned more. I started with some kung-fu movies and comedies. After I watched "Mean Streets", it made me feel ashamed--"Why don't I make a movie like that? Tell a true story?" Show less «

[on Dolph Lundgren] Directors have generally overlooked Dolph's great sense of humor. He's very funny.

[on working with Jean-Claude Van Damme] That's a long story. About five or six years ago, I got many offers from Hollywood studios. The prod...Show more »

[on working with Jean-Claude Van Damme] That's a long story. About five or six years ago, I got many offers from Hollywood studios. The producer and script writers [for Hard Target (1993)] flew to Hong Kong to see me and they asked me to do the picture. [Van Damme was being considered to star.] Van Damme wanted a change, he wanted to prove himself as an actor. And he asked me to do the film. I thought I could do some magic. I know myself; I'm pretty sure of my abilities of how to make an actor look great on the screen, make him look like a hero. I thought I could do the same thing with Van Damme, like how I used to do with Yun-Fat Chow. So I wanted to help him. At the same time, I wanted a new experience, of working in Hollywood, so I took the chance and chose to do Hard Target (1993). The original script was pretty good. And I did try to do the things that I did with Yun-Fat Chow and tried to make Van Damme look different. Show less «