The stuntman from Hong Kong who breathes new life into classic kung fu

On a recent sunny afternoon in Kowloon, stuntman-actor Philip Ng Wan-lung is busy shuttling between Hong Kong cinemas with directors and twin brothers Albert and Herbert Leung, who meet the audience just after the screenings of their new film, Stuntman. Philip Ng was on the poster of the film Stuntman (2024). Photo: Edko Films

“I play an action actor who is a bit over the hill and needs a new movie to bounce back,” says Ng. “He runs into his old mentor and all this drama ensues.”

Set on the sets of 80s and 90s Hong Kong action films, Stuntman is a tribute to the heroes who brought the most creative, crazy and often illegally shot scenes to a geocultural movement that remains distinctly ‘Hong Kong’.

Philip Ng plays a former stuntman turned action star in Stuntman. Photo: Edko Films

Looking to recapture those glorious days, Ng plays Wai, a former stuntman turned action star who must team up with overbearing veteran stunt choreographer Sam, played by Stephen Tung Wai, himself a sifuwith half a century of experience in the game of danger.

The stunts in the film are just as freewheeling and death-defying as those of the past – although not shot in guerrilla style – and meant that the stuntmen essentially had to perform themselves.

“I think it’s funny that the directors cast me as that character because some people say it’s like I’m playing an arrogant version of myself,” says Ng after the Hung Hom screening (where the trio’s car is safely and securely inside drove to local speed limits). ). “But I’m not. I just took the blueprints from different people I met in the industry.

Philip Ng grew up watching action movies. Photo: Edko Films And it’s an industry that’s having a bit of a renaissance. What was the city’s main creative export in the days of Bruce Lee and the Shaw Brothers, but transitioned into more comedic kung fu in the early ’80s, with stars like Jackie ChanSammo Hung Kam-bo and Yuen Biao. In the 90’s Jet Li was the standout global martial arts star and in the 2000s other countries made their own films, including Thailand’s Ong Bak (2003) and The raid (2011) from Indonesia, with more brutal fights.