After kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) relocates to New York City, he attracts unwanted attention from a local karate champion and embarks on a journey to enter the ultimate karate competition with the help of Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio).
As Karate Kid Legends ushers in this iconic franchise for a new generation in cinemas on June 5, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the new karate kid himself, Ben Wang, about finding his character through the fight choreography, and who he thinks of when he hears the word ‘legend’.
Ben Wang: Hello, Nick!
Nick: Ben! It’s a pleasure to meet you. How are you going today?
Ben Wang: I’m doing alright. How are you?
Nick: I’m doing very well! Thank you for taking the time to chat. I really enjoyed this film. It’s charming, it’s exciting, and obviously, I was a fan of the fight scenes – both the choreography, and the way Jonathan [Entwistle, director] shoots them. But, I was curious to know, when you are training for these scenes, at what point do you transition from Ben Wang learning this fight choreography, to Li Fong who has all of the emotional stakes in these moments?
Ben Wang: Well, I mean, the main difference between Li Fong and me, is that Li Fong does the choreography for the first time, every time. And I get 17 takes, right? That’s the difference. It’s like… I can’t do it the first time, every time, but if you give me 17 takes to do it, I can. And so we craft this character who can do it the first time, every time out of a person who needs 17 takes to do it. And that’s the magic of movies!
Nick: That is fascinating. I’ve never heard it explained like that before! When we look at the title for this film, Legends is there. And you have literal legends like Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio here who have been so integral to people’s love for movies, mine included. When you hear the word ‘legend’, who comes to mind?
Ben Wang: I mean, truthfully… Jackie Chan is one of them. I grew up in China, and as a kid in China– like in the West, Jackie Chan is already sort of synonymous with action filmmaking, or action comedies. But, when I was a kid, growing up in China, Jackie Chan is just synonymous with film. I think of actor Jackie Chan first. He’s got that mantle where he represents cinema for several generations of people all over the world.
Truly, for me, working with Jackie Chan… He is singular. Like Chaplin is singular. Like Keaton is singular. He’s an all time. He will go down in the history books as one of the best, if not, the best, to ever do what he does. And it’s crazy getting to be in the film with him. It’s like being in Mozart’s orchestra or something!
Nick: Well, he’s absolutely been responsible for so many people’s happiest cinema memories. And I left this film feeling very uplifted. I quite literally had a huge grin on my face leaving this movie. Do you have a cinematic memory that sticks out that brought you just an immense amount of joy? Something where you felt that movie magic?
Ben Wang: I have a lot, you know. But, like, in China, going to the movies wasn’t a big thing back then, and now it is. So, I’d never seen a film, in a theatre, until I moved to the United States. And the first film I ever saw in a theatre, I believe, was Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith…
Nick: Oh, dude! And it just had the re-release too!
Ben Wang: I know! I wanted to catch it so bad, but I’m on the tour right now! But, I loved that movie so much that when I left the theatre, I got my grandpa’s camcorder and I was trying to like recreate it myself, which was obviously impossible because it opens with like a 15 minute space battle! And I didn’t have the budget, or the know how, or the elbow grease. But, that’s how much that movie affected me.
Thank you to Ben for his time, and to Sony Pictures for organising the interview. Karate Kid: Legends is in Australian cinemas June 5.
