We got to sit down and enjoy a very entertaining interview with interview with Donnie Yen who plays Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One. We first asked if he could tell us about his character in the movie.
Chirrut, he’s blind but he’s spiritual. He’s the spiritual center of the team. He’s the Force believer. He preaches this and he got a little bit of a sense of humor. Yeah, and he beats up all the Storm Troopers.
Questioned on how it was that his character changed to be blind Donnie is very humble is saying that he does not want to take credit for this decision. He is very insistent that this was a collaboration, the nature of being an artist, expressing your thoughts on your character. In the beginning he was discussing his character with Gareth and he felt it would be much cooler to make him less of a cliché character.
Photo Credit – MomStart.com
Donnie wanted to give him a bit of vulnerability – like being disabled. That is where they decided that Chirrut would be blind, along with a sense of humor.
That was always been my persistence of keeping him grounded, having that sense of humor so the audience can relate to him a lot more. So I suggested it and he’s cool with it and Disney loved it and here we are.
Because this decision was made in the very beginning, before they were actually on set or filming there was very little adjustment that needed to take place with regards to his character now being blind. Donnie thinks it is a part of film making, making adjustments on a day-to-day basis.
We revise it and obviously we need approval by the studio, especially dealing the biggest I.P. in the film industry, Star War. There’s a lot of responsibility on our hands. But we do get that kind of freedom to shape our character along the process.
In speaking to how he worked on this character and how he’s fan base would perceive his role he had the following to say;
It was really challenging and I underestimated the difficulty of playing a blind character because it was hard. Having that contact lenses you think it looks interesting, but having to take them off every three hours and let it rest because it irritates your eyes and every ten minutes I needed drops. It bothers me. [It was] very irritating.
Photo Credit – MomStart.com
You can’t really see. You think because they’re contact lenses therefore they’ll probably see but everything was blurry. Somehow they couldn’t manage to, I know with technology today, they still were not able to manage to make blue pair of contact lenses and having that specific look and giving the full clarity for my sight. So I was having difficulty measuring [distances etc].
Donnie continued that an added challenge was not been able to see his fellow actors in their eyes. He couldn’t get their reactions. This resulted in him fine-tuning his acting every single day. However, it was still very, very frustrating, every day, not been in control of yourself as he really couldn’t see clearly.
Asked if this inability to see helped him portray his character better;
You know, actually, yes, in that perspective yes. In return certain benefits were given because of the fact that he’s blind, he has to feel, he has to use his heart to feel it and that puts my character even closer to the Force.
Chirrut’s role is to be the spiritual center of the team and he practices the Force – but he has to FEEL it.
In speaking with the other cast members, they spoke about how physically grueling this was. Donnie was asked; because you have such a background in martial arts did you feel there was a difference in what you do every day?
I just do it. To me it’s like a musician, you play music all your life and it’s just jump in there. As an actor who specializes in physical expressions, for me it was just dive in…
Last we asked Donnie how he came to be a part of Star Wars.
My agent called me and they said, “Disney wants you to be in Star Wars.” Then Gareth called me. I know it sounds crazy, but in the very beginning I was hesitant of coming on board. I know “Star Wars,” I mean I didn’t want to leave my family, my kids and be in London for five months. I just got off from another movie and I live in Hong Kong.
Donnie said that he asked his children, Jasmine and James, if they would want him to continue in his current roles, or if they want him to be in Star Wars. Without a doubt they both said Star Wars!!
Then all the family members and friends and all the fan voices came out of nowhere and say, “Oh!” They found out about it and said, “You gotta be in Star Wars! You gotta be in Star Wars!” I realized that I’m making history here, you know? So I’m so glad.
Now that you’re done reading all about Donnie Yen, be sure to read my recap of the Rogue One Press Event & previous interviews;
Every time that I read a post about this movie it makes me want to see it even more.