Donnie Yen Ji-dan (Chinese: 甄子丹; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Regarded as one of Hong Kong's top action stars, Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into mainstream Asian cinema by choreographing MMA in many of his films since the early 2000s. The first Chinese UFC champion Zhang Weili stated that Yen's films introduced her to MMA. Yen has displayed skill in an array of martial arts, being well-versed in Tai Chi, Boxing, Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, Mixed Martial Arts, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Hung Ga, Sanda, Judo, Wing Chun, and Wushu. One of the most popular film stars in Asia of the early 2000s, Yen is consistently one of the highest-paid actors in Asia. Yen earned HK$220 million (US$28.4 million) from four films and six advertisements in 2013.
Yen is credited by many for contributing to the popularisation of Wing Chun in China. He portrays Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man in the Ip Man film series, which has garnered box office success and led to an increase in the number of people taking up Wing Chun, with hundreds of new Wing Chun schools being opened up in mainland China and other parts of Asia. Ip Chun, the eldest son of Ip Man, even mentioned that he is grateful to Yen for making...More about Donnie Yen...
