Anecdotes

Michelle Yeoh considers him to be the fastest martial artist she has ever worked with.

Classically trained pianist.

Cites Jet Li as his favorite among all martial arts actors he has worked with in his entire career.

Was part of a Chinatown gang (non-organized street gang) in Boston, MA, in his early years. Due to his profound background in practical martial arts, he had a reputation as a street brawler. While Yen's degree/mastery of overall fighting ability is unknown, there's one reported occasion that confirms him being an efficient martial artist/self-defender. According to news reports by Hong Kong news channels in the late 1990s, he went clubbing with his then girlfriend, Yee-Man Man, and once inside the nightclub his girlfriend got harassed by a troublesome gang who took an interest in her. Yen warned them of leaving them alone but to no success. As they got out, the gang followed them and proceeded to prevent Yen from intervening by attacking him. This resulted in Yen beating the assailants up in self-defense and getting arrested by the police but was released the next day. This incident is still known in Hong Kong to this day - with people bringing it up in discussions concerning real fights as well as in relation to comparing credible fighting skills of various Hong Kong martial arts actors.

Can speak fluent Cantonese, English and Mandarin. Can also speak casual Korean, since he learned it as a requirement for his character during the filming of Seven Swords (2005).

Well trained in various martial arts styles, including wushu, tae kwon do, kick-boxing and boxing.

He was sent to Beijing, China, to continue his martial arts training and avoid committing crimes with a street gang.

Jet Li and Jackie Chan have both praised Yen as being possibly the best fighter in terms of practical combat in Asian cinema.

After more than two decades of working in Hong Kong, Yen finally got his major breakthrough in Ip Man (2008) and started being offered various big-budget projects by famous producers and directors in China and USA.

A big fan of Bruce Lee. He was one of the auditionees for the title role in Dragon : L'Histoire de Bruce Lee (1993). Jing wu men (1995) and Legend of the Fist (2010) are dedicated to Lee.

He turned down the following Hollywood films: Rush Hour 2 (2001) (Ziyi Zhang's character originally a male character), Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Le berceau de la vie (2003) (Chen Lo), Le Royaume interdit (2008) (Jade Warlord), La Momie : La Tombe de l'empereur dragon (2008) (Emperor Han), Expendables 2 : Unité spéciale (2012) (Yu Nan's character originally a male character replacing Yin Yang), and L'Homme aux poings de fer (2012) (Poison Dagger).

Grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Has a huge fanbase in Japan which has given him some opportunities to work behind the camera on not only movies but popular video games as well. He directed the cinematic intro sequence of Onimusha 3 (2004).

Is credited as the first martial arts actor/action director to incorporate modern MMA in Asian action cinema, starting with The Twins Effect (2003) and followed by S.P.L. (2005), Flashpoint (2007), and Special ID (2013).

Can also understand Shanghainese, because his wife's family is Shanghainese.

Got into a feud with his mentor, Yuen Woo-Ping, during shooting of Wing Chun (1994). While the incident was officially never explained, some people believe it was creative differences over the fight choreography that caused them to part ways. However, Woo Ping revealed in a 2011 interview that their relationship is good now and they still keep in touch from time to time.

He sustained a heavy injury in his right shoulder while making Ching fung dik sau (1985) which still affects him to this day.

He is trained extensively in Jeet Kune Do, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Hapkido, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Hung Ga, Sanda, Karate, Wrestling and Wushu.

He possesses a 6th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, a Black Belt in Judo and a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

He was supposed to co-star with Brandon Lee in a sequel to Légitime vengeance (1986) but Lee's departure back to the States led to the idea being scrapped.

A former member of Yuen Woo-Ping's Yuen Clan stunt team.

He was considered for the role of the Wenwu/The Mandarin in Shang-Chi et la Légende des Dix Anneaux (2021) before Tony Leung Chiu-wai was cast.

Was recommended to Yimou Zhang by Jet Li to play the role of Sky in Hero (2002). Yimou was desperate to look for a new actor to play the role after the original actor of choice was dismissed.

He turned down the role of the main villain in both Tai Chi Master (1993) and Combats de maître (1994) eventually played by Siu-Ho Chin and Wai-Kwong Lo respectively.

After learning the Hong Kong style of action film-making from his mentor Yuen Woo-Ping, Yen developed a big interest in action choreographing fight scenes and started working behind the camera on various film projects in Hong Kong in mid 1990s.

Donnie Yen received the Star Asia Award before the screening of Swordsmen (2011) at the New York Asian Film Festival on Monday, July 9, 2012.

Daughter (2004) named Jasmine W. Yen.

Started collaborating with director Wilson Yip on various film projects as leading actor and action director in the mid 2000s after meeting each other in the late 1990s. Yen was asked a favor by Yip to help out Daniel Lee with coordinating action scenes for Moonlight Express (1999). Their collaborations have led to some of the finest Hong Kong action films made in last half of that decade.

Billed as Michael Ryan in his earlier films, until High Voltage (1994), released in the Philippines.

Started working overseas as action director and small part actor on various film projects in early 2000s, in hope to learn more about film-making from different film markets and to achieve international success as an actor.

Has a son from a previous marriage.

Donnie Yen was intended to be the lead actor for Bi xie lan tian (1998), Yuen chi mo hei (1999) and Fist Power (2000). But Donnie gave back the deposit money he was given by Jing Wong and worked on Chin long chuen suet (1997), San Tong San daai hing (1998), Sat sat yan, tiu tiu mo (1998) and La Loi du puma (1999) instead. Jing replaced him with Wenzhuo Zhao.

Current wife Cissy Wang was the winner of the Miss Chinese Toronto Pageant 2000. She also represented Toronto in 2001 for the Miss Chinese International Pageant.

Started working on TV series in Hong Kong after offers for feature films slowly began diminishing for him in the mid 1990s.

Newborn son (2007) named James W. Yen.

His current wife Cissy Wang is 18 years his junior.

Brother of Chris Yen.