Film

Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s first European film ever, “Silent Friend,” is about to premiere in Venice. But he already wants to reunite with director Ildikó Enyedi.

“I would like to work with Ildikó again, if we get a chance,” he tells Variety. Two years ago, he picked up the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the Italian fest. 

“When I was still in Hong Kong before the shoot, I asked her: ‘What do I need to do to prepare for this character?’ She said: ‘You just need to be there.’ This was my first time doing anything like this. So I went there, and went with the flow,” he laughs. 

In 2021, Tony Leung Chiu-wai made his long-awaited English-language debut in Marvel Studio’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” alongside Simu Liu, with fans calling out for his return as Wenwu. But following delays, its sequel is still in development. 

“I don’t know what my next step will be and I never plan anything in my career — again, I go with the flow,” he says. While “Silent Friend” marks another big step for the star, he’s not actively seeking out international projects. 

“It’s not like I suddenly want to work with all these different teams in every other country. It’s all about instinct. The first time I talked to Ildikó, online, I just knew I wanted to work with her and that’s why I said yes. Instinct.”

He adds: “After ‘Silent Friend,’ I haven’t done anything else and it has almost been a year. I never plan, because when you do, the outcome is always different from what you expect. So why bother?” 

In the century-spanning film, he plays a neuroscientist stuck in a university town in Germany during the pandemic. All alone, save for an imposing ginkgo tree and a suspicious security guard he can’t even communicate with, he starts a new experiment encouraged by a fellow enthusiast (Léa Seydoux). 

“When I got the script, Ildikó left me a note that said: ‘It’s a sci-fi with a sense of humor.’ She told me she watched some videos of me being interviewed and just saw something inside me. That’s why she created this character for me.” 

“I think he’s a very lonely guy. But the film proves that even if we don’t speak the same language, as long as you feel others with your heart, you’ll understand them. I love playing this kind of role without much dialogue. It’s much more challenging.”

But it wasn’t the story itself that made him want to work with Enyedi, also behind Oscar-nominated “On Body and Soul.”

“I was only interested in Ildikó. When she approached me, she showed me her films and I just went: ‘Wow, this is wonderful.’ I really love this person – not just her work. I felt I could trust her,” he recalls.

“We didn’t just talk about the script. It wasn’t the usual actor-director exchange. She’s a friend, a very good friend and a teacher. She sent me some books and one of them was by Alan Watts [known for popularizing Eastern philosophy and religion]. I told Ildikó I was a Buddhist, that I study philosophy. I said: ‘We clearly have something in common’.” 

Leung Chiu-wai is known for Oscar-nominated “Hero,” Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution,” “Internal Affairs,” later remade by Martin Scorsese, and his collabs with Wong Kar-wai – “In the Mood for Love” brought him Best Actor award in Cannes. But “Silent Friend” is still his “only experimental movie.”  

“I haven’t seen it yet. I usually try to avoid [watching my films] because every time, I only see missing parts.” Was there ever one he considered to be perfect? “Never.”

Making it changed his own relationship to nature.

“I would read about early cognitive development of babies, about plant intelligence and it really changed my perspective towards the world. I pay more respect to it,” he admits.  

“Why do we assume that plants don’t have intelligence when other living beings do? It just exists in a different form; one we don’t quite understand. I really didn’t think this way before. It really makes sense. They are living beings, right next to us, but we are not aware of it. You know, humans always think we are at the top of the food chain, but we need to stop doing that. We should be more humble.”

Now, he hopes the viewers will feel the same. 

“I really hope it will change their point of view, too. And make this planet a better place.”