Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
john wick chapter 4
via Lionsgate

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ star is such a real-life badass he borrowed money from the Triads during a career slump

And he wasn't even worried about it.

Ever since its inception, the John Wick franchise has prided itself on being something akin to a much classier version of The Expendables. The big names are there, and they’re all wielding guns and kicking ass, but it’s done with much more style and panache than Sylvester Stallone’s bang of aging ass-kickers, which makes Donnie Yen’s involvement all the more fitting.

Recommended Videos

Not only did the martial arts icon turn down a role in the aforementioned series because he wasn’t sold on how his character would be portrayed – which is understandable when Jet Li literally plays a dude named Yin Yang – but he also battled with the team behind John Wick: Chapter 4 to ensure that he wasn’t hired simply to be another Asian stereotype.

It’s that confidence and willingness to stand his ground that’s established Yen as one of the greatest action heroes of the modern era, but as he admitted in an interview with GQ, he wasn’t above borrowing money from an organized crime syndicate in the late 1990s when a couple of back-to-back box office bombs saw his career hit the skids.

“From the Triads! Everybody, one way or the other, knows a Triad. I’ve been through it all. I witnessed gangsters fight on the set. I’ve witnessed all kinds of unimaginable things. There’s a lot of failure along the line. That’s part of life. We can’t be invincible. We do the best we can.” 

Mercifully – and for his own safety – a resurgent Yen managed to pay off his debt to the notorious Triads, but there are plenty of people who haven’t been anywhere so lucky. These days, he’s kicking ass and taking names to a higher standard than ever, and we can’t wait to see him go toe-to-toe with Keanu Reeves when John Wick: Chapter 4 comes to theaters in a matter of weeks.


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Scott Campbell
Scott Campbell
News, reviews, interviews. To paraphrase Keanu Reeves; Words. Lots of words.