Hoang
Nghi was trained in Kung Fu by his father, the Master
Hoang Nam, who was a pioneer in spreading this discipline
in France. Nghi is currently the most titled French
citizen in all of Europe. Renowned for his martial
art demonstrations and his technical purity, today
he works in cinema. In Taxi 2 he was one of the stunt
doubles and he was also in such movies as Agustin
Roi du Kung Fu, Kiss of the Dragon (he doubled for
Jet Li), Wasabi and Samouraïs which is due to
be released soon in France.
[KFC
Cinema]: How did the passion for the martial
arts begin for you ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: My father, Master Hoang Nam, was
an expert in the arts, so from a young age I was surrounded
by all aspects of martial arts and it really appealed
to me.
[KFC
Cinema]: What types of martial arts do
you practice exactly?
[Hoang
Nghi]: I practice Wutao Kung Fu, it is
a style that my father created in 1962. I also do
Wushu and Taekwondo, I also have some knowledge of
Karate. I am 5th dan in Kung Fu and 4th dan in Taekwondo.
[KFC]:
Do you believe it is better to concentrate on one
single type of martial arts or is it better to learn
several types ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: It all depends on the discipline,
Kung Fu for example is very complete while Judo mainly
focus on projecting your opponent.
[KFC]:
Can you tell us a little about your father, apparently
he is a grand master who developed his own style ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: Yes, my father Master Hoang Nam
was a pioneering Kung Fu in France. He trained the
head members of the current federation. It was in
1950 that he came to France, in 1962 he developed
his own style of Kung Fu called Wutao. The meaning
of Wutao is : the path by technique. During the 60s
he received an American delegation that fought against
his students amoung which there was a certain Bill
Wallance. In 1972 it was his school that was selected
to give a demonstration for the premier showing of
Enter the Dragon, and in 1975 we went to Antibes in
the south of France located between Nice and Cannes.
[KFC]:
To this day did you ever have to rely on your martial
arts skill to defend yourself for real ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: Strangely I never used my martial
arts skill to defend myself because there never was
a situation where it was needed. You can say that
I have a really calm nature.
[KFC]:
How did your career in cinema begin, did you start
by doing commercials for television and eventually
getting to the large screen ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: After several auditions I had the
chance meet the stunt coordinator for an ad for Canal
+, a television station in France, and I continued
to work with the same coordinator on Ronin with De
Niro and Jean Reno which was filmed in Nice, the rest
after that is history. It's important to prove yourself,
to be serious and don't let it get to your head. It's
a closed world where everyone knows each other.
[KFC]:
You did stunt work on Taxi 2, Kiss of the Dragon and
Wasabi, did you have the chance to meet Luc Besson
?
[Hoang
Nghi]: I had the chance to have several
conversations with him, he is very professional and
when he is on set it really shows. It was him who
was behind the camera in Kiss of the Dragon when I
was doubling for Jet Li.
[KFC]:
Do you have as a future goal to become a serious actor
or are you content with being a stunt man ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: Like many other stunt men I would
like to get a serious part in a movie, you can't remain
a stunt man forever. There is also fight choreography
which looks really interesting to do. I managed to
get a small part in a pilot of Red Eye which is directed
by Micheal Damian, known for being one of the stars
of The Young and the Restless.
[KFC]:
You recently worked on Samurai of Giordano Géderlini,
has the filming finished yet ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: Its been a few months already, it
is supposed to be released for May 2002 in France.
[KFC]:
Can you tell us a little bit about this movie and
your role in it ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: I have the part of a Samurai at
the beginning of the movie in a field of bambou and
another a little more important, still in samurai,
where I had the chance to fight Kurata Yasoaki, the
Master Funakoshi in Fist of Legend who fights agaisnt
Jet Li blindfolded. Finally I double for Nakatomi
the leader of the Samurais.
[KFC]:
What are your current projects, Taxi 3 maybe ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: In Taxi 3 I am a simple stunt man
as in The Transporter with Jason Statham. Soon I will
be in Dubaï in the Arab Emirets to film a commercial.
[KFC]:
I heard that you will be working on a project with
Corey yuen, is this true ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: I would really like that but it
is false. He appreciates me a lot from the previous
casting I have passed in front of him for Kiss of
the Dragon. In the beginning he was looking for an
asian who was very skilled in the martial arts but
the script changed.
[KFC]:
It would have been your first experience with an Hong
Kong action choreographer ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: No, I was directed by Philip Kwok
in Samouraïs, it was him who took care of the
fights scenes in Le Pacte des Loups.
[KFC]:
What do you thing of Pacte des Loups by Christophe
Gans ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: It has quite a bit of entertainment,
I know Gans and knew how he saw his movie. Many of
my students made martial art movies in super 8 in
the late 70s with Gans behind the camera.
[KFC]:
Would you be interested one day to work with Gans
on one of his productions ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: Yes, I really hope this will happen,
I had a chance to show him my technical skill and
he was really hooked.
[KFC]:
What was the worst accident during a stunt that has
ever happened to you and what sort of injuries did
you have ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: Knock on wood, I have never been
seriously injured yet.
[KFC]:
Which movie influenced you the most till now ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: Many of the Bruce Lee and Jacky
Chan Movies, after all I grew up with those movies.
[KFC]:
Do you enjoy playing videogames, if so which is your
favorite ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: I enjoy RPGs but strangely fighting
games are just not my cup of tea.
[KFC]:
If you had a super powerful Kung fu move what would
it be and what would you call it ?
[Hoang
Nghi]: The 1440° ten kicks four level,
we can always dream.
[KFC]:
Who would win a king of the hill fight between Bruce
Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Mini Me(from austin powers)
?
[Hoang
Nghi]: You have to be careful of the small
guys, by the way I am small too. (Joking)
[KFC]:
Who would be your dream adversary?
[Hoang
Nghi]: Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee (if he
was still alive that is).
[KFC]:
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer
our questions, the team at KFC Cinema would like to
wish you the best of luck in your movie career.
[Hoang
Nghi]: Once again thank you and I hope
to one day do a film in your country. You can visit
me at www.ecolehoangnam.com
French
to English transaltion of the interview by Peter Zsurka.
Pictures come from the Official web site of Hoang
Nghi. www.ecolehoangnam.com
Hoang
Nghi
Hoang
Nghi Official Web Site: www.ecolehoangnam.com
Janick
Neveu
01/23/2002
