On June 4th, Hong Kong star Daniel Wu shared work photos on social media against the backdrop of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. In the caption, he expressed his disbelief at not having filmed a purely Hong Kong-produced film in eight years. This seems to hint at the filming location of the prequel to the Hong Kong police thriller movie series “Cold War.”
The original “Cold War,” starring Aaron Kwok and other Hong Kong stars in 2012, received high praise upon its release. The series continued with the sequel “Cold War 2” in 2016, featuring Hong Kong megastar Chow Yun-fat and sparking further discussions. The two films combined earned over a hundred million Hong Kong dollars at the box office.
Now, after an 8-year hiatus, the “Cold War” series is filming two prequels set in 1994 and 1995, with Daniel Wu, Tony Leung, and the Taiwanese actor Wu Kang-ren, who recently won the Golden Horse Award, leading the brand new cast.
On June 4th, Daniel Wu shared several work photos on social media. The photos were taken with Victoria Harbour in the background, seemingly at a high location in the Peninsula Hotel overlooking Tsim Sha Tsui’s Cultural Centre. In his post, he wrote, “I can’t believe it’s been eight years since I last shot a purely Hong Kong film!” He admitted that after pursuing his career in Hollywood in recent years, returning to film in Hong Kong felt as fitting as putting on a perfectly tailored suit.
He nostalgically expressed, “Seeing familiar faces, speaking Cantonese dialogue, eating boxed meals on set, and enduring the heat and humidity brought back many wonderful memories!” It appears that Daniel Wu deeply misses the days of having boxed meals on Hong Kong film sets, as he even uploaded a photo of a steamed chicken boxed meal.
Born in California, Daniel Wu graduated from the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon. Reflecting on his journey, he recounted how, by a stroke of luck, he arrived in Hong Kong at the age of 21 with only $1000, intending to travel around Asia for a few months. When his travel funds were running low, he was discovered by a talent scout and landed his first advertisement, which paid 30,000 Hong Kong dollars – a significant sum for him at the time. This opportunity led him into the film industry, launching his acting career.
Debuting in 1998 with the film “Bishonen,” Daniel Wu has since acted in over sixty movies. Some critics have commented that Daniel Wu’s on-screen image is so handsome that even when portraying melancholic characters, he exudes charm.
From a student of architecture to a Hong Kong movie star, Daniel Wu referred to the past twenty years as his favorite in life. He stated that Hong Kong cinema shaped who he is today and revealed his upcoming plans to return to the U.S. for two major racing events before coming back to Hong Kong to complete filming for two movies.