Tony Leung’s Journey: How ‘Silent Friend’ Connects Nature and Humanity from 1990 to 2020

Newsroom — Tony Leung / Photo: JTBC capture

[By Lim Si-ryeong, Sports Today] Hong Kong star Tony Leung sat down for an interview on JTBC’s Newsroom.

On the 5th, JTBC’s Newsroom welcomed Hong Kong actor Tony Leung to discuss his film Friends of Silence.

Leung has returned with his first European film, Friends of Silence. He described the movie as centered on a single ginkgo tree: around that tree, the lives of people from different eras unfold. The story follows characters living across three periods—from 1990 to 2020—and examines the relationship between humans and the natural world.

He added, \”Through this film, I learned more about plants and developed a new way of thinking about them.\”

Leung plays a character named Tony. \”It was important for me to truly believe I was a neuroscientist,\” he said. He read related books and visited neuroscientists at universities; through that preparation, he gradually immersed himself in the role.

Leung said he enjoys activities that connect him with nature. \”I like water sports and skiing. I enjoy the sea in summer and the mountains in winter,\” he said.

Asked whether he likes his expressive eyes, Leung replied, \”I’m a man of few words, so I keep many things inside. Maybe that’s why the messages I want to convey come through my eyes. When I act, I focus more on my inner world than on gestures or facial expressions.\”

Leung has spent more than 40 years as an actor. When asked about his happiest moments, he pointed to the two decades he worked with director Wong Kar-wai. \”Our sensibilities were very close, so I was able to realize the kind of acting I wanted to refine,\” he said.

He also named a career-defining film. \”Every movie is important to me, but if I had to pick one representative work, it would be In the Mood for Love. That film brought me many awards for the first time, and because it reflects a period I actually lived through, it felt like returning to my childhood,\” he said with a smile.

Now in his 60s, Leung said he has grown more mature not only as an actor but as a person. \”My perspectives on values and the world have changed, and I’m less obsessive than I used to be,\” he said.

Asked about a role he’d like to play last in his career, Leung said, \”I want to deliver a message of love to the audience. I hope for a role that leaves viewers feeling warm and moved. Every Christmas I watch What a Wonderful World.\”

Leung admitted he has briefly thought about quitting or retiring from acting, but he noted, \”There is a saying: there is no retirement in the profession of acting.\”

[Sports Today reporter Lim Si-ryeong ent@stoo.com]
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