By Lisa Clemens

In November, I was invited by Richard Cooper, the publisher and editor of Screen Power and Jade Screen Magazines, to get in touch with Collin Chou to find out if he was willing to do an interview over the phone with me. We soon arranged a time and date which would work best for both of us.

In preparing for the interview, I checked out his official site, www.collinchou.com . I was struck by the quote on the front page which reads, "When opportunity knocks... the sky is the limit." I would not realize the truth of that statement for Collin until I talked to him.

His early life did not seem like one which would present many opportunities. He was born in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan as one of thirteen children in a family of nine boys and and four girls. After the last child was born, his father left them and as a result, some of his brothers were sent to an orphanage in Taipei City, several hours away from their home. He then made a very grown-up decision for a small boy. He told me, "I chose not to study because that would be hard for my mom and the whole family. I started to support my family when I was six or seven years old and worked until I was twelve or thirteen." And so, he began working, finding work as a wood carver and eventually getting a job in a bakery.

Collin and I were born the same year but I could tell our experiences were worlds apart. Thinking back to the time when I was that age, the facts of his childhood seemed very sad. But he shrugged it off saying, "Yeah. Well...that's a reality."

It may have been a rough start for him, but opportunity soon knocked. He was able to study martial arts and learned various styles and the use of weapons, like sword, dao and staff. It was a starting point to becoming more than a baker. When he was twelve, on the advice of a co-worker, he tried out for a position as a stuntman. "I was the stunt double for one of the girls, the lead actress. During that time, in the 80s there were a lot of the sort of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon period movies. So with my height and weight, I was perfect for stunt double work for the actress. The first day I didn't do too much stuff, but the choreographer saw my energy and could see that I wanted to do a lot of stuff and I was capable to do a lot, so he asked me if I wanted to come back. "

Not only did he want to come back, but he soon quit his job at the bakery to do stunts full time. Opportunity knocked again in 1986 when he was given a lead role in a film called Quan Li Fan Dan. It was a film which was being produced by the legendary Sammo Hung. Sammo was impressed enough that by 1989 he asked him to come to Hong Kong and be part of his team. His first film as part of Sammo's team was Into The Fire with Frankie Chin and Billy Chow. Collin stayed with Sammo from 1989 to 1997. While many people who work with Sammo were apt to feel intimidated by him, Collin found him easy to work with. Sammo even told the press that Collin was his only student. "I'm pretty lucky. He treated me like his son," Colin said. Sammo taught Collin a lot about his art, often leading by example. "When he's hired as an actor, everybody loves him. Because he's always on time and always on the set. And whatever people want him to do, he will do his best."

After coming to the US in 1999 to study English, opportunity knocked yet again. Originally asked to help with the pre-production of the Matrix sequels, Collin was soon asked to take the role of Seraph in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. He also supplied his voice and did some motion capture work for the video games that were released for these films. While working on these projects, Collin studied method acting at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Lessons learned there continue to help Collin get immersed in his characters.

Collin is not a man who is willing to rest on his laurels. After not making Hong Kong style action for seven years, Collin was asked to come back to Hong Kong to face off with Donnie Yen in the 2007 film, Flash Point. Collin played one of three brothers who find out that Donnie's character, a cop, has placed another officer, played by Louis Koo, undercover in his gang. The mixed martial art action choreographed by Donnie Yen caused Collin to describe the film as the most painful movie he's ever made. So why did he take this opportunity when it presented itself? In his own words: "Because I wanted to challenge myself. To see if after all that time if I was still capable of doing real Hong Kong action movies. And especially since Donnie is on top right now. He was the choreographer for the action. So I really wanted to challenge myself and see how the chemistry between Donnie and I would be. And so it was a great challenge. And I am still capable. "

His latest film, The Forbidden Kingdom, reunites him with Jet Li, someone he has made five other films with including Bodyguard From Beijing and Fearless. The film also stars Jackie Chan who is someone he's worked with, but only behind the scenes. Collin had been hoping to appear in front of the camera with Jackie since his days as a twelve year old stunt man. Collin may have had to wait for this opportunity to come along, but it seems it was well worth the wait. He describes this opportunity as a dream come true. So, what was it like to get in front of the camera with Chan? "Well, working with him, you will never get bored. And it will be a lot of fun, of course. But if you think a little deeper, he just wants everyone to relax on the set. Jackie's a kind of big brother. (chuckles) His personality is happy all the time. I think he just wants to educate the newer generation on how to work on set and how to always bring a positive attitude on the set. There's one pretty fun story. People say when you work with Jackie, you just bring your underwear and then he will give you the rest of it. Because he has everything! Jackie Chan down jacket, trousers, and then gloves and scarves and....whatever! Everything! "

I asked Collin to describe his character in The Forbidden Kingdom. He told me, "I play the Jade Warlord, who is the first guard at the Forbidden Kingdom in this movie. I consider my character to be very strict and unbending. His mission is to keep the Forbidden Kingdom secure and not allow anyone to disrespect or break the rules. When I was preparing and developing my character, I imagined that the Jade Warlord himself has been trained to follow these rules since he was a little boy. That's why he's so against these unruly characters, played by Jackie and Jet Li and the others who try to disrupt the order in the Forbidden Kingdom."

We also discussed the opportunities available to Asian actors who live and work in America. While some have said that there are not enough lead roles other than stereo-typical gangsters, computer nerds or other minor roles, Collin has no such complaints and takes a very realistic view. "Let's say it this way...If you are in Hollywood, most of the scripts are written for a mainstream audience. The stories are usually about Caucasians or African Americans. But in recent years on TV and in movies you can see a lot of Hispanics and Asians in these stories. So there are more and more chances for us to work on Hollywood productions....I think that's not a problem for me. You know, when people ask me, I have no problem. If you want to stay here, you need to accept that reality. And occasionally, of course, there's one project that will be for you."

I wondered if he had an interest in doing more work behind the scenes or even directing. His answer was not much of a surprise considering the quote on his website. "When the time is right and I feel I'm ready for it, I won't let the opportunity pass." Indeed, Collin is someone who knows a good opportunity when it knocks, and he has the skills and talent to take his career in any direction he wishes. And like the sky, his future is limitless.

You can read the full interview with Collin Chou in Jade Screen Magazine, Volume 5 Issue 2, to be released this spring. To find out more about this magazine, please visit: http://www.screen-power.com . Also be sure to check out Collin Chou's website at http://www.collinchou.com . There you can view some fantastic photos, including behind the scenes photos, and you can read his full filmography and biography and get up to date news on this fascinating and talented man.