COF Presents: An interview with Philip Ng of ‘Birth of the Dragon’ and ‘Undercover Punch and Gun’

Born in Hong Kong, with a good portion of his youth spent in America, Philip Ng Wan-lung is an avid practitioner/teacher of various forms of martial arts. As both an actor and fight choreographer, he’s had a solid film career in his homeland since the early 2000s. He’s already worked with some of the best in the industry, such as Ringo Lam, Donnie Yen, Corey Yuen, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan.

But it wasn’t until 2016 where Ng hit a huge turning point in his career with the controversial Birth of the Dragon, which not only was first Hollywood gig he appeared/starred in, but it was the film where he played the iconic Bruce Lee.

While promoting the debut U.S. release of Well Go USA’s Undercover Punch and Gun, we had the opportunity to do a short, but sweet, interview with Philip Ng. Enjoy!

Undercover Punch and Gun | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

In your own words, how do you describe Undercover Punch and Gun?

I would describe it as a self-aware action-comedy paying homage to the Hong Kong action films of the 80s and 90s complete with some serious action set-pieces.

In 2008 you were set to star in Hands of the Dragon which we saw an exciting promo clip for. What happened to that production?

The entire process was a bit strange and surreal. I was approached by an American production company to work as both the lead actor and action director/choreographer on this potential project. Financing for the project was eventually picked up by a production company in India. I flew over with my action team to shoot a trailer. The local crew was great, but I could feel during the entire process something was amiss. My suspicions were later confirmed during my second visit to India when (who I assume was) the owner of the local production company decided his nephew should become the title character instead while I was relegated to another role. I left the project after that, and I am assuming it has not developed any further after my departure.

“As hard as filming in Asia is, it will prepare you for anything the rest of the world can throw at you”

“The Clones of Bruce Lee” Theatrical Poster

If you were approached to star in a remake of Clones of Bruce Lee alongside Mike Moh and Danny Chan, would you say yes?

Sounds kind of gimmicky, but as with any potential project, the script is ultimately what’s going to infer my decision on whether or not I’d be involved. (Editor’s Note: We asked the same exact question to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Mike Moh).

As an action director, Undercover Punch and Gun was clearly your best work to date. Who are some of your influences as a choreographer?

For this film I took inspiration from the classic Hong Kong action choreography of the 80s from the likes of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung while mixing in the heavy impact moments found in Donnie Yen’s work, hopefully creating something new but wholly familiar.

What’s the most challenging fight you’ve filmed from your career in Hong Kong?

I would say the long-take fight against the large group of swordsmen I did in Once Upon a Time in Shanghai. The shot was choreographed, rehearsed, and filmed in one working day, and we actually did two different long-take sequences that day (but one was cut out of the final product due to length). I remember asking Yuen Woo-Ping how long he’d get to shoot something like that in Hollywood, he replied probably at least 2 weeks (including rehearsals). I laughed but I would later find out (after having worked on a Hollywood project) that it’s not an exaggeration. As hard as filming in Asia is, it will prepare you for anything the rest of the world can throw at you.

“We all worked hard and had a lot of respect for this project, it’s too bad that politics and certain agendas kept some people from enjoying it”

“Birth of the Dragon” Theatrical Poster

Did you, at any point during the filming of Birth of the Dragon, feel any kind of discrimination because of your Asian ethnicity?

Absolutely not. It would be difficult to feel that way when the investors are Chinese and most of the cast is Asian, not to mention that everyone regardless of race or gender was treated with the utmost respect. I believe claims of possible discrimination were used by certain parties to discredit our film. Many news outlets jumped on the bandwagon after the release of the first trailer to cancel our film until my good friend Patrick Lee (founder of Rotten Tomatoes) got the director directly in touch with the heads of the Asian community as well as some of the news outlets in question. He set up a private screening for these ladies and gentlemen, after which they immediately retracted their previous comments and released articles praising the film. We all worked hard and had a lot of respect for this project, it’s too bad that politics and certain agendas kept some people from enjoying it.

In your opinion, who is the ultimate Asian action star?

I admire all those who set the stage for us and our generation. That being said, I would have to say that the great Sammo Hung is someone I admire the most overall because of his expertise not only in crafting and performing action scenes, but in all aspects of film-making, from concept to product. His huge pool of film-making wisdom is definitely something I aspire to eventually develop as well.

Well Go USA just released Undercover Punch and Gun (read our review) on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD. And the film is currently streaming exclusively on the martial arts streaming service Hi-YAH!.