Tony Leung shares about spending six months preparing for his latest film & why his next role as a serial killer scares even him
“Sixteen times! Can you believe it?” we hear Tony Leung exclaim as he rises from our 45-minute group interview, held in a plush Marina Bay Sands suite on Saturday afternoon (29 Nov).
No, the 63-year-old cinema icon, in town for a special presentation of his new film ‘Silent Friend’ at the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), isn’t referring to awards (more than he cares to count), nor the number of times he’s visited Bird Paradise (none yet, though the former Jurong Bird Park regular insists it’s high on his to-do list).
Image courtesy of SWKIT
Instead, he’s talking about quarantines. All endured during the tumultuous early months of the Covid-19 pandemic as he shuttled between countries to film three projects, including Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’.
But there was also a bright side: the famously private yet widely celebrated screen legend found himself wandering through tourist hotspots without the tourists, relishing the chance to “go everywhere I normally cannot go”, surrounded only by a scattering of people who either didn’t recognise him or were far too polite to show it.
SGIFF ‘In Conversation with Tony Leung’ dialogue session sells out in 10 minutes
That quiet anonymity stands in stark contrast to the roaring welcome that awaited him at SGIFF, where his presence has helped fuel one of the strongest editions in the festival’s 36-year history.
Tickets for both the Special Presentation of ‘Silent Friend’ and Leung’s ‘In Conversation With’ session disappeared within 10 minutes of release, setting a new benchmark for SGIFF’s fastest-selling events.
In fact, demand has been so overwhelming that the festival is now on track for a record year, buoyed by a 52% surge in ticket sales and dozens of sold-out screenings.
Image courtesy of Ryan Peters
And yet here he is in person, soft-spoken, unfailingly polite, and disarmingly modest, insisting he’s “just an ordinary person” once the cameras stop rolling. Someone who enjoys bicycle rides, solitary walks in parks, and cooking simple meals at home (and who just happens to have headlined some of Asian cinema’s most enduring masterpieces, from ‘In the Mood for Love’ and ‘Chungking Express’ to ‘Infernal Affairs’ and ‘Hero’).
Even his offhand remark about soft drinks, overheard when the media entered the room, melts into a sheepish chuckle.
“I don’t remember the last time I had Coke,” he says, amused. “But today, I suddenly needed some bubbles.”
Tony Leung’s quiet love for plants
Naturally, with his role in ‘Silent Friend’ centred on a scientist whose research shifts from babies to an ancient ginkgo tree during a pandemic lockdown, MS News had to probe Leung about his own relationship with plants.
“I love plants,” he says warmly. He keeps a small garden filled with different species chosen for their scent, each blooming at its own time of year.
His favourites are osmanthus and the night-blooming jasmine, both known for fragrances that can drift through an entire street. “I have them at home,” he shares. “Just one flower, and you can smell it everywhere.”
It feels fitting, then, that when we ask what plant he most resembles, he chooses the night-blooming jasmine, a flower that reveals its fragrance only after dusk.
Outside of work, I’m just an ordinary person. But when I act, maybe I can entertain people and pass something good, positive, or interesting to audiences.
Ate ice cream every day while filming ‘Silent Friend’
‘Silent Friend’, which Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi wrote for Leung, demanded both his signature quiet intensity and what eventually became one of the longest preparation periods of his four-decade career — six months, to be exact.
To inhabit his role, Leung pored over dense neuroscience texts –“Not easy to understand,” he chuckles — engaged a coach from England to develop his character’s Cambridge-trained British lilt, and visited three universities to understand how real researchers think, work, and observe.
Image courtesy of Singapore International Film Festival
Filming in the German city of Marburg also meant having the chance to stay on a university campus, something entirely new for him.
“I’ve never been to university,” says Leung, who left school at 15 to start working and support his family. “But because of this movie, I had the chance to stay on campus, to shoot in the library…it felt like I was going through university life. That meant a lot to me.”
And then there was the food. Or more specifically, the ice cream.
“It was so good,” he laughs with almost boyish enthusiasm. “I would have lunch at a salad bar in front of my hotel, and they have super good ice cream. So I ate ice cream every day.”
What’s next: Playing a serial killer
Leung’s next project, however, couldn’t be further from the gentleness of ‘Silent Friend’.
During the ‘In Conversation With’ session, he reveals — to audible ripples of surprise across the audience — that his next role is that of a serial killer, a character he admits he is still trying to wrap his head around.
“I don’t know how to prepare for that,” he says honestly. “It’s quite scary.”
Image courtesy of SWKIT
The offer came from his director friend, who had shown him the psychological art-horror film ‘The House That Jack Built’ as inspiration.
Leung recalls the experience vividly: “It’s really horrible. I couldn’t watch it in one go. I had to watch it over three or four days. It’s too heavy.”
And yet, despite his reservations, he agreed. “I’ve already said yes. I just hope it won’t be too dark… and I hope it won’t take too long.”
Would Tony Leung ever act in a Singapore production?
With a career that already spans Hong Kong, Hollywood, and now European arthouse cinema, one has to wonder if Leung would ever consider taking on a Singaporean production.
“Why not?” he says simply. If a project comes along that feels right, he says he will take it, regardless of where it’s made.
“In my 40-plus years of acting, I’ve never planned. I let things happen. If something comes and I find it interesting, whether in Singapore, Europe, or the States, I will take it.”
But “interesting” doesn’t refer to plot twists or genre alone. “To me, the script is not the most important thing. The person — the director, the storyteller — is the most important. Even if you have a good script, if you put it in the wrong hands, it doesn’t come out to be a good movie.”
He chooses projects by instinct, a sense of whether he can trust the filmmaker and their vision. With ‘Silent Friend’, for example, what won him over wasn’t just the philosophical sci-fi premise, but the instant connection he felt with Enyedi.
Tony Leung and ‘Silent Friend’ director Ildikó Enyedi.
Image courtesy of Looi Wan Ping
“I found her very easygoing, very intellectual and humble, but confident,” he explains. “I could feel she knew exactly what she wanted to do.”
So if a Singaporean filmmaker were to approach him with the same clarity, sincerity, and instinctive alignment? The answer, delivered in his typical understated fashion, remains open: “Yes. If something comes.”
In the meantime, he will keep returning to our sunny shores for its simple joys: chicken rice, laksa, and, hopefully one day, the chance to visit Bird Paradise.
So if you ever spot a soft-spoken man wandering around Mandai with a camera and a cap pulled low, keep a lookout — it might just be Tony Leung ticking off his long-delayed to-do list.
For more information on SGIFF 2025 and to purchase tickets, visit the official website.
Also read: Tony Leung Says Coming To S’pore Makes Him Feel Relaxed, Often Visited Jurong Bird Park
Tony Leung Says Coming To S’pore Makes Him Feel Relaxed, Often Visited Jurong Bird Park
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Featured image by MS News. Photography by Aleena Jaison.
