Born to martial arts masters, Donnie Yen began to practice martial arts at a very young age.

His mother began teaching him the art of tai chi at the age of four, and as he grew up, he went on to experiment with various martial arts, from tae kwon do to wushu.

Donnie Yen was invited to train in Beijing, and there he met his next mentor, the now internationally acclaimed action choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping, who was to change his life eternally.

Donnie got his first film role in Drunken Tai-Ji in 1984 when he was only 19. He made his breakthrough with the role of General Lan in Tsui Hark's Once Upon a Time in China II.

His finale scene with Jet Li now still remains to be one of the best watched fights today.

Donnie went on to make his directorial debut in Legend of Wolf, which not only made outstanding box-office performance, but also created a new diversity in his film career.

In 2000, Donnie Yen made his American film debut as the immortal Jin Ke in Highlander: Endgame. He's also starred opposite Jackie Chan in the box-office hit Shanghai Knights.

He will next be seen in internationally acclaimed director Zhang Yimou's Hero with Jet Li, which is being released in the USA this month.