During a roundtable interview for the film, Destin, 42, said he had only one actor in mind for the role of Xu Wenwu/The Mandarin and that was Asian cinema legend Tony Leung Chiu-wai.

To him, Tony was the one who could “powerfully break the cliche of the moustache-twirling villain”.

“The first time that our producer Jonathan asked me who we should go out to for the role of Wenwu, the first name that I said was Tony Leung; but I also said I didn’t think in a million years he would actually do it,” he said,

Destin said: “He is a very, very open performer who I think likes to go deep. He likes to use his characters to process ideas and emotions that are close to him. And I do the same thing. I use these movies to process questions that I’m struggling with myself.

“And so, we had a very open conversation about the themes of this movie, about the character, about themes of family, obsession, desperation, brokenness and healing. It was a very, very great conversation.”

While headliner Simu Liu alongside veteran actress Michelle Yeoh are major parts of the marketing hype, Leung’s face and name are also a prominent feature, even though the Hong Kong actor has done limited press for the movie.

Despite that, the hype is real as Leung is a well-known name in Asian cinema and has many fans across the world.

“Once we were on set, I was very nervous to be working with a legend like Tony Leung. But I found him to be a very gracious person and gracious performer, and one of the easiest actors I’ve ever worked with because he comes so prepared,” he said.

“It’s weird, because it’s like, my opinion of him was so high before I met him. And after working with him, my opinion of him has gotten even higher. So I feel very lucky to have been able to work with Tony.”

Experience Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in cinemas now.

Text: Bryan Lim/AsiaOne

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