By Kanika Lal
The latest Tomb Raider film, not only revived one of the most admired characters among the gaming community, but it also rebranded itself as an action movie that focuses less on action. Rather, the movie shines because of the central themes that a younger and older audience can resonate with: transformation, progress and the journey of one’s self.
For Tomb Raider star Daniel Wu, the journey towards a destination – whether in personal or professional life – strongly connects him to his core. Chatting with the 43-year-old actor at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, he told AsAmNews, “I thought the script was really well-written. It’s a story about this girl becoming a woman through the journey she goes on. I thought that was a great universal theme. For not just women, but any young person. All young people are trying to find out who they are.”
It’s a transformation that Wu has gone through in his personal life and one that connected him to this film, his role and its star, Alicia Vikander, who plays Lara Croft.
Tomb Raider, a film that has been told and retold since its introduction in 1996, was faced with doubts on how it could be continued to capture an audience. For Wu, he himself contemplated what the film’s angle could be. However, the story of Lara becoming Lara Croft was enticing, and he had nothing but praise for Vikander.
“What a perfect choice,” he said when referring to the casting of Alicia. “I fell in love with her from Ex Machina. But I wanted to see how she becomes a tough girl because you’ve never seen that in her work before. I thought let’s see how the transformation could play out.” And he was nothing short of impressed.
“She put on all this muscle and gained 15-20 pounds. I thought, ‘woah,” she’s really transformed herself. I’ve trained with other actors, and I’ve never seen that much of a difference in a short time. Once I saw that commitment, I knew who I was dealing with here.”
Similarly, his character in the film is going through his own version of development. Although in a different state of mind than Lara , his 3-dimensional portrayal of someone who lost his father was relatable. He told AsAmNews, “That was their common ground. That these two people from two totally different parts of the world, two different cultures and two different backgrounds – she’s rich, he’s poor – but they both share this idea that they want to find out what happened to their fathers. And who they are as people.”
While he considers himself a work in progress, Hollywood itself is also facing extreme transformation, and according to Wu, it’s certainly a positive one. Discussing his first time witnessing a White character wear yellow face in a television series that was supposed to be Bruce Lee to now emulating what Lee was attempting to do, he said, “It feels great to change the face of old Hollywood.”
Wu admitted: “You can’t really blame the old studio heads because they grew up in the 50s and 60s when there wasn’t that much diversity. They probably have never even eaten Chinese food in their life,” he quipped. “And now the studio heads are around my age, who grew up in the age of diversity. And they want to see that in the work they are producing now. It’s important those people make the change, and they are starting to do it. And it’s important for us as actors to be ready and be ready for it.”
He hopes his audience as well is inspired to transform their own lives.
“If you’re going to sit on your phone all day long,” he said, “You’re not going to grow as a person. You really need to push your boundaries. It’s a metaphor for real life. And all that made me want to do this movie.”
Working in Hong Kong gave Wu a different perspective of where he fits in in Hollywood and how he appreciates certain styles of filmmaking.
“I wasn’t a minority when acting in Hong Kong, so I didn’t have to think about my race. Now coming back to the U.S. I had to think about it. I was resistant. I don’t want to be carrying Asian American on my back. That’s not why I got into this business to represent.” He added however, “But I do understand the importance of that. Because of [Into the Badlands] to now see a younger Asian kid say ‘I want to be an actor’ is cool to hear. I’ve accepted and am proud of it. But I’m still not carrying it on my back.”
His years of studying martial arts, since he was 11, certainly has had a positive influence.
“What I got from it was discipline. Nowadays, it’s such an instant gratification culture. Everyone wants something instantly. If you’re not good at something you just give up,” he admitted candidly. “Martial arts shows you that you have to practice to become good. You have to put in time and effort. That process for me as a young kid and realizing that early on has made me who I am in terms of everything else I’ve done. Nothing comes easy. You have to jump in. You have to do the hard work to get the results you want.”
Tomb Raider also stars Walton Goggins and Dominic West. Witness the transformation on March 16th on all screens worldwide.
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our Facebook page and our Twitter feed, Please consider interning, joining our staff or submitting a story for consideration.
