Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng is set to reprise his role in the next two films of auteur Tsai Ming-liang‘s celebrated “Walker” series.
“Director Tsai is making two films in the Walker series soon. So I’ll be doing those,” Lee confirms to Variety, adding to his decades-long collaboration with the Malaysian-born Taiwanese director that began in 1989. Currently earning acclaim for his supporting role in Yeo Siew Hua’s surveillance thriller “Stranger Eyes,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and for which he is nominated in the supporting actor category at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, Lee discussed how his longstanding partnership with Tsai has influenced his approach to other projects.
“There’s a lot of influence, because director Tsai isn’t a director who works with a full script. He often gives me a synopsis, so there’s a lot of room for improvisation,” Lee explains. “Director Tsai doesn’t like to yell ‘cut’ right away… I’m still acting. And once I finish what I have to do, I kind of have to figure out what to do next. It really gave me training for improvisation.”
This improvisational style carried over to “Stranger Eyes,” where Lee convinced director Yeo, “a fan of Tsai Ming-liang,” to give him similar creative freedom. “I told him, ‘Don’t yell cut so quickly. Let me improvise a little.’ And being a fan of Tsai Ming-liang, Yeo agreed.”
Known for his minimalist acting style, Lee describes himself as “a naturalistic actor” whose performances “come from the inside, and so it might come out not very exaggerated or very big, but at least the audience will feel that it’s very natural.”
Beyond the upcoming “Walker” films, Lee’s schedule remains busy. He has completed “A New Old Play” director Qiu Jiongjiong’s “Fuxi: Joy in Four Chapters,” which is a work-in-progress selection at the Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) that runs concurrently with the Hong Kong FilMart. He is also reuniting with his “Absence” director Wu Lang. He notes some potential projects later in the year remain unconfirmed as he has “too many scripts on hand at the moment.”
The actor, who has predominantly taken on serious roles throughout his career, expressed interest in expanding his repertoire. “I’d like to try out Wu Xia or action films, because you don’t see much of those in Taiwan, but they should have called me when I was younger,” he says. “I also want to try out comedy, because actually I’m quite humorous. I think I want to bring some joy to audiences.”
Lee also reflected on the growing global recognition of Asian cinema. “I think it’s getting better. Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan – they’re all making excellent films,” he noted, underscoring the importance of international film festivals in providing exposure for Asian filmmakers.
The “Walker” series, which began in 2012, features Lee as a monk moving at an extremely slow pace through various urban environments, creating a meditative contrast between ancient spiritual practice and modern settings.