By MICHAEL CHEANG (TheStarOnline)

In person, Chou is a quiet and sullen-looking young man who always seems distracted by something.  

And according to Chou, his character in the movie – tofu delivery boy-cum-daredevil race-driver Takumi Fujiwara – is exactly like him in real life.  

“We are both very quiet characters who love only one thing and can only concentrate on one thing. For Takumi, it’s cars and drifting, and for me, it’s my music,” he said.  

Initial D is based on the hugely popular Japanese Manga and anime about the motor-racing skill of “drifting”, which is a racing technique considered the fastest way through a corner.  

A car is considered to be drifting when all its wheels are slipping, but the front wheels are still pointed in the direction of the corner, or at least straight. 

Chou plays 18-year-old Takumi who has been delivering tofu in his father’s obsolete Toyota AE-86 every morning, and is unwittingly perfecting the art of drifting in the process.  

One day, his father (played by Anthony Wong) asks him to race his AE-86 with Takeshi Nakazato (Shawn Yue), captain of the Night Kids. The challenge ends in a glorious and unexpected victory that introduces him to hill racing, and awakens the competitive genes in him.  

The movie also stars Edison Chen, Anne Suzuki, Kenny Bee, Chapman To and Jordan Chan. 

Having only heard about the Initial D comics and anime when he was approached to make the film, it comes as no surprise that he prefers the movie version of his character rather than the comic version. 

Chou thinks that fans of the comics and anime will love this movie because the scenes and settings in the film are exactly the same as those in the comics. Even the characters are similar, especially Wong’s.  

“The most similar trait that I share with my character in the movie is our sense of commitment and concentration on what we do.  

“Takumi is too wrapped up in his own world to pay attention to what’s happening around him. 

“I am also like that sometimes. I tend to think about my music most of the time. I think about what I’m going to sing the next day, what I’m going to wear. Even when someone is talking to me about something else, I will be thinking of these things,” said Chou. 

Even the love scenes in Initial D reminded Chou of himself. “The scenes I have with Anna (Suzuki) are very sweet and innocent. My character is a very shy person and he doesn’t say much. He has liked her for a long time and he gets very happy over small things like just holding her hands.  

“This kind of sweet and innocent love reminds me of my own experiences during my school days.”  

Making the movie 

Acting is totally new to Chou and it was a nerve-wracking experience for him initially, especially since his first scene was with one of Hong Kong’s best actors, Wong, who has a reputation of being harsh on new actors. 

Surprisingly, Wong only had praises for Chou. Wong said that it was good working with Chou and that he is a “genius”.  

“Actually, my palms were sweaty (when doing the first scene with Wong) and it was hard to stay calm because I was afraid of being scolded.  

“He actually praised me, saying I was very natural. I was smiling to myself when he told me that because I was just being myself.”  

He also got along well with his co-stars, especially Edison Chen and Shawn Yue. 

“Edison can be very mischievous, but he is very capable and becomes serious when the cameras roll.  

“Shawn is quite playful as well though he does not show it.  

“I’m not a professional actor, so I was quite nervous working with the more experienced ones.  

“But once I managed to overcome the pressure I put on myself, I could really try my best.  

“I think an actor has to be able to open his mind, so that he can be more natural when acting.”  

Fortunately for Chou, directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak also helped him throughout the shoot.  

“My main problem was that sometimes I didn’t really understand their Mandarin, especially Alan’s (Mak).”  

Chou’s weak command of Cantonese made things worse.  

“I’m now trying my best to learn Cantonese though I find it more difficult than making music.” 

According to him, acting is a lot harder than singing. “I have been learning music since I was a child, so I have more confidence in my music.”  

What he likes about acting is that it gives him a chance to escape the real world.  

“In a movie, one can be very irresponsible, and I really envy my character who can be that.  

“For instance, if the character is speeding, there won’t be any policemen giving him a speeding ticket. And when he falls in love, there are no paparazzi to take his pictures,” he lamented.  

Driving and drifting 

At least the film is about something he enjoys doing. “Right now, besides playing basketball my favorite pastime is driving,” he said. “But drifting is a lot harder to do (for leisure), and it’s very dangerous to do it on the streets. If you make a mistake, you might crash into someone. So it’s something I can only do in the movie.” 

He only had brief driving training during the shoot, but learned a lot from the stunt drivers.  

“One time, we were going very fast down a very winding road on a slope, and the stuntman started drifting before the curve,” he recalled. “It felt like I was on a roller coaster, and I was afraid we might crash down the ravine. However, the driver was very relaxed. And that’s when I realized how good the stunt drivers really are, which is why they do most of the more dangerous stunts.” 

Drifting posed a challenge to Chou who added that he has to cope with driving on the left side of the road. “I couldn’t react fast enough sometimes and crashed one of the cars! It was quite dangerous, because I was driving very fast down a slope and lost control. Fortunately, I was wearing my seatbelt, so I was safe.” 

His favorite car in the movie is the AE-86 (before he crashed it, that is), and he is looking to buying his own AE-86. That might prove quite a task as that model went out of the market 16 years ago. 

Still on cars, Chou said that he prefers classic cars to modern ones. “I have a few cars at home – a 1960’s Volkswagen Beetle that is close to 50 years old. I also have many dream cars, and I’ve already bought some of them.” 

While his character may be a speed demon, in real life Chou is a careful driver. “I prefer to drive slowly because that way, people can see me more clearly. If I drive too fast, then no one can see me or my car!” he quipped.  

                                            (Source www.Star-ecentral.com)