Daniel Wu and Nick Cheung Film Dante Lam’s “That Demon Within”

Above: Daniel Wu and Nick Cheung with Emperor Motion Pictures’ Albert Yeung.

That Demon Within <魔警> is the third installment to Director Dante Lam’s  (林超賢) successful films, The Beast Stalker <證人> and Stool Pigeon <綫人>. Dante once again collaborates with his favorite leading man, Nick Cheung  (張家輝) who stars as an ex-convict, while casting Daniel Wu (吳彥祖) as a delusional cop.

Produced by Emperor Motions Pictures, That Demon Within held the blessing ceremony earlier this week. Emperor’s Chairman, Albert Yeung (楊受成) popped a bottle of champagne to toast Dante Lam in being named Best Director by The Film Critics Society.

Dante denied that That Demon Within is based on the 2007 sensational case of the delusional ex-police officer, Tsui Po Ko (徐步高), despite the director researching the case and visiting Tsui’s burial site earlier. Dante stressed that the complicated inquest had caused such a stir in Hong Kong, which he did not want to bring up again. Dante hopes to flesh out his characters well in the new psychological crime thriller and thus conducted the prerequisite pre-production research.

Dante’s frequent leading man, Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) is replaced by Daniel Wu in That Demon Within. To play the role of the delusional cop well, Daniel consulted a psychiatrist to understand the mindset of paranoid policemen, and shed weight to fit the distressed role.

The pressure of Daniel’s new role, coupled with the impending birth of his daughter in 4 months time, is causing Daniel great stress, so much so that 38-year-old first time father claims to suffer from prenatal paternal depression.

Nick Cheung Faces New Challenge

Filming for Dante Lam has often pushed Nick to face new challenges in his career. In That Demon Within, Nick plays the role of two very different characters – a policeman and a convict. Nick will sport a shocking face in That Demon Within, achieved through makeup and special effects. Asked if he feels much pressure from taking on two roles, Nick joked, “With the moral support of the director, ‘a professional killer’ like myself can handle it. Although a double pay for my dual roles will do no harm either!”

Speaking about his critically-acclaimed film career, Nick jested, “I really would like to film a ghost movie. Unfortunately, there is little demand for such horror movies in China. As you know, I am an invaluable and expensive actor but for a horror movie, I am willing to cut my pay!”

That Demon Within is slated to be released in cinemas in summer 2013.

Source: Oriental Daily

This article is written by Karen for JayneStars.com.