Hiroyuki Ikeuchi cast in HK martial arts film

[Tokyograph News]

Actor Hiroyuki Ikeuchi is appearing in his first foreign film, having been cast in a Hong Kong movie directed by Wilson Yip. The movie, which has a tentative English title of "Yip Man," is a semi-documentary about the life of martial arts master Yip Man, known as the teacher of Bruce Lee and many others.

Ikeuchi plays a Japanese military officer named Miura who eventually has a showdown with Yip Man, played by Donnie Yen. Ikeuchi is reportedly the only Japanese actor appearing in the film.

Ikeuchi shot his scenes in Shanghai during April and May, after being offered the part only two weeks earlier. Fortunately, Ikeuchi had already been preparing to audition for overseas films since January, when he started attending an English conversation school.

"Yip Man" will be released throughout Asia, starting with China in December. The Japanese release has not yet been scheduled.

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