John Lone

Did you know?!

1. 

   Big break

   After seeing Lone act, Cimino put in a good word for him with Bernardo Bertolucci, then casting The Last Emperor. Bertolucci met Lone in Los Angeles during that casting and picked him on the spot to play Puyi.

2. Early training

   Lone trained in Peking opera at Hong Kong's Chin Chiu Academy from age 7, studying singing, dance and classical Chinese theater techniques.

3. A change of course

   Lone said no to joining a Belgian dance company and to a Kung fu film contract, then took sponsorship from an American family.

4. First role

   For a decade, Lone acted with the East West Players, an Asian-American theater company. Mako then cast him as an Asian emigrant in FOB, David Henry Hwang's first play, and his work earned an Obie Award in 1981.

5. 

   Getting ready for a role

   Hwang was aware of Lone's training in Peking opera and had him in mind for Song Liling, an opera singer. In 1991, David Cronenberg invited Lone to play Song Liling in the film M. Butterfly, and Lone did his own singing.