While action star-director Donnie Yen now enjoys the success of his four-decade career in showbiz, there was once a time when he only had HK$100 (S$17) in his bank account.

The 62-year-old was a guest on Hong Kong talk show The Spirit of the Lion Rock Fred Ma released on Nov 17, where he recounted his challenges while pursuing his passion for filmmaking in 1997 after setting up his own production company Bullet Films.