BANGKOK - Everybody loves Chow Yun Fat. So much so that most of the Asian journalists who were in Bangkok for the "Dragonball Evolution" press tour were quite obviously only interested in asking the Hong Kong megastar any questions. Well, that's not fair. They did ask the rest of the cast questions - about Chow Yun Fat.

In the film, Chow plays Master Roshi, a quirky, womanising master of martial arts. It's a far cry from his days as a cool hitman in "A Better Tomorrow" or as the dignified gongfu swordsman in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Here's Chow on the lure of pretty girls and the dangers of Mexican food. And the cast of "Dragonball Evolution" on ... erm, Chow Yun Fat.

What drew you to make "Dragonball Evolution"?

I was asked to do the film just two weeks before production. The director, James Wong, called and asked me if I wanted to do it and I just said yes.

There wasn't much preparation for me. But then again, whether or not I prepared wasn't relevant, they'd already given me the pay cheque, so I had to go! (Laughs)

But I like to do films different from those I've done before. Like "Curse of the Golden Flower" that was a role I'd never done before.

How was it like working with a young cast?

I learned a few English slang words from them during our spare time.

They're all rude, so I won't say what they are.

You compared yourself to Master Roshi, described as a dirty old man. Are you a dirty old man?

If a pretty girl walked by, I'd look. Wouldn't you?

Did you like the weather in Mexico where the film was shot?

The weather was terrible. (It was winter.) And the food ... Mexican food is a little spicy. I didn't like it but my wife did. Well, she's Singaporean, right?

So what's the best thing about being you?

I can eat, I can sleep, I can s**t. I'm happy.

When will you retire?

You'd be very close to God if you say you want to retire. So not yet. I don't want to see Him yet. So never, never say you're going to retire.

Director James Wong on Chow

Chow Yun Fat has been an idol of mine from long ago, so I was really nervous about meeting him. I was in Mexico and he was in Hong Kong. I was born in Hong Kong but I've lost a lot of my Cantonese. So I called my brother and said, "Can you teach me how to say this in Chinese?" Because I thought if I asked him in Chinese, it would give me an edge to get him to work on the movie. I think he liked the challenge of this character. He's always the leading man and in a way it was a challenge for him. Roshi is funny, irreverent and a bit of a womaniser.

James Marsters (Lord Piccolo) on Chow

Fabulous. He really proves my theory that when you meet people who are at the very top of their game, they're wonderful people and, frankly, they wouldn't be at the top if they weren't so. He was obviously the most famous and experienced person on the set, and he could have come and be like the king on the set and have everyone run around doing things for him. But he was exactly the opposite he was humble and helpful and wanted to work on the project. I have tremendous respect for him because of that. I'm a big fan of him.

Emmy Rossum (Bulma) on Chow

We sang songs that's how we survived four months in Mexico. Only Mr Chow and Justin (Chatwin) were part of our singing group. Mr Chow would tap on things and Justin Chatwin would rap.

Justin Chatwin (Goku) on Chow

He was definitely a mentor for me, very giving and affectionate. If you eat dinner with him, he serves you before himself. I learned a lot about comedy from him. His character reminded me of the characters in Akira Kurosawa's films like "Hidden Fortress" or "Seven Samurai". Just the comedy that these guys brought to the films.

And sometimes when I'm watching him act, I go, 'whoa, he's really going far out', but when I watch the movie, it really works. It's funny. It's like Stephen Chow's characters.

"Dragonball Evolution" is in cinemas now. - TODAY/fa