Largo Winch 2

I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to acting. Anyone forced to work with me at Jeanne Hartman's classes would attest to this (apologies to all concerned).

However, I firmly believe that learning how to act and being competent at it is vital to any director's skills set. Being able to understand an actor's requirements in terms of good direction will help you get more from your cast.

It's for this reason (apart from the fun factor) that I occasionally accept roles in films, which explains my latest foray into the world of acting with the French feature,  Largo Winch 2, derived from the comic book of the same name.

I was asked to play the role of an Interpol agent. "Do I get a gun," I asked? "Yes, and a badge." That was about all it took for me to accept.

We arrived early morning in the cast van to be greeted by this scene at Sai Kung.

There were chefs cooking omelets, french pastries, bacon and eggs - everything one could possibly want for a morning breakfast start. Anyone who has worked in the cast of a Chinese film will understand how anything other than noodles is being spoiled! Got to love the French and their food fetish.

A slight walk further up the pier and you know you are going to have a little bit of fun when you are surrounded by such wonderful toys to play with. Below is the Grand Cru - a pimp daddy motha of a luxury yacht if ever there was one.

We also had a large police boat, with several smaller police pursuit boats to mix it up with. Little did I know at this stage that I'd be required to jump from one boat to another in a high-speed chase-and-boarding scene.

Loading the equipment took several hours.

Once all the equipment was loaded on board, we headed out off the Coast of Sai Kung.

Largo Winch is a comic book action adventure that was turned into a tv series in Europe before becoming a successful feature film and video game.

Below is the boat we had to jump off. It was tough to do with both boats moving at speed and a choppy ocean swell.

A close-up of the small police pursuit craft we had to jump off. It wasn't easy in leather shoes I can tell you.

The cast of minor roles: Glenn playing the captain (left), me (Interpol agent), Selisia (from Bangkok, United Nations agent), Jimmy (HK, Interpol), and Tony Abbot (BKK, UN agent).

The crew prepares to shoot the first scene on the middle deck. This is where we have already stormed the boat from the police pursuit craft and run up the deck to confront the captain and the owner of the vessel, Largo Winch, about documents he has on board which could prove his guilt.

Setting up the scene where sealed documents are seized and taken off the boat.

The camera crew filming sequences from the water. The following day we shot all the helicopter scenes from the air.

Captain Glenn (middle), with main role actors, Francois (left), playing the head of the UN investigation agency, and Winch's lawyer (right), arguing about the UN's legal right to storm the vessel.

Trying my hardest to look like a bad ass, but failing miserably.

It is my first time working with a French director, Jerome Salle, and the experience was very pleasant. Jerome smiled the entire time, enjoying the experience, while his China production team, from October Films, sorted out all the logistics.

The crew now heads to Europe to finish scenes in Belgium, Germany and France.