Tony Leung was so overcome by emotion when he saw the final cut of martial arts epic The Grandmaster that he cried. "When I saw the finished piece, I had a moment of extreme emotion, and I cried," admitted Leung in Mandarin at the Singapore press conference to promote the film with director Wong Kar Wai on Wednesday.

"I was overcome by the feeling -- it was the fruit of four years of work and challenges." Leung, 50, reportedly broke his hands twice during training during filming, and he even began taking Wing Chun lessons three years beforehand to prepare himself for his role.

The cast also had to film through rough weather conditions -- toughing it out in China on the coldest winter in ten years and then later through a sweltering summer. The movie's release was repeatedly delayed, reportedly due to Leung's injuries and many scenes had to be cut as there was too much footage.

But if box office figures are anything to go by, it looks like all that pain and suffering was worth it -- "The Grandmaster" has grossed about S$2.3 million in Hong Kong and S$60 million in China so far.