Profile: Steven Seagal

Date of birth: April 10, 1952 (Lansing, Michigan, US)

Full name: Steven Frederic Seagal

Occupation: Actor, producer, musician, writer, fight choreographer, aikido instructor, Deputy Sheriff

Style: Aikido, kendo, karate, judo

Biography: Steven Seagal was born the second oldest of four children in Lansing, Michigan – the son of a medical technician and a maths teacher. At the age of five, the Seagal family moved to California where he was enrolled at the Buena Park High School. Seagal originally trained in karate before learning aikido under Master Harry Kiyoshi Ishisaka in 1964. As a teenager, Seagal relocated to Japan where he obtained a 7th dan black belt and became the first westerner in Japan to run his own aikido dojo. Seagal became the head of the Tenshin Aikido organisation in Osaka City and later opened a second dojo in Taos, New Mexico. In 1983, Seagal returned to the US to open another dojo in North Hollywood with fellow student Haruo Matsuoka, before relocating to West Hollywood.

Seagal’s first foray into motion pictures was as a fight choreographer on The Challenge (1982), starring Scott Glenn and Toshiro Mifune, and the James Bond adventure Never Say Never Again (1983), starring Sean Connery. In 1987, film agent and former student Michael Ovitz organised an aikido demonstration for Warner Brothers who summarily approached Seagal with a number of film scripts. Seagal would eventually co-write his action film debut, Above the Law (1988), in which he played a tough, uncompromising inner city cop with razor sharp aikido fighting skills and trademark ponytail. The film was a hit and three more successful action films followed: Hard to Kill (1990), Marked for Death (1990), and Out for Justice (1991). Seagal’s most successful Hollywood film, Under Siege (1992), would go on to gross $156.4 million worldwide.

In 1994, Seagal made his directorial debut with On Deadly Ground, an action film highlighting environmental issues. The film was received poorly by critics but is heralded by Seagal as his best work. Seagal had a reduced role in the all-star Executive Decision (1996) alongside Kurt Russell. The environmental film Fire Down Below (1997) would be the last of his films under contract with Warner Brothers.

Since Exit Wounds (2001), all of Seagal’s films have been released direct-to-video (DTV) in North America – the only exception being the 2010 theatrical release Machete directed by Robert Rodriguez. In 2009, Seagal made his television debut in the reality show Steven Seagal: Lawman, focusing on Seagal’s work as a deputy sheriff in Louisiana. In 2013, Seagal starred in the TV series True Justice.

In 1999, Seagal was awarded a PETA Humanitarian Award. A keen guitarist and singer, Seagal has released two solo blues albums. He is the CEO of Seagal Enterprises, which markets a homeopathic oil, an aftershave called Scent of Action and the Steven Seagal’s Lightening Bolt energy drink. Seagal became a Buddhist in 1997. He owns a ranch in Colorado and a home in Los Angeles. He has been married four times and has seven children.

Speech! “If the fans see somebody who is constantly in movies that have to do with overcoming evil and the bad guys, then [action stars] are naturally compelled by the story to commit constant large volumes of violence. Therefore, when you walk out into the public, many people associate you with that. I myself am a very nonviolent person and only resort to violence when I absolutely have to. I would say that is one of the biggest misconceptions.” AskMen.com

Filmography (as actor): 1988 Above the Law (+ pro, scr, action dir.); 1990 Hard to Kill (+ action dir.); Marked for Death (+ pro, action dir.); 1991 Out for Justice (+ pro.); 1992 Under Siege (+ pro, action dir.); 1994 On Deadly Ground (+ dir, pro.); 1995 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (+ pro.); 1996 Executive Decision; 1996 The Glimmer Man (+ pro.); 1997 Fire Down Below (+ pro.); 1998 The Patriot (+ pro.); 2001 Exit Wounds; Ticker; 2002 Half Past Dead (+ pro.); 2003 The Foreigner (+ pro.); Out for a Kill (+ pro.); Belly of the Beast (+ pro.); 2004 Clementine; Out of Reach; 2005 Into the Sun (+ pro, scr.); Submerged; Today You Die (+ pro.); The Foreigner: Black Dawn (+ pro.); 2006 Mercenary for Justice (+ scr.); Shadow Man (+ pro, scr.); Attack Force (+ pro, scr.); 2007 Flight of Fury (+ scr.); Urban Justice (+ pro.); 2008 Pistol Whipped (+ pro.); The Onion Movie; Kill Switch (+ scr.); 2009 Against the Dark (+ pro.); Driven to Kill; The Keeper (+ pro.); A Dangerous Man; Steven Seagal: Lawman (TV); 2010 Machete; Born to Raise Hell (+ pro, scr.); True Justice (TV); 2012 Maximum Conviction (+ pro.); 2013 Force of Execution (+ pro.)

Profile: Jim Kelly

Date of Birth: May 5, 1946 (Paris, Kentucky)

Date of Death: June 29, 2013 (aged 67), San Diego

Full name: James Milton Kelly

Occupation: Actor, tennis coach, martial artist

Style: Shorin-ryu karate

Biography: Jim Kelly will always be fondly remembered for his breakthrough performance alongside Bruce Lee and John Saxon in the 1973 film Enter the Dragon – a role which was originally given to another actor – and his subsequent success as a prominent leading man in the blaxploitation sub-genre of the 1970s.

Born in Paris, Kentucky, Kelly’s father ran a locker rental service for US Navy sailors. At high school, Kelly enjoyed success in a number of sports including athletics, football and basketball. He attended the University of Louisville on an American Football scholarship and could have turned professional if he had not left during his freshman year.

Kelly began his training in Shorin-ryu karate and Okinawa karate under the tutelage of Gordon Doversola, moving to Los Angeles in the 1960s where he would go on to train at the same dojo as karate contemporaries like Joe Lewis. Kelly opened his own school on Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles and in 1971, he won the middleweight division title at the Long Beach International Karate Championships. Kelly was hired as a karate trainer for the actor Calvin Lockhart for the film Melinda (1972) in which he also managed to secure a small role as a martial arts instructor.

When actor Rockne Tarkington unexpectedly pulled out of the Warner Brothers production Enter the Dragon (1973) three days before the start of filming, producer Fred Weintraub promptly signed Jim Kelly after a chance visit to his karate school. As cocksure karate expert Williams, Kelly became an overnight success, earning some of the film’s most memorable lines, coupled with street smart attitude, good looks and a trademark afro.

Kelly was signed to a three picture deal with Warner Brothers, which included the films Black Belt Jones (1974), Three the Hard Way (1974), and Hot Potato (1976). Throughout the 1970s, Kelly worked predominantly within the blaxploitation sub-genre, but by the 1980s, Kelly had seemingly stepped away from the movie industry. Despite small roles on television, Kelly all but retired as an actor.

He remained a keen athlete, becoming a professional tennis player on the USTA Senior Men’s Circuit and the owner and director of a tennis club in the San Diego area. In 2013, Kelly died of cancer at his home in San Diego, California, aged 67.

Speech! To the LA Times, 2010: “I never left the movie business. It’s just that after a certain point, I didn’t get the type of projects that I wanted to do. I still get at least three scripts per year, but most of them don’t put forth a positive image. There’s nothing I really want to do, so I don’t do it. If it happens, it happens, but if not, I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished.”

Filmography (as actor): 1972 Melinda; 1973 Enter the Dragon; 1974 Black Belt Jones; Three the Hard Way; Golden Needles; 1975 Take a Hard Ride; 1976 Hot Potato; 1977 Black Samurai; 1978 The Tattoo Connection; Death Dimension; 1981 Mr. No Legs; 1982 One Down, Two to Go; 1985 Highway to Heaven (TV); 1994 Stranglehold; Ultimatum; 2004 Macked, Hammered, Slaughtered and Shafted; 2009 Afro Ninja

Profile: Panna Rittikrai

Date of birth: February 17, 1961 (Khon Kaen Province, Thailand)

Occupation: Director, stuntman, actor, producer, choreographer, script writer

Style: Muay Thai

Biography: Undoubtedly Thai action cinema’s most important and influential filmmaker, Panna Rittikrai is the choreographer and director responsible for a string of internationally acclaimed martial arts films which place the native style of Muay Thai kickboxing centre stage. Rittikrai, as well as being an action star in his own right, has helped to train and launch the careers of actors including JeeJa Yanin, Dan Chupong and Tony Jaa. Rittikrai was born in the small village of Khon Kaen in 1961. His earliest influences were the films of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. His first experience working in the movies was as a physical trainer for actors in Bangkok before forming his own stunt team, the Muay Thai Stunt, in 1979. His team’s first collaborative effort was Kerd ma lui (Born to Fight), with Rittikrai starring in the lead role. The 20-member stunt team would go on to produce over 50 low budget B movies before disbanding in the mid-90s. In 1999, Rittikrai formed a partnership with filmmaker Prachya Pinkaew and his Baa-Ram-Ewe production company. In 2003, they worked together on the big-budget action film Ong-Bak, designed to highlight Rittikrai’s trademark Muay Thai action and stunt work, and starring one of his team’s young protégés, Panom Yeerum (later renamed Tony Jaa). Ong-Bak received worldwide acclaim for its authentic, hard-hitting fight sequences and virtuoso lead performance from Tony Jaa. Rittikrai continued to work with Jaa and Pinkaew, firstly on the follow up film Tom-Yum-Goong (2005, called Warrior King in the UK), and two Ong-Bak prequels. In 2004, Rittikrai remade his first action film Born to Fight with young Thai fighter Dan Chupong in the lead role. In 2008, Rittikrai helped to launch the career of Yanin Vismitananda (JeeJa Yanin) – billed as the female Tony Jaa – with the action film Chocolate.

Speech! To the Bangkok Post, 2004: “You’ve probably never heard of my movies. They are popular among taxi drivers and som tam vendors and security guards and Isan coolies. My most loyal fans are folk people in the far-out tambons, where they lay out mattresses on the ground and drink moonshine whisky while watching my outdoor movies.”

Filmography (credit in brackets): 1984 Born to Fight (dir, cast); 1994 Plook mun kuen ma kah 4 (dir.); 1996 Puen hode (dir.); 2001 Kon dib lhek nam pee (dir.); Nuk leng klong yao (dir.); The Legend of Suriyothai (action dir.) 2003 Ong-Bak (action dir.); 2004 The Bodyguard (dir.); Born to Fight (dir, action dir.); 2005 Warrior King (action dir.); 2006 Dynamite Warrior (cast); Mercury Man (action dir.); 2008 Chocolate (pro, action dir.); Ong-Bak: The Beginning (dir, pro, scr.); 2009 Power Kids (pro.); Raging Phoenix (pro.); 5 huajai hero (pro.); 2010 Ong-Bak 3 (dir, scr.); Bangkok Knockout (dir, pro, scr, cast); 2011 The Outrage (action dir.)

Profile: Tony Jaa

Date of birth: February 5, 1976 (Surin province, Isaan, Thailand)

Real name: Tatchakorn Yeerum

Other names: Panom Yeerum

Style: Muay Thai, Muay Boran, taekwondo

Biography: Inspired by Hong Kong kung fu films, Tony Jaa enrolled at the Maha Sarakham College of Physical Education in Thailand under the auspices of filmmaker and stuntman Panna Rittikrai where he studied martial arts, acrobatics and gymnastics. Jaa secured stunt work in a number of commercials and movies including doubling for Robin Shou and James Remar in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997). His demo reel was spotted by director Prachya Pinkaew who cast Jaa as the lead in Ong-Bak (2003), which promoted the hard-hitting style of Muay Thai kickboxing and led many critics to compare Jaa to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Jaa made his directorial debut in 2008 with the Ong-Bak prequels Ong-Bak: The Beginning (2008) and Ong-Bak 3 (2010). In 2010, Jaa was ordained as a Buddhist monk.

Speech! “Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Bruce Lee are my masters; they’re the inspiration for my work. Bruce Lee was a heavy fighter who threw hard punches. Jackie moves very fast and uses a lot of comedy, and Jet Li is very fluid. I’ve tried to combine all of their styles and added some things of my own.”

Filmography: 2003 Ong-Bak (+ action dir.); 2005 Warrior King (+ action dir.); 2008 Ong-Bak: The Beginning (+ dir, pro, action dir.); 2010 Ong-Bak 3 (+ dir, pro, scr, action dir.)

Profile: Richard Norton

Date of birth: January 6, 1950 (Melbourne, Australia)

Occupation: Actor, producer, action director, stuntman, instructor

Style: Zen Do Kai, Brazilian jiu jitsu, aikido, karate, taekwondo, Muay Thai, Japanese weapons systems

Biography: Before making his acting debut in the Chuck Norris film The Octagon (1980), Richard Norton worked as a bouncer and personal bodyguard to some of the biggest names in rock music, including The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie. During this time, Norton collaborated with fellow security guard Bob Jones to help create the hybrid system Zen Do Kai. Norton has trained with some of the biggest names in the martial arts industry, including Benny Urquidez, Pete Cunningham, Tino Ceberano, Bill Wallace and the Machado brothers. Norton’s first starring role was in the Robert Clouse film Force: Five (1981). His talents were spotted by Sammo Hung who cast Norton as a villain in his Hong Kong kung fu comedy Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985), co-starring Jackie Chan. Norton’s ease with Hong Kong filming techniques led to many more roles, including Sammo’s Millionaire’s Express (1986), Magic Crystal (1987), and two more Jackie Chan films, City Hunter (1993) and Mr Nice Guy (1997). While in Hong Kong, Norton met Cynthia Rothrock, sparking a working relationship that would result in many action films together, including the China O’Brien and Rage and Honor films. Norton has also made many TV appearances, including roles in the Chuck Norris series Walker, Texas Ranger. He has also worked as fight coordinator on TV and film, with credits including The Condemned (2007) starring Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones. In 2007, Norton released his first instructional DVD set, Black Belt Training Complexes.

Speech! In conversation with Martial Edge: “I’m very realistic as to why I’m in the B grade movie range rather than the A grade, and I’m very comfortable with that. All I wanted to do was be the best martial artist I can be, and everything that has come good in my life has been a result of that – bodyguard work, touring the world with rock and roll bands, sitting there doing movies with some of the greatest people around. It can’t get much better than that.”

Click here to read our interview with Richard Norton.

Filmography (as actor): 1980 The Octagon; 1981 Force: Five; 1982 Forced Vengeance; 1985 Gymkata (+ action dir.); Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars; American Ninja; 1986 Future Hunters; Millionaire’s Express; Magic Crystal; 1987 Return of the Kickfighter; Dangerous Passengers; 1988 Not Another Mistake; License to Kill; Jungle Heat; Equalizer 2000; 1989 Hyper Space; The Salute of the Jugger; 1990 The Fighter; The Sword of Bushido; Blood Street; China O’Brien; 1991 China O’Brien II; 1992 Raiders of the Sun; Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (TV); Good Vibrations (TV); Rage and Honor; Lady Dragon; Ironheart; Rage and Honor II: Hostile Takeover; 1993 City Hunter; 1994 Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) (+ action dir.); Deathfight; Direct Hit; CyberTracker; 1995 Tough and Deadly; Under the Gun (+ pro); 1996 For Life or Death; Fugitive X: Innocent Target (TV); 1997 Soul of the Avenger; Strategic Command; Mr Nice Guy; 1998 The Path of the Dragon; Black Thunder; 2000 Nautilus; 2001 The Rage Within; Amazons and Gladiators (+ action dir.); 2002 Inside the Britannic (TV); 2002 Redemption; Modern Warriors (TV); 2003 Dream Warrior (+ action dir.); Mind Games; 2005 Road House 2: Last Call; 2008 Under a Red Moon; Man of Blood (+ action dir.); 2009 Dead in Love; 2013 Spartacus: War of the Damned (TV)

Profile: Bruce Lee

Date of Birth: November 27, 1940 (San Francisco, USA)

Date of Death: July 20, 1973 (aged 32), Hong Kong

Real name: Lee Jun-fan

Other names: Lee Siu Lung, Lee Lung

Occupation: Actor, director, producer, writer, instructor, action director

Style: Tai chi, Wing Chun, Jeet Kune Do

Biography: Bruce Lee is not only the world’s most influential and iconic martial artist – both in films and in practice – but he is also a leading figure in modern popular culture.

Lee was born in the Chinatown district of San Francisco, the fourth of five children to parents Grace Lee and Chinese Opera performer Lee Hoi-chuen. According to the Chinese zodiac, Lee was born in both the year and the hour of the Dragon. He was given the name Jun-fan, meaning ‘to return again’. The family returned to Hong Kong three months after Lee was born.

Lee followed his father into the Hong Kong film industry making his debut film appearance as a baby in Golden Gate Girl (1941). Bruce Lee would appear in around 20 films throughout his childhood. At the age of 13, Lee’s involvement in street fighting and gang culture led his father to enrol him at Master Ip Man’s Wing Chun kung fu school. As a youth, Lee did not excel academically and was transferred to the St. Francis Xavier’s College, where he learnt boxing. In 1957, Lee won the High School Boxing Championships. A keen dancer, Lee was also crowned the 1958 Crown Colony Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong. However his reputation as a street brawler continued. In 1959, following a fight with a prominent Hong Kong gang member, Lee was sent by his parents to live in San Francisco with his sister, Agnes Lee.

In 1959, Lee relocated to Seattle to finish his high school education and later enrolled at the University of Washington in 1961 to study drama. While at univeristy, Lee met his future wife Linda Emery, a fellow student. The two were married in 1964 and had two children: Brandon Lee, in 1965, and a daughter, Shannon Lee, in 1969.

Although Lee studied drama (along with lessons in philosophy and psychology), he showed little sign of pursuing a career in film. Instead, Lee dedicated himself to the practice and teaching of martial arts. He opened his first Jun Fan Gung Fu school in Seattle and opened a second in Oakland, California, in 1964. Lee would continue to develop his practical understanding of the martial arts to eventually create his own system, Jeet Kune Do (meaning ‘the way of the intercepting fist’), in 1967. The system is now seen as a forerunner to modern day mixed martial arts (MMA) systems utilising techniques from a variety of different combat styles.

Lee’s appearance at the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships caught the attention of TV producer William Dozier, who asked Lee to take part in a screen test. Dozier would later cast Lee as Kato in the TV adventure series The Green Hornet for ABC, a camp superhero series from the same producers of Batman. The series ran for one season including three crossover episodes with Batman.

Throughout the 1960s, Lee would continue to teach the martial arts to many high profile names in show business, including script writer Stirling Silliphant, actors James Coburn and Steve McQueen, and basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Lee’s other television work included appearances in Ironside (1967), Here Come the Brides (1969), and four episodes of Longstreet (1971), written by Stirling Silliphant. In 1969, Lee made inroads into the movie industry with a cameo appearance as a villain in detective film Marlowe, starring James Garner, and as a fight choreographer on The Wrecking Crew, starring Dean Martin, and A Walk in the Rain (1970) with Ingrid Bergman. In 1972, Lee pitched a concept for his own TV show set in the wild west to both Paramount and Warner Brothers, but was allegedly denied the lead role due to his ethnicity. The show would later resurface as Kung Fu starring David Carradine.

In 1971, Lee returned to Hong Kong to concentrate on his film career. He refused the standard actor’s contract assigned to him by the Shaw Brothers studio in favour of fledgling new company Golden Harvest, created by former Shaw employee Raymond Chow. His first starring role feature film, The Big Boss (1971), became the highest grossing Hong Kong film of all time. This record was beaten by Lee’s second film for Golden Harvest, Fist of Fury (1972). In 1972, Lee formed his own production company, Concord Productions, alongside Raymond Chow, and he set to work directing, producing, writing, choreographing and starring in his third feature film, The Way of the Dragon (1972). Parts of the film were shot on location in Rome and featured an extended final duel with US karate champion Chuck Norris, who Lee had first met at Long Beach in 1964.

Production on his fourth film for Golden Harvest, Game of Death (1978), was suspended when Lee was offered the starring role in a joint production between Golden Harvest and Warner Brothers. Filmed in Hong Kong, production on Enter the Dragon started in February 1973. Six days before the release of the film, Bruce Lee died aged 32 following an allergic reaction to a painkiller. Enter the Dragon has gone on to earn a gross worldwide revenue of US $200,000,000, and in 2004, the film was added to the US National Film Registry due to its “cultural significance”.

Lee’s death and the subsequent success of Enter the Dragon caused a worldwide craze in kung fu, further spurred on by the Kung Fu TV show in America. In Asia, producers tried desperately to find a “new Bruce Lee” by casting lookalikes and using vaguely similar names, starring the likes of Bruce Li, Bruce Le and Dragon Lee. This new subgenre of films is now known collectively as ‘Bruceploitation’. In 1978, Enter the Dragon director Robert Clouse was recruited to revive Lee’s unfinished Game of Death using new actors, lookalikes and Lee’s original footage.

Bruce Lee’s body was laid to rest at Lakeview Cemetary in Seattle. His pallbearers included George Lazenby, Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Chuck Norris. An open casket ceremony held in Hong Kong on July 25, 1973, attracted 30,000 visitors. In 1999, Bruce Lee was named by Time magazine as one of 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century. In 2009, Bruce Lee’s home in Kowloon, Hong Kong, was transformed into a tourism destination.

Speech! From The Tao of Jeet Kune Do. “If you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread over into your work, into your mortality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you.”

Filmography (as actor): 1941 Golden Gate Girl; 1946 The Birth of Mankind; 1948 Wealth is Like a Dream; 1949 Sai See in the Dream; 1950 The Kid; 1951 Infancy; 1953 A Myriad Homes; Blame It on Father; The Guiding Light; A Mother’s Tears; In the Face of Demolition; 1955 An Orphan’s Tragedy; Orphan’s Song; Love; Love Part 2; We Owe It to Our Children; 1956 The Wise Guys Who Fool Around; Too Late For Divorce; 1957 The Thunderstorm; Darling Girl; 1960 The Orphan; 1966 The Green Hornet (TV); Batman (TV); 1967 Ironside (TV); 1969 Blondie (TV); Here Come the Brides (TV); Marlowe; 1971 Longstreet (TV); The Big Boss (+ scr); 1972 Fist of Fury (+ action dir.); The Way of the Dragon (+ dir, pro, scr, action dir.); 1973 Enter the Dragon (+ pro, action dir.); 1978 Game of Death (+ dir, pro, scr, action dir.) 1981 Game of Death II

Filmography (as action director): 1969 The Wrecking Crew; 1970 A Walk in the Spring Rain; 1972 Fist of Unicorn

Profile: Jackie Chan

Date of Birth: April 7, 1954 (Victoria Peak, Hong Kong)

Real name: Chan Kong-sang

Other names: Chan Kwong Sang, Chen Gangsheng, Chen Yuen Lung, Fong Si Lung, Shen Long, Sing Lung

Occupation: Actor, director, producer, writer, stuntman, singer, cinematographer, action director, art director, philanthropist, entrepreneur

Style: Kung fu

Biography: At six years old, Chan was enrolled as a member of the Chinese Drama Academy in Hong Kong under the tutelage of Master Yuen Jim-yuen. He became a member of the Seven Little Fortunes Peking Opera group alongside classmates including Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Corey Yuen Kwai and Yuen Wah.

Chan made his film debut at the age of eight when the group featured in the film Big and Little Wong Tin Bar (1962). As popularity in Peking Opera waned, many performers found work in the fledgling Hong Kong film industry. Chan worked as a stuntman on the King Hu films Come Drink with Me (1966) and A Touch of Zen (1969), and the Bruce Lee films Fist of Fury (1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973). After signing with Chu Mu’s Great Earth Film Company, Chan’s first starring role was Master with Cracked Fingers (1974).

After relocating to Canberra, Australia, where he was employed as a construction worker when living with his parents (it was here he acquired the name ‘Jackie’), Chan’s stunt work was spotted by film producer Willie Chan who helped to cast Chan in the lead role for the Lo Wei film New Fist of Fury (1976). Chan was cast as a ‘new Bruce Lee’ in a succession of unsuccessful films whilst under contract for the Lo Wei Motion Picture Company.

Borrowed for a two picture deal with Ng See-yuen’s Seasonal Films, Chan starred in his first successful film Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (1978) and the follow-up Drunken Master (1978), working with debuting director Yuen Woo-ping. The films helped to establish Chan as one of the leaders of the kung fu comedy genre, combining slapstick and broad physical comedy with martial arts action. Many critics would later compare his distinct style to both Buster Keaton and Bruce Lee.

Chan made his directorial debut with The Fearless Hyena (1979). He joined Golden Harvest in 1980 and made forays into the American film industry with Battle Creek Brawl (1980) and The Cannonball Run (1981). Spurred on by artistic differences on the set of US film The Protector (1985), Chan would remain in Hong Kong to create some of his most popular action films, including Armour of God (1986) and the Police Story franchise. Chan became synonymous for performing all of his own increasingly outlandish stunts. He formed The Jackie Chan Stunt Team in 1983 and has, over the years, helped to launch the careers of performers such as Ken Lo, Michael Tse and Brad Allan. In 1989, Jackie Chan was honoured by the British monarchy with an MBE for services to the Hong Kong film industry.

Encouraged by the international success of Rumble in the Bronx (1995), Chan appeared in the US film Rush Hour (1998) which would go on to gross US $130 million in America and make the actor a household name. In 1998, Jackie Chan released his autobiography, I Am Jackie Chan. In 2000, Chan appeared in cartoon form for the animated TV series, Jackie Chan Adventures. In 2004, Jackie Chan formed his own production company, Jackie Chan Emperor (JCE) Movies Ltd with Emperor Motion Picture Group principal Albert Yeung. In 2013, Jackie Chan was appointed to serve in China’s new National Committee, handpicked by communist party leaders.

Chan married his wife, actress Joan Lin, in 1982, and together they have one son, the actor Jaycee Chan.

Speech! “In Hollywood, they care more about comedy, relationship and so many things before action stunts. In Hong Kong, we go straight into stunts and action, but in America sometimes that’s too much. So, now I’m making a film half and half – take some good things from Hollywood and some good things from Asia.”

“I never wanted to be the next Bruce Lee. I just wanted to be the first Jackie Chan.”

Filmography (as actor): 1962 Big and Little Wong Tin Bar; 1963 The Love Eterne; 1973 Eagle Shadow Fist (+ action dir.); 1974 Master with Cracked Fingers (+ action dir.); Police Woman (+ action dir.); 1975 All in the Family; 1976 Hand of Death; New Fist of Fury; Shaolin Wooden Men (+ action dir.); The Killer Meteors (+ action dir.); 1977 To Kill with Intrigue (+ action dir.); 1978 Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin (+ action dir.); Magnificent Bodyguards; Dragon Fist (+ action dir.); Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow; Drunken Master; Spiritual Kung Fu; Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (+ action dir.); 1979 The Fearless Hyena (+ dir, action dir.); 1980 The Young Master (+ dir, scr, action dir.); The Fearless Hyena Part II; Battle Creek Brawl; 1981 The Cannonball Run; 1982 Dragon Lord (+ dir, action dir.); 1983 Winners and Sinners; Project A (+ dir, scr, action dir.); Fantasy Mission Force; 1984 Wheels on Meals; The Cannonball Run II; 1985 My Lucky Stars; Heart of the Dragon; Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars; The Protector (+ action dir.); Police Story (+ dir, action dir.); 1986 Armour of God (+ dir, action dir.); 1987 Project A Part II (+ dir, action dir.); 1988 Police Story 2 (+ dir, action dir.); Dragons Forever; 1989 Miracles: The Canton Godfather (+ dir, pro, scr, action dir.); 1990 Island of Fire; 1991 Armour of God II: Operation Condor (+ dir, pro, scr, action dir.); 1992 Twin Dragons (+ action dir.); Police Story 3: Supercop (+ action dir.); 1993 Crime Story; City Hunter (+ action dir.); 1994 Drunken Master II (+ dir, action dir.); 1995 Rumble in the Bronx (+ action dir.); Thunderbolt; 1996 First Strike (+ action dir.); 1997 Mr. Nice Guy (+ action dir.); 1998 Who Am I? (+ dir, scr, action dir.); Rush Hour; 1999 Gorgeous (+ pro, scr, action dir.); 2000 Shanghai Noon (+ action dir.); 2001 Rush Hour 2; The Accidental Spy (+ pro, action dir.); 2002 The Tuxedo; 2003 Shanghai Knights (+ action dir.); The Medallion; 2004 New Police Story (+ action dir.); Around the World in 80 Days (+ action dir.); 2005 The Myth (+ action dir.); 2006 Robin-B-Hood (+ pro, scr, action dir.); 2007 Rush Hour 3; 2008 Kung Fu Panda; The Forbidden Kingdom; 2009 The Shinjuku Incident; Looking for Jackie; 2010 The Spy Next Door; The Karate Kid; Little Big Soldier; 2011 Shaolin; 1911; Kung Fu Panda 2; 2012 Chinese Zodiac

Profile: Yuen Woo-ping

Date of birth: January 1, 1945 (Guangzhou, China)

Other names: Yuen Wo Ping, Yuen Ho-ping, Peace Yuen, Yuan Ta-yean, Yuan Ta-ten , Yuen Dai-aan, Yuen Woo-pang, Yuan Ho-ping, Yuan Her-ping, Yuan He-ping, Ba Ye

Occupation: Director, producer, actor, action director, writer, production manager, stuntman

Biography: One of the greatest action choreographers in kung fu cinema, Yuen Woo-ping is credited as a pioneer in the Hong Kong kung fu comedy genre. His prolific filmography has taken him from Hong Kong to Hollywood and encompasses work with a roll call of martial arts stars including Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, as well as auteur directors including Ang Lee, Quentin Tarantino, Tsui Hark and Wong Kar-wai.

Yuen Woo-ping was born the eldest of 10 siblings at the end of the Second World War. His name means ‘peace’ in Cantonese. His father, the actor and martial artist Simon Yuen Siu-tien, trained his sons in Peking Opera. Many of Simon Yuen’s sons would follow their father into the Hong Kong film industry, including Sunny Yuen Shun-yi, Brandy Yuen Jan-young, Yuen Cheung-yan and Yuen Yat-chor.

Woo-ping performed as an actor, extra and stuntman for the Shaw Brothers studio throughout the 1960s and early 70s. He had brief appearances in a range of classic titles including The One Armed Swordsman (1967), The Boxer from Shantung (1972) and Blood Brothers (1973). He slowly developed his skills behind the camera as an action director on a number of kung fu titles, including work with former Shaw Brothers executive Ng See-yuen on Snuff Bottle Connection (1977) and Secret Rivals II (1977). In 1975, Ng See-yuen launched his own independent production company, Seasonal Films, as a platform to nurture young and emerging cinematic talent.

Woo-ping’s directorial debut was the highly successful kung fu comedy Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (1978) for Seasonal Films. The film grossed nearly HK $3m at the Hong Kong box office, and along with the follow up Drunken Master (1978), helped to not only launch Woo-ping as one of Hong Kong‘s best new directors, but also skyrocketed its star Jackie Chan to international acclaim.

The two films, including a follow up to Drunken Master called Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979), helped to re-launch the career of Yuen Woo-ping’s father Simon Yuen, playing the alcoholic antihero Beggar So, or ‘Sam the Seed‘. Simon Yuen was set to reprise the role in Woo-ping’s The Magnificent Butcher (1980) but he died early in production.

Woo-ping continued to direct throughout the 1980s predominantly making raucous, highly innovative action comedies, many of which would feature other members of the Yuen clan. In 1984, he helped to launch the career of Donnie Yen with the film Drunken Tai Chi. In the early 1990s, Woo-ping concentrated more on fight choreography, helping to re-launch the Hong Kong kung fu revival alongside ‘new wave’ auteur Tsui Hark for the Once Upon a Time in China films. Woo-ping was chosen by Tsui Hark to replace the film’s original fight choreographer Lau Kar-wing.

It was his fight choreography on Fist of Legend (1994) which caught the attention of the Wachowski Brothers, who hired Woo-ping for their groundbreaking sci-fi action film The Matrix (1999) and its two sequels. Woo-ping summarily became the first choice choreographer in Hollywood for Hong Kong style action. He was hired by Ang Lee to choreograph the kung fu sequences in his Oscar-winning wuxia film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), for which Woo-ping won a HK Golden Horse Award. In 2003, Woo-ping was chosen by Quentin Tarantino to choreograph the action in his kung fu revenge opus Kill Bill. He has most consistently collaborated with Jet Li having worked together on 11 titles so far, both in Hong Kong and America. In 2012, Woo-ping’s name was among over 70 celebrities featured on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Speech! “In each film, I would design the action based on the script, the character’s personality, the level of martial arts. I’ve never thought about handling the past, the present, the future of this or that person. I don’t carry such burden. I don’t worry about not doing well.” Wu-Jing.org

On choosing the best of his own films: “Drunken Master would be number one, Tiger Cage at number two, Iron Monkey at number three. Tiger Cage is quite unique because it has a contemporary setting, rather than being a costume drama. Another favourite of mine is called The Miracle Fighters, but western audiences might struggle to identify with that because it’s a very Chinese story.” Twitch Film

Filmography (as director): 1978 Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (+ action dir.); Drunken Master (+ scr, action dir.); 1979 Dance of the Drunk Mantis (+ action dir.); 1980 The Magnificent Butcher (+ action dir.); The Buddhist Fist (+ action dir.); 1981 Dreadnaught (+ action dir.); 1982 The Miracle Fighters (+ actor, action dir.); 1982 Legend of a Fighter (+ action dir.); 1983 Shaolin Drunkard (+ scr); 1984 Drunken Tai Chi (+ scr); 1985 Mismatched Couples (+ actor); 1986 Dragon vs. Vampire (+ pro); 1988 Tiger Cage (+ actor, action dir.); 1989 In the Line of Duty (+ action dir.); 1990 Tiger Cage 2; 1991 Tiger Cage 3; 1993 Last Hero in China (+ action dir.); Iron Monkey (+ action dir.); The Tai Chi Master (+ action dir.); Heroes Among Heroes (+ pro); 1994 Wing Chun (+ pro, action dir.); Fire Dragon; 1995 Iron Monkey 2 (+ action dir.); Red Wolf (+ action dir.); 1996 Tai Chi Boxer (+ pro, scr, action dir.); 1997 Master of Tai Chi (+ action dir.); 1998 The New Shaolin Temple (+ action dir.); 1999 Swordsman of Flying Dagger; 2010 True Legend (+ action dir.); 2013 Vigilante: The Lost Order

Filmography (as action director): 1971 Mad Kill (+ actor); 1972 Tough Guy (+ actor); The Lizard (+ actor); The Bloody Fists (+ actor); 1973 River of Fury; The Money Tree; The Master of Kung Fu; Heroes of Sung (+ actor); Fist to Fist; Call to Arms; The Bastard; The Awaken Punch; 1974 Wits to Wits; The Shadow Boxer; The Big Showdown; 1975 Tiger Force; 1976 Homicides: The Criminals Part II; Bruce Lee and I; Brotherhood; 1977 To Kill a Jaguar; Snuff Bottle Connection; The Secret Rivals II; Instant Kung Fu Man; Broken Oath; Arson: The Criminals Part III; 1978 Born Invincible; 1979 Revenge of the Shaolin Master; 1981 Game of Death II; 1984 Merry Christmas (+ actor); 1991 Once Upon a Time in China; 1992 Twin Dragons; Once Upon a Time in China II; 1994 Fist of Legend; 1996 Black Mask; 1998 Lethal Weapon 4; The Water Margin; 1999 The Matrix; 2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; 2001 Chinese Heroes; The Legend of Zu; 2002 Black Mask 2: City of Masks; 2003 The Matrix Reloaded; The Matrix Revolutions; Cradle 2 The Grave; Kill Bill: Vol. 1; Enter the Matrix; 2004 Kill Bill: Vol. 2; Kung Fu Hustle; 2005 Unleashed; House of Fury; 2006 Fearless; The Banquet; 2008 The Forbidden Kingdom; 2010 Just Another Pandora’s Box; Enthiran; 2012 Man of Tai Chi; The Grandmaster

Filmography (as actor): 1966 The Magnificent Trio; The Knight of Knights; 1967 The Professionals; The One Armed Swordsman; The Full Moon; 1968 That Fiery Girl; The Sword of Swords; Red Lamp Shaded in Blood; Golden Swallow; The Dragon Fortress; 1969 The Invincible Fist; 1970 The Heroic Ones; The Wandering Swordsman; 1971 The New One Armed Swordsman; King Eagle; The Duel; Duel of Fists; The Anonymous Heroes; 1972 Four Riders; The Boxer from Shantung; The Angry Guest; 1973 Blood Brothers; 1975 Lady of the Law; Kung Fu Stars; The Imposter; Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold; 1987 Eastern Condors; 1988 Heart to Hearts; 1989 Just Heroes; 1990 My Hero; 1992 The Wicked City; King of Beggars; Gameboy Kids; 1993 Bogus Cop

Filmography (as producer): 1982 The Postman Strikes Back; 1993 Madam City Hunter

Profile: Gary Daniels

Full name: Gary Edward Daniels

Date of birth: May 9, 1963 (Working, Surrey, England)

Occupation: Actor, producer, action director, instructor, professional kickboxer

Style: Mongolian kung fu, kickboxing, taekwondo, Muay Thai

Biography: Daniels was influenced to pursue a career in martial arts after sneaking into a screening of Enter the Dragon at the age of 8. He trained in the hybrid style of Mongolian kung fu before studying taekwondo, acquiring a black belt under Master Rhee Ki Ha. Daniels taught taekwondo at three schools in England. In 1980, following disqualification for excessive contact in competitions, Daniels relocated to Florida to pursue a full-contact kickboxing career. Daniels has trained with Peter Cunningham, Jim Graden, and former World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion Joe Lewis. In the 1990s, Daniels began studying Muay Thai kickboxing alongside Benny Urquidez and Winston Omega. Relocating to California, Daniels was crowned PKA (Professional Karate Association) Lightheavyweight Kickboxing Champion, retiring from competitive fighting in 1993 to concentrate on a film career. Daniels started acting in the Philippines on low budget martial arts films. In 1993, Daniels made his Hong Kong film debut in the Jackie Chan film City Hunter. He has predominantly worked in B movies in America alongside the likes of Steven Seagal, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone. He has also worked as a fight choreographer and associate producer.

Speech! In an interview with Martial Edge: “I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life the day I saw Bruce Lee on screen. And 40 years later that hasn’t changed. I still train five days a week and my goal is still to be the lead in a film that opens on 3000 screens on a Friday night.”

Click here to read our interview with Gary Daniels.

Filmography: 1988 The Secret of King Mahis Island; Final Reprisal; 1991 In Between; Ring of Fire; Capital Punishment; 1992 Deadly Bet; Blood Fist IV: Die Trying; American Streetfighter (+ action dir); 1993 City Hunter; Full Impact (+ action dir); Knights; Firepower; 1994 Deadly Target; 1995 Fist of the North Star; Rage; Heatseeker; 1996 White Tiger; 1997 Hawk’s Vengeance (+ action dir); Bloodmoon; Riot; Pocket Ninjas; 1998 Recoil; Spoiler; 1999 No Tomorrow; Sons of Thunder (TV); 2000 Ides of March; Epicentre; Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol; 2001 Queen’s Messenger; Gedo; City of Fear; 2002 Black Friday; 2004 Witness to a Kill; Retrograde; 2005 Submerged; 2006 Reptilicant; 2008 The Day the Earth Stopped; The Legend of Bruce Lee (TV); Cold Earth; 2009 La Linea; Immortally Yours; 2010 Game of Death; Tekken; The Lazarus Reports; The Expendables; Hunt to Kill; 2011 Forced to Fight; Johnny’s Gone; 2012 A Stranger in Paradise; The Encounter: Paradise Lost; The Mark; Angels; 2013 The Mark: Redemption

Profile: Ringo Lam Ling-tung

Date of birth: 1955, Hong Kong

Occupation: Director, producer, writer, actor

Other names: Lam Ling Dung, Lam Ling Tung, Ringo Lam

Biography: Noted for his gritty directing style (in contrast to the balletic ‘heroic bloodshed’ of his contemporary John Woo), Ringo Lam is one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated ‘new wave’ action filmmakers.

Born in Hong Kong, Lam initially trained as an actor at Shaw Brothers’ television division, TVB, where his class friends included Chow Yun-fat. Lam soon rejected the idea of becoming an actor and accepted a position as a production assistant at the company. In 1978, Lam enrolled at York University film school in Toronto, Canada, before returning to Hong Kong in 1981 without completing his course.

Lam’s first film as director was the 1983 supernatural comedy Espirit D’Armour, followed by a sequel in the slapstick Aces Go Places franchise, Aces Go Places 4 (1986). Lam’s big break, and the film which would help to distinguish the director’s challenging, modern style, was the 1987 hit City on Fire, starring his former acting colleague Chow Yun-fat.

The film told the story of an undercover cop infiltrating a gang of thieves and is regarded as the main inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s 1991 film Reservoir Dogs. Ringo Lam won Best Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1988, and became associated with a new generation of Hong Kong filmmakers who rejected the staid traditions of the past in favour of more relevant, contemporary, socially-conscious films. Nicknamed the Hong Kong ‘new wave’, many of its leading and most groundbreaking filmmakers – like Lam – had acquired their skills at western film schools. These included directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Ann Hui and Patrick Tam.

Following the success of City on Fire, Ringo Lam continued to work with leading man Chow Yun-fat for the continuing on Fire series, including Prison on Fire (1987), School on Fire (1988), and the sequel Prison on Fire II (1991). His other collaborations with Chow Yun-fat included Wild Search (1989) and the cult favourite Full Contact (1992), in which the actor played against type as a violent criminal. Although the film flopped in its native Hong Kong, it became an international hit.

Ringo Lam made his American directorial debut with Maximum Risk (1996), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Following production difficulties on the film, Lam returned to Hong Kong to make Full Alert (1997), which became a critical and commercial success.

Lam has continued to work in Asia and America alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme in two more films, Replicant (2001) and In Hell (2003). In 2007, he was one of three directors on the film Triangle, alongside action film contemporaries Tsui Hark and Johnny To. The film won Film of Merit at the 2008 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. In 2011, Ringo Lam made his first recorded interview in ten years for the French documentary Tarantino: The Disciple of Hong Kong.

Filmography (as director): 1983 Espirit D’amour; 1984 The Other Side of Gentlemen; 1985 Cupid One (+ scr); 1986 Aces Go Places 4; Happy Ghost III; 1987 City on Fire (+ pro); Prison on Fire; 1988 School on Fire (+ pro); 1989 Wild Search (+ pro); 1990 Undeclared War (+ pro); 1991 Prison on Fire II; Touch and Go; 1992 Full Contact (+ pro); Twin Dragons; 1994 Burning Paradise; 1995 The Adventurers (+ scr); 1996 Maximum Risk; 1997 Full Alert (+ pro, scr); 1998 The Suspect (+scr); 1999 The Victim (+ pro, scr); 2001 Replicant; 2003 Looking for Mister Perfect; In Hell; 2007 Triangle (+ pro).