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Jet Li (Simplified Chinese: 李连杰; Traditional Chinese: 李連杰; pinyin: Lǐ Liánjié; born April 26, 1963) is a Chinese martial artist, actor, Wushu champion, and international film star. After three years of intensive training, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. After retiring at age 17, he went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple (1982). He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films most notably the Once Upon a Time in China series where he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei Hung. His first role in a Hollywood movie was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), but his first Hollywood film leading role was in Romeo Must Die (2000). He has gone on to star in many Hollywood action films mostly recently starring in the action film War (2007). One of the most popular stars of Hong Kong films of the early 1990s, the compact, charismatic Jet Li was at one time considered the heir to the late Bruce Lee. A child prodigy in martial arts, he excelled in the high-kicking "wu shu" style, winning several national championships and traveling around the world (including a 1974 US visit to the Nixon White House). Before turning 20, Jet Li made his film debut as a fighting priest in "Shaolin Temple" (1982), which was banned in Taiwan but proved popular throughout Asia. After two sequels, "Shaolin Temple II: Kids From Shaolin" (1984) and "Shaolin Temple III: Martial Arts of Shaolin" (1986), both of which showcased his talents, Jet made his directorial debut with the unsuccessful "Born to Defend" (also 1986). Li was born Li Lianjie in Beijing, China. His father died when he was two. Italic text Li participated in the sport of wushu in the non-sparring event. He began his wushu on the Beijing Wushu team, an athletic group organized to perform martial arts forms during the All China Games. As a member of the team, he received wushu training and went on to win fifteen gold medals and one silver medal in Chinese wushu championships. All his optional empty-hand form medals were won with a form called fanzi yingzhaoquan (翻子鷹爪拳, Fanzi eagle claw). His success led to the PRC declaring Jet Li to be a "National Treasure". The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce. They likened his career to an aircraft, which likewise "takes-off" as quickly, so they placed the name Jet Li to the movie posters. Soon everybody was calling him by this new name, which was also based on the nickname, "Jet," given to him as a young student, due to his speed and grace when training with the Beijing Wushu team. He made his debut with the 1982 film Shaolin Temple. Li starred in the 1995 movie, Shu dan long wei, known in English as "Courage of a Mouse and Power of a Dragon". The movie, known in the US as either High Risk or Meltdown, portrays Jet Li as a cop who becomes disillusioned after his wife is murdered by crime lords. Along the way, he pairs up with a wacky sell-out actor, Frankie (played by Jacky Cheung), and proceeds to engage in a series of violent battles in a high-rise building. The setting is similar to that of Die Hard (which similarly, is known in China as Hu Dan Long Wei, or "Courage of a tiger and power of a dragon"). In 1998 he made his American film debut in Lethal Weapon 4 which also marked the first time he had ever played a villain in a movie. He agreed to do Lethal Weapon 4 after the producer Joel Silver promised to give him the leading role in his next movie, Romeo Must Die (2000) which was a box office hit launching his career as a leading man in Hollywood. Li turned down Chow Yun-Fat's role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) because he promised his wife that he would not make any movies during her pregnancy. He also turned down the role of Seraph in The Matrix trilogy, based on his belief that the role was not one which required his skills and that the films were iconic and stunning enough without adding his name to the cast list. Since he had only been earning a limited salary, Jet Li obtained a two-year exit permit and settled in San Francisco with a Chinese actress who would briefly become his wife. "The Master" (filmed in San Francisco in 1989 but not released until 1992) was a minor modern-day kung fu thriller, more notable as the first time Jet Li worked with director Tsui Hark. Instead of returning to China in 1990, the actor settled in Hong Kong, where he attempted to rejuvenate his sagging career by signing with Golden Harvest. His breakthrough screen role came in 1990 when Tsui Hark cast him as real-life folk hero Wong Fei Hung in "Once Upon a Time in China". Despite critical carping over Jet Li's relative youth and his training in another martial arts discipline, the period piece offered the performer a strong role and he more than met the challenges exhibiting the requisite stoic aura. He went on to reprise the role in two sequels (in 1992), but an ankle injury forced the use of a double in several fight sequences. Nevertheless, Jet Li dominated the films in a role many felt he was born to play. The actor, however, felt financially under-appreciated and after a series of disputes parted company with Golden Harvest. (He was replaced by another actor for two sequels before resuming the franchise in 1997's "Once Upon a Time in China and America", which can be qualified as a kung fu Western.) Over a five year period (1992-97), Jet Li appeared in over two dozen films of varying quality. He scored as another martial artist folk hero "Fong Sai Yuk" (1993) and played his signature role of Wong Fei Hung in the uneven "The Last Hero in China" (also 1993), which he also produced. Additionally, he starred in the biopics "Tai Chi Master" (also 1993) and "New Legend of Shaolin" (1994), By the time of "Black Mask" (1996), an attempt to create a new franchise based on a popular Hong Kong comic book, his career was on the wane once again. Despite numerous offers from bigwigs like Oliver Stone and Quentin Tarantino, Jet Li took his time following fellow HK actors Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Chow Yun-Fat to L.A. At one time he was attached to a Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle and withdrew just before filming. At last, in 1998, after the Asian economy dropped and film production suffered, Jet Li appeared in his first American studio film, playing the seemingly unbeatable martial artist villain opposite Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the successful sequel "Lethal Weapon 4"—Li provided much of the heavy action lifting in the aging franchise, staying stone-faced while Gibson fired corny jokes at him (That same year the martial artist had another major Hong Kong hit, Wei Tung's "Sat sau ji wong" playing a reluctant rookie hit man opposite a seasoned veteran played by Eric Tsang). In 2001 he appeared in two more Hollywood films: The One opposite Jason Statham and Kiss of the Dragon opposite Bridget Fonda which did moderately well at the box office. In July 2001, Li agreed to produce and star in an action movie with Jackie Chan which was to be released in 2002 or 2003, but no further news of their collaboration surfaced until 2006. In 2002, the period martial arts epic film Hero was released in the Chinese market. This film was both a commercial and critical success. In 2003 he reunited with producer Joel Silver for the action thriller film Cradle 2 the Grave where he starred alongside rapper DMX and fellow martial artist Mark Dacascos. Producer Joel Silver was sufficiently impressed with Jet Li's performance in his "Lethal Weapon" sequel that he signed the actor to headline his second major American film, envisioning the actor to have Jackie Chan-style crossover success—but replacing Chan's comedic bent with a romantic leading man edge. "Romeo Must Die" (2000)—directed by veteran cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak (who filmed Li in "Lethal Weapon 4") and choreographed by Li's longtime stunt coordinator Corey Yuen--attempted to meld a Shakespearean tragic romance to the high-kicking kung fu genre, pairing Jet Li with hip-artist Aaliyah as a star-crossed couple caught in the middle of a war between racially divided mobs in San Francisco. The film performed solidly at the box office, though critics, while praising the actor's physical prowess, decried the seemingly unnecessary use of computer-aided effects in the action sequences. After arriving in Hollywood, Li spent much time expanding his English vocabulary and took a hiatus to marry and see his wife through her pregnancy, turning down Ang Lee's offer to star in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000). Inspired by his vow to protect his wife and child, Li received story credit on his next film, "Kiss of the Dragon" (2001), in which he plays a Chinese intelligence officer in Paris who comes to the aid of a single mom (Bridget Fonda) turned into a junkie hooker by a corrupt cop who kidnapped her daughter—the film mixed elements of writer-director Luc Besson's cult hit "The Professional" (1994) with Li's Bruce Lee homage "Jing wu ying xiong" (1994) a.k.a. "Fist of Legend" (Besson wrote the screenplay for "Kiss," a rare U.S.-Asian-French collaboration). Li departed from his usual martial arts actions films with the 2005 dramatic film, Unleashed (a.k.a. Danny the Dog) where he portrays an adult with the mentality of a child who has been raised like an animal. Although his martial arts skills were utilized extensively, it was a somber film with more depth than had been previously seen in Li's films, and co-starred dramatic actors Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman. Next was "The One" (2001) for writer-director James Wong, which added a sci-fi element to Li's established genre, a garbled but often visually arresting tale in which Li plays both the hero Gabe Law, a popular and peaceable veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the villainous Gabriel Yulaw, his doppelganger from a parallel universe who by murdering his other-dimensional alter ego increases his strength, stamina and power to take over the multiverse. The actor then segued into one of his greatest cinematic triumphs, "Ying xiong" (2002), which was released in the United States in 2004 under the title "Hero." Li teamed with celebrated writer-director Zhang Yimou—known more for character dramas than kicks and fisticuffs—Australian cinematographer Chris Doyle and Li's fellow Asian martial arts stars Zhang Ziyi, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Daoming Chen and Donnie Yen for the big-budgeted tale set at the violent dawn of the Qin dynasty, circa 220 B.C., where the soon-to-be first Emperor is on the brink of conquering the war-torn land and three of his most passionate opponents (Cheung, Leung and Ziyi) are trying to assassinate him, opposed by the indomitable Li as Nameless, a lowly policeman who faces off against powerful forces. The film become a phenomenal hit in Asia and Europe, and was nominated for an Oscar in 2003 in the foreign language category before its North American release in 2004. Along with the major international success, Li scored his largest Hollywood hit yet with "Cradle 2 the Grave" (2003), an action thriller that paired him with rapper actor DMX in a plot involving black diamonds and global annihilation--indeed, in the sleeper hit's opening weekend it solidly out-grossed the highly hyped Ben Affleck superhero film "Daredevil" (2003). Li next starred in the action thriller “Unleashed” (2005), playing Danny, a man trained since childhood to be a vicious fighter. Kept in a dank basement in rags and metal collar by his cruel Uncle Bart (Bob Hoskins), Danny finally breaks his bonds and finds redemption through love. The combination of martial arts and blunt sentimentality earned plenty of critical kudos, particularly for Li. His 2006 release was the martial arts film epic Fearless. Although he will continue to make martial arts movies, Fearless is his last Wushu epic. In Fearless, he played Huo Yuanjia, the real-life founder of Chin Woo Athletic Association, who reportedly defeated foreign boxers and Japanese martial artists in publicized events at a time when China's power was seen as eroding. Together with the film Fist of Legend, Li has portrayed both Chen Zhen, the student and avenger of Huo Yuanjia, as well as Huo Yuanjia himself. Fearless was released on September 22, 2006 in the United States where it reached second place in its first weekend. “ I stepped into the martial arts movie market when I was only 16. I think I have proved my ability in this field and it won't make sense for me to continue for another five or 10 years. Huo Yuanjia is a conclusion to my life as a martial arts star. Li has stated in an interview with the Shenzhen Daily newspaper that this will be his last martial arts epic, which is also stated in the movie's television promotions. However, he plans to continue his film career in other genres. Specifically, he plans to continue acting in action and martial arts films; epic films deal more with religious and philosophical issues. Li's latest Hollywood film, War, was released in August 2007, and re-teamed him with actor Jason Statham who previously starred with him in The One and action choreographer Corey Yuen. Surprisingly War failed to do well at the box office becoming one of Li's lowest grossers in America. With the exception of Romeo Must Die and the world-wide release of Hero, most of Jet's American films have been only modest hits like Kiss of the Dragon, The One, Unleashed, Cradle 2 the Grave, and the world-wide release of Fearless. Jet Li and fellow martial arts veteran Jackie Chan are to come together onscreen for the first time in The Forbidden Kingdom which began filming in May 2007. The film will be based on the legend of the Monkey King from the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West and will be released on April 18, 2008. Jet Li will also star as the lead villain in the fantasy action film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor with actors Brendan Fraser and Michelle Yeoh. Li is a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism. He has met with the Dalai Lama on more than one occasion. In 2007, he stated that he is not a proponent of Tibetan autonomy. He said that while he respects the Dalai Lama's religiosity, he does not necessarily see eye to eye with the Dalai Lama's political views. In 1987, Li married Beijing Wushu Team member and Shaolin Temple series co-star Huang Qiuyan, with whom he had two children. They divorced in 1990, Since 1999, he has been married to Nina Li Chi (born Li Zhi), a Shanghai-born, Hong Kong-based actor. He has two children with him as well, Jane (born 2000) and Jada (born 2002). Li was in the Maldives when the tsunami hit during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Although it was widely reported at the time that he had died during the disaster, he only suffered a minor foot injury, caused by a piece of floating furniture, while he was guiding his daughter to safety. The two were in the lobby of their hotel when the wave came ashore. According to Li, once, as a child, when the Chinese National Wushu Team went to perform for President Richard Nixon in the United States, he was asked by Nixon to be his personal bodyguard. Li replied, "I don't want to protect any individual. When I grow up, I want to defend my one billion Chinese countrymen!" which earned him much respect in his homeland. Li has been a "philanthropic ambassador" of the Red Cross Society of China since January 2006. He contributed 500,000 yuan ($62,500 USD) of box office revenues from his movie Fearless to the Red Cross' psychological sunshine project, which promotes mental health. In April of 2007, touched by his near-death experience in the Maldives during the 2004 tsunami, Li formed his own nonprofit foundation called The One Foundation. The One Foundation supports international disaster relief efforts in conjunction with the Red Cross as well as other efforts, including mental health awareness and suicide prevention. |
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