Bolo Yeung | |
---|---|
Born | Yeung Sze July 3, 1946 Guangzhou, Guangdong, Republic of China |
Native name | 楊斯 |
Other names | Yang Si Yang Sze Chinese Hercules[1] |
Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)[2][3] |
Years active | 1970–present |
Occupation | Actor, martial artist, bodybuilder |
Children | 3 |
Yeung Sze (simplified Chinese: 杨斯; traditional Chinese: 楊斯; pinyin: Yáng Sī; Jyutping: Yeung4 Si1; born July 3, 1946[4]), better known as Bolo Yeung, is a Hong Kong former competitive bodybuilder, martial artist, and actor. Primarily known for playing villains in action and martial arts films, he is regarded as one of the most influential actors in martial arts cinema.[5]
Born in Guangzhou, Sze learnt kung fu, namely Tai chi and Wing Chun, from the age of 10. After relocating to Hong Kong to escape the famine and communism of mainland China, he developed an interest in bodybuilding and in 1970 he was crowned Mr. Hong Kong, a title he would hold for 10 years. He would become an actor and stuntman for the Shaw Brothers with notable early performances in films like The Heroic Ones (1970) and The Deadly Duo (1971). In 1973, he appeared as the henchman "Bolo" in Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, which catapulted him to international fame.[6] Throughout the 1970s and 80s he appeared in many Bruceploitation films, including The Clones of Bruce Lee (1977) and Enter the Game of Death (1978). He made his directorial debut in 1977 with the film Fists of Justice.[7]
He would later surface in the Golden Harvest action comedies of the 1980s including the Sammo Hung films My Lucky Stars (1985) and Millionaires Express (1986), and duelled with Bruce Lee's son, Brandon Lee, in the action film Legacy of Rage (1986). He gained further popularity in the West following the international success of the 1988 martial arts film Bloodsport, in which he played the villain Chong Li, opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme. His work in Hollywood also includes the 1991 films Double Impact, also opposite Van Damme, and Breathing Fire, Ironheart (1992) and work with Lebanese-Canadian filmmaker Jalal Merhi, beginning with Fearless Tiger (1991).[8]