Yeung Sze (born July 3, 1946 ), 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. 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. 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. 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).

Biography

Yeung began his martial arts training at the age of 10 in Canton, where he trained under several kung fu masters. Growing up, he took an interest in bodybuilding, and later became Mr. Hong Kong bodybuilding champion. He held the title for ten years. Because of his muscular physique, he was chosen for several bad guy roles in films produced by Shaw Brothers Studios, such as The Heroic Ones, The Deadly Duo, Angry Guest and others. Yeung met Bruce Lee while the two were filming a Winston cigarettes commercial. A friendship emerged and Lee invited him to star in Enter the Dragon, after which he became known as "Bolo", the name of the character he portrayed. The two became close friends during the filming of Enter the Dragon, during which Lee and Yeung worked very closely on technique training. Yeung once stated in an interview, many years after Lee's death, "There will never be another Bruce Lee; I am privileged to have had the honour of calling him my friend." During the 1970s and 1980s, Yeung starred in numerous martial arts films, but his breakout film was Bloodsport. Shot on a 1.5 million USD budget, it became a box office hit in the spring of 1988. Jean-Claude Van Damme had the leading role as Frank Dux, while Yeung played the role of Chong Li. A strong friendship formed between the two actors on the set of Bloodsport, and Van Damme invited Yeung to appear in his subsequent film Double Impact. Canadian action film actor, director and producer Jalal Merhi met Yeung in Hong Kong while shooting his first film Fearless Tiger, then again on the set of Double Impact. Merhi was impressed with Yeung's personality and ability, and decided to create a part specifically for him. Later Merhi worked with Yeung on more films such as Tiger Claws, TC 2000 and Tiger Claws 2. In 2007, Yeung made an appearance in Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter. Merhi directed the first 60 minutes of the film that was shot in Toronto. Due to other commitments, he could not complete the remaining part of the film in Russia. Producer Erken Ialgashev directed the remainder of the film.

Filmography