Biography
A Hung Gar stylist, this lean, mean, fighting machine was a part of the director Chang Cheh's stable of fighters in the early to mid 70's. Like Dragon Lee and Lo Mang (of the Venoms), he had great upper body definition, which only enhanced his screen presence. Though he's played in some Comedic films, comedy is not his thing, as he seems to be more at home with just beating the hell out of you. Doesn’t smile that much, which is probably where he got the nickname “Stone Face” from. Yet, when he does smile, someone was [usually] stabbing him with a knife or something, as he’s let his guard down.
When he's doing a Shaolin form, you'll be watching a master at work. The form he does at the beginning of Heroes 2 was an excellent display of his skills. Yet, in such films as Shaolin Martial Arts, The 4 Assassins, and Bloody Avengers we get to see him in top form. Chang molded him and Fu Sheng as a team, similar to David Chiang and Ti Lung. He usually played the elder kung-fu brother, with the level head, as opposed to Fu's carefree child-like rascal. Their chemistry together was unbelievable, and they'd go on to star in a number of films.
Some of my favorite films with them were Disciples Of Shaolin, 5 Masters Of Death, and Death Chamber. After leaving Shaw Brothers, he would find work with Independent companies before acquiring a film company himself - Champion Films. His company put out a few films like Ways Of Kung Fu and The Big Rascal, which were pretty decent films, but like many film companies owned by actors, his didn't fare very well in the long run. Other films to his credit were Eagle's Claws, Green Jade Statuette, and Shaolin Red Master both starring Tommy Lee, as the lead villain.
Independently, he's starred in a number of films that seemed to waste his talents such as Iron Neck Li and Yoga and the Kung Fu Girl, while he could have been bring us more top-notched action films along the lines of Crazy Horse, Intelligent Monkey, Showdown At The Cottonmill, and 2 Heroes, Shooting Stars. I read a long time ago, that Wang Lung-Wei said that he didn't like him, and went so far as to call him, stupid. Away from Shaw Brothers, his films fared much better than Wang's and this may have been the problem. Yet, looking back, I think all of this was just gossip, used to sell magazines.
Independently, he's starred in a number of films that seemed to waste his talents such as Iron Neck Li and Yoga and the Kung Fu Girl, while he could have been bring us more top-notched action films along the lines of Crazy Horse, Intelligent Monkey, Showdown At The Cottonmill, and 2 Heroes, Shooting Stars. I read a long time ago, that Wang Lung-Wei said that he didn't like him, and went so far as to call him, stupid. Away from Shaw Brothers, his films fared much better than Wang's and this may have been the problem. Yet, looking back, I think all of this was just gossip, used to sell magazines.
His time at the studio, Chang gave him star-making roles, while Wang's roles were always similiar to the other villains around him. Remember Flash: Future Kung Fu? Now, compare that to Eagle Fist, The Big Rascal, Golden Mask, or anything that Chi Kuan-Chun did after leaving Shaw Brothers. You get the picture. In all, he was a pretty good actor, who possessed some dynamic fighting skills and had a much bigger career, than many before (and after) him.