Who are your favorite Martial Arts Actors?

[Aaron]

I thought this might be a nice topic. I've gotten into Martial Arts movies over the last few months watching one or two a night, some have been horribly corny, others really great. I thought I'd share my top five and add a poll just to see what others thought.

 

1. Bruce Lee- I know what some of you are saying, "how cliche." Well go ahead and say that, but the truth is, no martial artist on the face of the Earth has been more responsible for bringing martial arts to western society than Bruce Lee has. Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco in 1940, his father was Chinese, his mother half-Chinese and half-caucasian. He was a phenomenal martial artist, who understand showmanship and style. Remarkably fast, he was trained in Wushu by Ip Man, but after a year into his training, the other students found out his mother was half-caucasian and refused to train with him, because of the Chinese unwritten ban on teaching martial arts to foreigners. Ip Man continued to train Bruce in private though. This would be a recurring theme in Lee's life, his mixed heritage coming back to haunt him time and time again. Today most people don't know about it, they only know he was a phenomenal martial artist, but in reality he was a fighter in every aspect of his life, being one of the first Chinese to teach martial arts to westerners, even after being told to stop by the Chinese community. His filmography is well known, but sometimes the myths and reality get mixed up, regardless, Bruce Lee is the most famous and perhaps the most talented Martial Arts actor of all time.

 

2. Donnie Yen- Why Donnie Yen as number two? I'm not entirely sure, but I think it has something to do with Donnie's attitude and the way he portrays his characters. Yen genuinely seems to be a nice guy and that comes out in his performances. It doesn't hurt that he is probably the fastest Martial Artist in China right now, some say even quicker than Bruce Lee was. He's proficient in numerous styles, but he's most known for bringing Wushu to the masses, studying under Ip Chun, the son of Ip Man, Bruce Lee's Master, in order to play the part of Ip Man in the movie of the same name. Yen was born in Hong Kong in 1963, but moved to Boston when he was eleven. He learned martial arts from his mother, Bow-yin Mark, who is a Fu-style Wudangquan Grandmaster. (Wudangquan is the Taoist style of Kung Fu from the Wu Dang Monasteries). He's turning 50 this year, so he's not a spring chicken anymore, but it doesn't seem to be slowing him down, he's the highest paid actor (not just action star) in China. Oh yeah, he's also a classically trained musician (taught by his mother again.)

 

3. Michelle Yeoh- What the heck? Michelle Yeoh? Really? Yes really. Not only is she a phenomenal martial artist, Yeoh is also a very talented actress, even being nominated for an Oscar for her role in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Having sprung to stardom overnight in the west, after her role in the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies", Yeoh was actually an accomplished and respected actress in the Hong Kong film industry for nearly a decade prior. With a fluid style and remarkable form, she is definitely a top-notch martial artist. Now before you go thinking I added her to the number three position to appease the feminists among us, that's not why at all, rather it's because she is such a phenomenal actress, with remarkable skill as a martial artist. She has a lengthy filmography that backs up these statements and my choice. Definitely worthy of number three in my opinion.

 

4. Jet Li- Oh Jet, where art thou? Well apparently nearly everywhere these days. Aside from Jackie Chan, Jet's one of the most bankable martial arts actors in Hollywood. He's another quick martial artist, known for his lightning speed. Although his acting suffered a bit early in his career, he has blossomed into a magnificent performer, with several powerful roles. A few that come to mind are "Fearless" and "Hero". I think it would be hard creating a top five list without including Jet Li... don't you?

 

5. Jackie Chan- Okay, Jackie's not the best actor in the world, but he's damn fun to watch. With a charismatic personality and skill as a martial artist honed in Chinese Opera, he's certainly one of the most entertaining actors out there. Will he ever win an Oscar? Probably not, but he makes you laugh. He has skill as a martial artist too, remember he's been practicing in the Chinese Opera since childhood. He's also helped to popularize Martial Arts worldwide for the last two decades. Ask any child who the best martial artist in the world is and most likely they'll say Jackie Chan (okay, some will say Bruce Lee, but still). Even though he's not the best actor, he's worthy of the number five spot.

 

Honorable mentions- Sammo Hung, Andy Lau, and Tony Jaa.

 

Anyways, those are my top five... pretty standard I know. I wouldn't mind hearing your choices though. Lots of great actors to choose from, especially if you don't mind watching subtitles.

 

Aaron

Edited April 15, 2012 by Twinner

[C T]

For me, the guy with the juice is Donnie!!

 

Hey, how come Yuen Biao's not on the list?

[Trunk]

I have "Wing Chun" starring Michele Yeoh. Also "Tai Chi Master" starring Jet Li and Michele Yeoh. Both I re-watch occasionally. I like the ones w/ the humor mixed in, the women and the men both funny and impressive martially. I think that one of the same women who plays a supporting role in Wing Chun also plays Jackie Chan's mother/aunt? in one of the Drunken Master movies ... which is stunningly classic and funny. ... geez! the sword against spear fight while both are crouched under a train!!! :o

 

 

(Didn't really answer your OP, hope you don't mind )

[doc benway]

Out of that list, my favorites would be Michelle Yeoh and Stephen Chow, though Chow more for his directing and writing in addition to acting alone.

[Protector]

Sammo Hung was awesome in the Magnificent Butcher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMOu_ZCfRTQ

 

edit:Magnificent* eh should have slept longer

Edited April 15, 2012 by Sinfest

[C T]

This is one thriller of a fight... why i picked Donnie Yen:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAP4DmiaCxc

[Friend]

Yuen Siu Tien, the Drunken Master already left 1979 his body. He

inspired much for Martial Arts.The Movie teaching me that maybe things look strange and odd they can be very effective and that there are those who follow the big school are not necessary are good Martial Artist. He had influence as Jacky Chan and Bruce Lee which I also watched not move my heart- entertaining.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuen_Siu-tien

[dwai]

I first got a taste of martial arts movies when i was in first grade....back then there were pratically no hollywood movies in india and the chinese movies were the only other choice besides the bollywood melodramatic fare.

 

My dad loved to watch martial arts movies Nd he took me to watch the 36th chamber of shaolin...starring gordon liu. There were some great movies in those days...10 brothers from shaolin, the shogun's ninja, snake in the monkey's shadow etc.

 

Id get fever watching these movies...i mean real high fever. Dunno why....im sure i made my dad feel guilty...but id insist on watching...

 

Most of these i believe were from teh shaw brothers' studio in hong kong. Any how, gordon liu, bruce lee and donnie yen off late.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lrDdfybFhw

Edited April 15, 2012 by dwai

[RiverSnake]

Ahh man you guys missed my favorite: Jack Black!

 

[Dainin]

Hello Twinner,

 

I'd recommend that you get more historical context by viewing as many Shaw Brothers productions from the 1960s and 70s as you can. Also view some of the classic Japanese samurai movies, which not only had good martial arts (primary swordsmanship) but were brilliant film-making as well.

 

Here are some of my favorites that I would add to the list:

 

Toshiro Mifune (star of many Kurosawa classics, as well as the great "Samurai Rebellion")

 

Gordon Liu (star of "36th Chamber of Shaolin", see above)

 

Tomisaburo Wakayama (star of the "Shogun Assasin" series, very bloody but entertaining)

 

Chang Pei Pei (she was the "old witch" in "Crouching Tiger" but starred in "Come Drink with Me" and "Golden Swallow" when young)

 

Alexander Fu Sheng (one of the "Five Deadly Venoms")

 

David Chiang and Ti Lung: these guys were in many good Shaw Brothers movies between the time of Bruce Lee and the emergence of Jackie Chan.

 

I think that you'll have fun viewing this stuff. Enjoy!

[C T]

Hello Twinner,

 

I'd recommend that you get more historical context by viewing as many Shaw Brothers productions from the 1960s and 70s as you can. Also view some of the classic Japanese samurai movies, which not only had good martial arts (primary swordsmanship) but were brilliant film-making as well.

 

Here are some of my favorites that I would add to the list:

 

Toshiro Mifune (star of many Kurosawa classics, as well as the great "Samurai Rebellion")

 

Gordon Liu (star of "36th Chamber of Shaolin", see above)

 

Tomisaburo Wakayama (star of the "Shogun Assasin" series, very bloody but entertaining)

 

Chang Pei Pei (she was the "old witch" in "Crouching Tiger" but starred in "Come Drink with Me" and "Golden Swallow" when young)

 

Alexander Fu Sheng (one of the "Five Deadly Venoms")

 

David Chiang and Ti Lung: these guys were in many good Shaw Brothers movies between the time of Bruce Lee and the emergence of Jackie Chan.

 

I think that you'll have fun viewing this stuff. Enjoy!

Seeing this list made me all nostalgic....

 

I think the classic of classical sword-fighting movies must be the One-Armed Swordsman with Jimmy Wang Yu. Remember him, Dainin?

 

[Dainin]

Yeah, the "One-Armed Swordsman" was amazing, and the sequel might be even better.

 

Wang Yu also played a one-armed martial arts teacher in the incredible "Master of the Flying Guillotine."

 

I also forgot to mention Lo Lieh, star of the first martial arts movie that I ever saw in a movie theater when I was about 9 or 10, "Five Fingers of Death." I saw this again (on DVD) a few years ago for the first time since then. It was even better than I remembered. It is known as "King Boxer" on DVD.

[dwai]

Hello Twinner,

 

I'd recommend that you get more historical context by viewing as many Shaw Brothers productions from the 1960s and 70s as you can. Also view some of the classic Japanese samurai movies, which not only had good martial arts (primary swordsmanship) but were brilliant film-making as well.

 

Here are some of my favorites that I would add to the list:

 

Toshiro Mifune (star of many Kurosawa classics, as well as the great "Samurai Rebellion")

 

Gordon Liu (star of "36th Chamber of Shaolin", see above)

 

Tomisaburo Wakayama (star of the "Shogun Assasin" series, very bloody but entertaining)

 

Chang Pei Pei (she was the "old witch" in "Crouching Tiger" but starred in "Come Drink with Me" and "Golden Swallow" when young)

 

Alexander Fu Sheng (one of the "Five Deadly Venoms")

 

David Chiang and Ti Lung: these guys were in many good Shaw Brothers movies between the time of Bruce Lee and the emergence of Jackie Chan.

 

I think that you'll have fun viewing this stuff. Enjoy!

 

Toshiro mifune also starred as miyamoto musashi iinm. Great stuff...

Kurosawa samurai novies were masterpieces. Its funny we only think of chinese/hk movies when we consider the martial arts genre...

 

The thai movies are pretty good too...tony jaa is impressive....

 

I actually liked the old seagal movies...tats how i got to know aikido first.

 

Btw i read that sammo hung is actually a taiji practitioner...sad he never made any taiji movies...

Edited April 16, 2012 by dwai

[Harmonious Emptiness]

#1. The Zatoichi series, starring Shintaro Katsu, could still watch more and I must have watched about a dozen of them. The cinematography being a huge advantage, but also the character development and coolness of the Blind Swordsman.

 

Toshiro Mifune and Bruce Lee tied at second for me.

 

The Wu Tang series would be up there for entertainment value if not for the ridiculous overdubs .

[C T]

What about this guy Chen Hung Lieh, http://hkmdb.com/db/people/image_detail.mhtml?id=3364&image_id=103458&display_set=eng Villain of villains... i think in those days, people were actually as excited when they hear he will be appearing to play the villain in a movie! (doesnt he resemble some contemporary hollywood actor? Think Matrix!)

 

 

My first visits to the cinema, back in the late 60s, was to watch a series of Wong Fei Hung movies played by this man http://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=1391&display_set=eng ... aaah, my very first martial arts hero...

 

[Aaron]

Hello Twinner,

 

I'd recommend that you get more historical context by viewing as many Shaw Brothers productions from the 1960s and 70s as you can. Also view some of the classic Japanese samurai movies, which not only had good martial arts (primary swordsmanship) but were brilliant film-making as well.

 

Here are some of my favorites that I would add to the list:

 

Toshiro Mifune (star of many Kurosawa classics, as well as the great "Samurai Rebellion")

 

Gordon Liu (star of "36th Chamber of Shaolin", see above)

 

Tomisaburo Wakayama (star of the "Shogun Assasin" series, very bloody but entertaining)

 

Chang Pei Pei (she was the "old witch" in "Crouching Tiger" but starred in "Come Drink with Me" and "Golden Swallow" when young)

 

Alexander Fu Sheng (one of the "Five Deadly Venoms")

 

David Chiang and Ti Lung: these guys were in many good Shaw Brothers movies between the time of Bruce Lee and the emergence of Jackie Chan.

 

I think that you'll have fun viewing this stuff. Enjoy!

 

Thanks for the advice. I actually watched a lot of martial arts movies in the late 70s on TV as a boy. Every Saturday they had Kung Fu theater on Channel 44, which my father loved to watch, so my brothers and sisters and I. watched it with him. I also watched most of Kurosawa's works (Seven Samurai being one of my favorite movies period). I'll check out some of the movies you've recommended, but there's a good chance I watched them years ago.

 

I think the newer movies are easier to watch, if for no other reasons than the dialogue is better, they're less melodramatic, and they tend to be subtitled. I hate the dubbing of movies. It's funny, I don't mind dubbed anime so much, but dubbed movies drives me nuts.

 

AAron

[Protector]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN5aVLJ66Rg

[Harmonious Emptiness]

This is one thriller of a fight... why i picked Donnie Yen:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAP4DmiaCxc

 

This song comes to my head when I watch that scene

 

[Aaron]

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=pN5aVLJ66Rg

 

Did I say that I like Jackie Chan yet? Doesn't he seem like a genuinely nice guy? I don't think I've ever seen an interview of him where he isn't smiling. Must be doing something right, of course I'm sure all the money doesn't hurt either.

 

Aaron

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Did I say that I like Jackie Chan yet? Doesn't he seem like a genuinely nice guy? I don't think I've ever seen an interview of him where he isn't smiling. Must be doing something right, of course I'm sure all the money doesn't hurt either.

 

Aaron

 

Agreed. I was going to mention him for coreography, taking the comedic fight sequence thing from the past, but adding an unprecedented level of creativity and insane stunts!

[GreytoWhite]

Sammo has been my favorite for years. I used to watch this monster.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163949/

[Protector]

Sammo has been my favorite for years. I used to watch this monster.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163949/

 

OMG I REMEMBER THIS ONE

[Ya Mu]

Sammo has been my favorite for years. I used to watch this monster.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163949/

I always have thought he was very good.

My mom, who was the last person one would have thought to enjoy martial arts of any kind, and who really knew nothing of it, had the TV show he starred in as her very favorite for its whole duration. Can't remember the name of it.

[Cameron]

Jet Li is the man.

 

I visited Tianjin a couple weeks ago. If you ever saw the movie Fearless it's based in Tianjin.

 

Awesome movie with an awesome message..

Edited April 18, 2012 by Cameron

[C T]

just remembered another two martial arts 'heroes' i used to love to watch:

 

Ti Lung and David Chiang:

 

Edited April 18, 2012 by C T