When Yuan Wah was interviewed by reporters, he talked about the two most important partners in his life. He said:The two most important partners in my life are Bruce Lee and Stephen Chow. Bruce Lee made me famous in Hongkong, and Stephen Chow gave me food in the most difficult time.
Then Yuan Wah sighed with a little regret: Bruce Lee just left too early
Indeed, as a member of the "Seven Little Happiness" in Hong Kong, although Yuan Wah’s achievements are not as good as those of his big brothers Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, his popularity is not inferior to that of the two. Yuan Wah is also one of the few Hong Kong action actors, and his martial arts are unique. Unlike Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, Yuan Wah’s martial arts are light and elegant, coupled with his thin and strong body, so he was later selected as body double in Bruce Lee.
In the 1970s, Kung Fu movies exploded in Hong Kong, which was largely due to Bruce Lee. From "Big Brother in Tangshan" to later films such as Jingwumen and Crossing the River, Bruce Lee brought China Kung Fu with him and spread it all over the world.
At that time, Yuan Wah was only an ordinary "Dragon and Tiger Martial Master" in Hong Kong. In 1972, the film "Jingwumen" started shooting in Hong Kong. As a group performance, Yuan Wah played his first screen role, a Japanese who pointed at Bruce Lee and kept mocking. Although Yuan Wah was only 20 years old at that time, his acting skills were really good, especially after wearing kimono, which made the audience feel disgusted without makeup.
It is precisely because of this play that Bruce Lee is very fond of Yuan Wah. At that time, it was not easy for the film circle to find an actor with both acting skills and kung fu. So a few years later, Bruce Lee filmed the film enter the dragon and invited him to be his own body double.
Yuan Wah is known as the king of somersaults in the "Seven Little Blessings", and his specialty is somersaults, which is also Bruce Lee’s shortcoming. Because his martial arts pays more attention to actual combat, Bruce Lee rarely somersaults and his movements are not so beautiful, so in most movies, as long as it is a somersault scene, Yuan Wah basically does it for him.
Because of frequent contact, Bruce Lee and Yuan Wah almost became friends. When they were resting on the set, they often exchanged countless experiences. Bruce Lee once taught Yuan Wah some martial arts moves privately, and the other party mastered them quickly, and even used them to sneak attack Bruce Lee soon.
Once, after Yuan Wah finished filming, he attacked Bruce Lee from the back on the set and saved the other’s thigh. I didn’t expect Bruce Lee’s reaction to be very rapid, so he subconsciously waved his fist out. If he didn’t stop in time, Yuan Wah’s ribs were estimated to be broken. After seeing the sneak attack, Bruce Lee immediately warned Yuan Wah.Don’t joke like this again.
Because anyone who practices martial arts for a long time has an instinctive reaction, even out of the control of his brain. Sometimes, if he is attacked, his body will react automatically, which is likely to hurt others.
After the film was finished, Bruce Lee and Yuan Wah met for the last time at the airport. The other side attached great importance to Yuan Wah’s future and invited him to Hollywood. Unfortunately, no one expected that just one year later, Bruce Lee died suddenly in Hong Kong at the age of 32.
Some people say that if Bruce Lee had not passed away, Yuan Wah’s development today might have been better than Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung’s, or at least it would not have fallen into a situation where there was almost no drama to shoot later. However, for Yuan Wah, it was a rare experience to be able to get in touch with Bruce Lee and become friends with each other. At least Stephen Chow had been envious of Yuan Wah’s work in body double, Bruce Lee.
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