Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan are easily the two biggest martial arts movie stars, but neither is the best actor associated with the genre. Decades of martial arts movies seen the rise of multiple genre legends, including not just those two, but also Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li, and Donnie Yen, to name a few.
At some point or another, each has had an opportunity to demonstrate their prowess in both martial arts and sheer acting ability. They’ve all had their moments, and have contributed significantly to the history of the genre, enough to rank among the greatest martial arts stars of all time.
Impressively, Bruce Lee achieved pop culture icon status within just four films, whereas Jackie Chan earned it through legions of memorable performances and the cultivation of an image unique to him. Both have a claim to be the genre’s top star, but it’s another name who deserves to be classified as its greatest “actor.”
Lo Lieh Could Play Almost Any Role In The Martial Arts Movie Genre
No martial arts star had a greater abundance of acting talent than Lo Lieh. Known primarily for the films he made in the 1970s and the 1980s, Lo Lieh was an Indonesian actor who worked for Shaw Brothers and several independent studios, making a long list of old-school kung fu movies throughout his storied career in the industry.
In this time, he appeared in – quite literally – more than 200 martial arts films. The size of Lo Lieh’s filmography can be attributed at least partially to the amazing range he had as an actor. Lo proved time and time again that there were few roles in martial arts movies (if any) that he couldn’t handle.
In the early 1970s, Lo Lieh established himself as a male lead at Shaw Brothers, playing the heroic main character in a multitude of quality kung fu films. But Lo also proved early on that he was equally adept at playing antagonists. Heading into the late 1970s, Lo found himself playing more and more villainous roles, that were usually – but not always – “the big bad” of the story.
The types of villains he played varied too. Lo Lieh was at his most menacing when playing the evil, seemingly unbeatable kung fu master, ala his role in Clan of the White Lotus. But Lo was also proficient in playing other types of antagonists, whether it was an egotistical bully or a manipulative traitor.
Plus, he could do comedic relief when the need arose. This aspect of his skillset wasn’t often on display, but was utilized in some of his films, one example of that being the character he played in Rendezvous With Death in 1980.
No Martial Arts Actor Has Come Close To Lo Lieh’s Remarkable Acting Range
Lo Lieh’s amazing range was underscored by comments that celebrated director Quentin Tarantino made on an episode of the Pure Cinema Podcast. As Tarantino correctly pointed out, Lo was exceptionally talented when it came to transforming himself into a character via makeup.
Lo was constantly playing characters of ages and ethnicities different from his own. Lo could easily morph from a young Chinese hero in one movie into an old, white-haired leader of a sinister kung fu sect, a member of a Japanese gang or even a Mongolian invader. Despite the massive scope of the roles he was tasked with playing, it’s hard to find a situation where he seemed miscast.
Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Bruce Lee are all phenomenal martial arts stars, but the variety of the roles they played doesn’t compare to Lo Lieh’s acting credits. Chan, for his part, had a knack for a specific style of acting, and rarely went against that formula because it worked for him. And Bruce Lee’s movie characters are all admittedly indistinguishable.
Lo Lieh Had A Heavy Hand In Some Of The Greatest Martial Arts Movies Ever Made
Further strengthening Lo Lieh’s legacy in the martial arts genre is the number of great movies and fight scenes he’s been responsible for. Lo Lieh’s involvement in The Chinese Boxer as a Japanese karate expert speaks volumes about his significance to the genre’s history, given that the film is the first true martial arts movie.
Furthermore, Lo Lieh starred as the lead in the extremely influential Five Fingers of Death, the first kung fu movie to become an international success (preceding Enter the Dragon). Lo Lieh also played “the final boss” opposite Gordon Liu in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, a Shaw Brothers film widely credited as one of the best old-school kung fu movies ever made.
There’s also his epic, beautifully coordinated rematch with Liu in Clan of the White Lotus; Lo’s role in the movie helped popularize the white-haired master archetype of the the 1970s and 1980s.
In additional to the all-time great kung fu movies he participated in, he also starred or co-starred in dozens of worthy entries into the genre, including Executioners of Shaolin, Fist of Fury Part II, Mad Monkey Kung Fu, and the incredible martial arts ensemble, Five Shaolin Masters.