Bruce Lee
Biography
Bruce Jun Fan Lee, also known as Lee J, was born on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, California while his parents were touring with the Chinese opera. Raised in Hong Kong, he began a career as a child actor and appeared in more than twenty films. At thirteen he started studying Wing Chun gung fu under master Yip Man. He left Hong Kong at eighteen, traveled to the United States, and settled in Seattle, Washington, where he worked in a family‑friend’s restaurant. Lee enrolled at the University of Washington to study philosophy, began teaching gung fu, and opened the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. In his professional film work he is credited with seventy‑nine acting roles. He died on July 20, 1973 at age thirty‑two.
Career overview
Bruce Lee, born Bruce Jun Fan Lee on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, California, began his involvement with the screen as a child actor while his family lived in Hong Kong. By his early teens he had appeared in more than twenty films, establishing a foundation in performance that would later complement his martial‑arts reputation. His early screen work was undertaken during a period when his parents were touring with the Chinese opera, allowing him early exposure to both stage and film environments.
After leaving Hong Kong at the age of eighteen, Lee moved to the United States, eventually settling in Seattle, Washington. While pursuing a philosophy degree at the University of Washington and opening the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, he continued to act, accumulating a total of seventy‑nine credited roles across film and television according to the Motion Picture Database. His career combined his martial‑arts expertise with on‑screen presence, contributing to a body of work that spanned both his childhood years in Hong Kong and his adult years in North America. Lee’s acting legacy is recorded under the name Lee J as well as his full birth name, reflecting the breadth of his contributions to cinema before his death on July 20, 1973.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- The Final Game of Death (2023) as Hai Tien / Self (archive footage)
- Jackie Chan: Building an Icon (2021) as Self (archive footage)
- History's Greatest Mysteries (2020) as Self (archive footage)
- Be Water (2020) as Self (archival)
- Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth (2020) as Self(archive footage)
- Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks (2019) as Self (archive footage)
- Game of Death Redux (2019) as Hai Tien
- Game of Death Redux (2019) Director
- Game of Death Redux (2019) Writer
- Game of Death Redux (2019) Producer
- Game of Death Redux (2019) Fight Choreographer
- I Am (2012) as Self
- Too Young to Die (2012) as Self (archive footage)
- I Am Bruce Lee (2012) as Self (archival)
- Mentiras verdaderas (2011) as Self (archive footage)
- Epic Rap Battles of History (2010) Characters
- How Bruce Lee Changed the World (2009) as Self (archival)
- The Brilliant Life of Bruce Lee (2009) as Self (archival)
- Big Stan (2007) Thanks
- The Green Hornet (2005) as Kato
- Bruce Lee: Martial Arts Superstar (2004) as Self (archive footage)
- Blood and Steel: The Making of Enter the Dragon (2004) as Self (archival)
- The Art of Action: Martial Arts in the Movies (2002) as Self - Interviewee (archive footage)
- The Real Bruce Lee 2 (2002) as (archive footage)
- The Unbeatable Bruce Lee (2001)
- Reflections on 'the Little Dragon' (2001)
- Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000) as Self (archival)
- Bruce Lee in G.O.D. (2000) as Self (archive footage)
- Bruce Lee: Century Hero (1999) as Self (archive footage)
- Bruce Lee: The Legend Lives On (1999) as Self (archive footage)
- The Lees: Action Speaks Louder (1999) as Self (archival)
- The GREATEST : Bruce Lee (1998) as Self (archival)
- The Path of the Dragon (1998) as Self (archive footage)
- Bruce Lee: In His Own Words (1998) as self
- Cinema of Vengeance (1994) as Self (archive footage)
- Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon (1994) as Self (archival)
- The Curse of the Dragon (1993) as Self (archive footage)
- Crazy Safari (1991) as Self (archive footage)
- Death In Hollywood (1990)
- Amazing Masters of Martial Arts (1985) as Self (archive footage)
- Bruce Lee, the Legend (1984) as Self (archival)
- Game of Death II (1981) as Lee Chen-chiang (archive footage)
- Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (1980) as Bruce Lee (archive footage)
- Game of Death (1978) as Billy Lo
- Game of Death (1978) Producer
- Game of Death (1978) Writer
- Circle of Iron (1978) Story
- The Young Bruce Lee (1976)
- Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger (1976) as Self (archive footage)
- Fury of the Dragon (1976) as Kato
- The Warrior Within (1976) as Self
- La Légende du petit dragon (1975) as Self (archive footage)
- Slaughter in San Francisco (1974) Original Concept
- The Green Hornet (1974) as Kato
- Enter the Dragon (1973) as Lee
- Enter the Dragon (1973) Producer
- Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend (1973) as Self (archival)
- The Last Days of Bruce Lee (1973) as Himself (archive footage)
- Fist of Unicorn (1973)
- Fist of Unicorn (1973) Martial Arts Choreographer
- Location: Hong Kong with Enter the Dragon (1973) as Self
- Fist of Fury (1972) as Chen Zhen
- The Way of the Dragon (1972) as Tang Lung
- The Way of the Dragon (1972) Director
- The Way of the Dragon (1972) Screenplay
- The Way of the Dragon (1972) Martial Arts Choreographer
- The Way of the Dragon (1972) Producer
- The Big Boss (1971) as Cheng Chiu On
- Longstreet (1971) as Li Tsung
- Bruce Lee: The Lost Interview (1971) as Self
- Marlowe (1969) as Winslow Wong
- Marlowe (1969) Fight Choreographer
- The Wrecking Crew (1968) Technical Advisor
- Ironside (1967) as Leon Soo
- Batman (1966) as Kato
- The Green Hornet (1966) as Kato
- The Pierre Berton Show (1962) as Self
- The Orphan (1960) as Ah Sam
- Thunderstorm (1957) as Chow Chung
- Darling Girl (1957)
- Too Late for Divorce (1956) as Kai Cheung
- The Wise Guys Who Fool Around (1956) as Lee Siu Lung
- Orphan's Song (1955)
- An Orphan's Tragedy (1955) as Wong Fuk-kwan (child)
- We Owe It to Our Children (1955) as Le fils fainéant
- In the Face of Demolition (1953)
- The Guiding Light (1953) as San at 13
- A Mother's Tears (1953)
- A Myriad Homes (1953)
- The Kid (1950) as Kid Cheung
- The Birth of Mankind (1946)
- Golden Gate Girl (1941) as Baby (Uncredited)