Brandon Lee

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This article is about the actor. For other uses, see  Brandon Lee (disambiguation).

Brandon Lee

李國豪

Lee in 1992

Born Brandon Bruce Lee

February 1, 1965

Oakland, California, U.S.

Died March 31, 1993 (aged 28)

Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.

Burial place Lake View Cemetery, Seattle,

Washington, U.S.

Nationality American

Occupation Actor, martial artist, fight

 choreographer

Years active 1985–1993

Partner(s) Eliza Hutton (1990–1993)

Parents  Bruce Lee (father)

 Linda Lee Cadwell (mother)

Family Shannon Lee (sister)

Chinese name

Traditional Chinese 李國豪

Simplified Chinese 李国豪

showTranscriptions

Signature

Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor and martial artist. He
was the only son of martial artist and film star Bruce Lee. As a child from visiting his father's sets, who at
the time was a major martial arts film leading man, Lee developed the desire to become an actor. Lee
was 8 years old when his father died, becoming an iconic figure of both the art and the film genre he
specialized in. Lee pursued his goal of being a thespian, he then studied the craft at the Emerson
College and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Wanting to escape his father's image to
become a dramatic actor, Lee figured that acting in action-oriented films would eventually lead him to
other types of roles. After a stint doing local theater, Lee made his screen debut opposite David
Carradine in the 1986 ABC's television film Kung Fu: The Movie, a spin-off of the 1970s television
series Kung Fu, where he received second billing and starred in his first leading role in Ronny Yu's Hong
Kong action film Legacy of Rage that same year.

Shortly after, on television, Lee played a lead in the pilot Kung Fu: The Next Generation (1987), guest-
starred in an episode of the television series Ohara (1988). Following this, Lee was the lead in the low
budget action film Laser Mission (1989), the US direct to video release of it proved to be financially
successful. In the 1990s, he started working with major Hollywood studios and his first American
theatrical release was the Warner Bros' buddy cop action film Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), directed
by Mark L. Lester and co-starring Dolph Lundgren. By critics described it as an overwhelmingly silly
action film and didn't like it upon release, but found appreciation in retrospect for that same reason.
This was followed by the leading role in Dwight H. Little's Rapid Fire (1992) produced by 20th Century
Fox, where Lee also did the fight choreography. While some critics liked the film, most felt the script was
too simple, however almost all described Lee to be charismatic, in a slick Hollywood action film.

In 1992, he landed his most notable role as Eric Draven in Alex Proyas's The Crow (1994), based on the
comic book of the same name, which would be his final film. On March 31, 1993, only a few days away
from completing the film, Lee was accidentally killed after being shot on the set by a prop gun. Later,
production resumed with the blessing of Lee's family. With very few scenes to film, The Crow was
completed by re-writing the script, using early CGI technology and stunt doubles. It is generally well-
reviewed and known to demonstrate Lee's dramatic abilities. It was a commercial success and is now
considered a cult classic. Many saw parallels between Lee and his father comparing their careers as
action film leading men who died young, prior to the release of their breakthrough film.

Contents

 1Early life

 2Career

o 2.11985 to 1990: Early roles

o 2.21991 to 1993: Hollywood breakthrough and accidental death

o 2.31994: Posthumous success

 3Death

 4Legacy

 5Personal life

 6Martial arts and philosophy

 7Filmography

 8Awards and nominations

 9References

 10Work cited

 11Further reading

 12External links
Early life[edit]

Brandon and his father Bruce Lee c. 1966

Brandon was born on February 1, 1965, in Oakland, California, the son of martial artist and actor Bruce
Lee and Linda Lee Cadwell (née Emery). The family moved to Los Angeles, California, when he was three
months old. From a young age, Lee learned martial arts from his father, who at the time was a major
martial arts movie star. While visiting his sets Brandon developed a desire to act. [1] The family lived
in Hong Kong from 1971 to 1973, after which his mother moved back to the United States following the
death of his father, who became the epitome of the style of film he made, and the sport he practiced.

The bulk of Lee's martial arts instruction came from one of his father's top students, Dan Inosanto. Lee
started studying with him between the ages of nine and ten. [2] During his upbringing, Lee also trained
with Richard Bustillo and Jeff Imada.[3][4][5]

In his teens, Lee had a difficult time and eventually rebelled. He attended high school at the Chadwick
School, where he was asked to leave for insubordination—more specifically, driving down the school's
hill backward. He briefly attended Bishop Montgomery High School, located in Torrance, from 1979 to
1980.[6]

He received his GED in 1983 at the age of 18, and then went to Emerson College in Boston,
Massachusetts, where he majored in theater. That same year, while struggling with his identity, he
stopped training in martial arts.[7] Under the guidance of Inosanto and others, Lee eventually resumed
his training.[8][9][2][10]

After one year, Lee moved to New York City, where he took acting lessons at the famed Lee Strasberg
Theatre and Film Institute. After his studies, Lee did local theater, joined the Eric Morris American New
Theatre, and acted in the play Full fed beast by John Lee Hancock.[11][12][7]

Career[edit]
1985 to 1990: Early roles[edit]

Lee returned to Los Angeles in 1985, where he worked as a script reader. Some time after, he was asked
to audition for a role by casting director Lyn Stalmaster and got his first credited acting role in Kung Fu:
The Movie.[13] It was a feature-length television movie that was a follow-up to the 1970s television
series Kung Fu, with David Carradine returning as the lead.[14] In the film, the show's hero, Kwai Chang
Caine (Carradine), is forced to fight his hitherto unknown son, Chung Wang (Lee). [15] It aired on ABC on
February 1, 1986, which was also Lee's 21st birthday. [16] Lee said that he felt there was some justice in
being cast for this role in his first feature, since the TV show's pilot had been conceived for his father.
[17]
 Lee got his first leading film role later that year in the Hong Kong action crime thriller Legacy of
Rage in which he starred alongside Michael Wong, Regina Kent and Bolo Yeung in a small role. In the
film Lee plays the character of Brandon Ma who is a regular young man who works two jobs to support
his life with his girlfriend May (Kent) and to save up to buy his dream of motorcycle. His best friend,
Michael Wan (Wong), is an ambitious and murderous drug dealer who eventually blames one of his
crimes on him. Ma is sent to jail and vows vengeance on Wan. [18] Made in Cantonese and directed
by Ronny Yu, it was the only film Lee made in Hong Kong. He was also nominated for a Hong Kong Film
Award for Best New Performer in this role.[19] In May of the following year, it was a critical success at
the Cannes Film Festival and commercial one in Japan.[20] On the 16th of July, the film got his cinematic
release in the Philippines by Pioneer Releasing, under the title of Dragon Blood.[21] The film was number
one in the country for its first five days and became a local success. [22][23] At one point between its
original release and the making of Lee's first lead an American Studio film the action thriller Rapid
Fire (1992), producer Robert Lawrence screened Legacy of Rage and saw Lee's potential to be an action
leading man in Hollywood, which led to their collaboration. [24] After Lee's passing in 1993, in the US the
film was released directly to Home media in 1998 and 1999 in Australia. [19] The Hong Kong action film is
described to be a stylistic, fast-paced, with a good performance by Lee. [25] While some didn't think it was
up to par with Lee's final film, also considered it to be a good and his best genre film.[26][27][28]

In 1987, Lee starred in the unsold television pilot Kung Fu: The Next Generation. It aired on CBS Summer
Playhouse, a program that specialized in rejected pilots and allowed the audience to call in to vote for a
show to be picked up as a series.[29][30] It was another follow-up to the Kung Fu TV series. In this film, the
story moved to the present day, and centered on the story of the grandson and the great-grandson
Johnny Caine (Lee) of Kwai Chang Caine. [31] While his father uses his fighting abilities to assist people in
need, Johnny Caine choose the life of crime. Once caught doing a robbery, Johnny's father takes him in
custody and tries to rehabilitate him, but he is tempted to go back to his mischievous ways. The pilot
was poorly received and did not win the CBS Summer Playhouse contest to be an outgoing series.[32][33]

On January 23, 1988, Lee played a role in the episode What's in a name of the American television
series Ohara starring Pat Morita.[34] That same year the action film Laser Mission was announced.[35] Shot
mostly in South Africa it was his first English-language film. It co-starred Ernest Borgnine who shot his
scenes with him in Namibia.[36] The plot concerns a mercenary named Michael Gold (Lee) who is sent to
convince Dr. Braun (Borgnine), a Laser specialist, to defect to the United States before the KGB acquires
him and uses both his talent to create a nuclear weapon. [37][38] In the United States the film was released
on home video in 1990 by Turner Home Entertainment, and was a financial success.[39][40] The film is
generally panned by critics with a few finding it to be an amusing action B movie.[41][42][43][44][45]

Somewhere between 1984 and 1990, Lee and his mother had a meeting with Marvel CEO Margaret
Loesch through comic book writer Stan Lee (no relation). Stan Lee felt that Brandon would be ideal for
the casting of super-hero Shang-Chi in a film or television adaptation of his adventures. [46][47]

1991 to 1993: Hollywood breakthrough and accidental death[edit]

In 1991, he starred opposite Dolph Lundgren in the buddy cop action film Showdown in Little Tokyo. This
marked his first studio film and his first American theatrical release. Lee signed a multi-picture deal
with 20th Century Fox in 1991. In the film Lee plays Johnny Murata, a Japanese American cop who is
partnered with sergeant named Kenner (Lundgren) working in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. The two are
sent to infiltrate the operations of new Japanese drug gang named the Iron Claw who are manufacturing
illegal drugs.[48][49] Upon release, the movie faced largely negative reviews from critics. [50][51][52][53]
[54]
 However, some retrospective critics find it to be entertaining for its genre. [55][56][57]

Filmed between 1990 and 1993, Lee was among the cameos in the Swedish genre film Sex, Lögner och
Videovåld (2002) that also included Mel Brooks, and other Swedish personalities. [58] The film was
completed in 2000.[59] During this time Lee was asked to play his father in the bio-pic Dragon: The Bruce
Lee Story (1993). Lee turned it down finding it awkward to play his dad, and too strange to approach the
romance between his parents.[12]

In 1992, he had his first starring role in the action thriller Rapid Fire, directed by Dwight H. Little and co-
starring Powers Boothe and Nick Mancuso. Lee plays a student who witnesses a murder and is put under
a witness protection programme. Lee was reportedly in talks with 20th Century Fox about making two
more sequels. Many of the fight scenes were orchestrated by Lee, which contain elements of his
father Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do fighting style.[60] Most critics didn't like the film, however many of them
found Lee to be charismatic.[61][62][63][64][65][66] More lenient critics found Rapid Fire to be slick, well acted,
and a serviceable action film.[67][68][69]

Also that year, Lee landed the lead role in the film adaptation of Alex Proyas' The Crow based on a
popular underground comic book. The film tells the story of Eric Draven (Lee), a rock musician who is
revived from the dead by a supernatural crow to avenge his own death as well as the rape and murder
of his fiancée by a dangerous gang in his city. [70] Lee was accidentally wounded on set during filming by
defective blank ammunition and later died in the hospital during surgery. [71] After Lee's death, his fiancée
and his mother supported director Alex Proyas' decision to complete The Crow. At the time of Lee's
death, only eight days were left before completion of the movie. A majority of the film had already been
completed with Lee, and he was only required to shoot scenes for three more days. To complete the
film, stunt double Chad Stahelski, served as a stand-in; special effects were used to give him Lee's face.
[72][8]
 Another stunt double, Jeff Cadiente, was also used to complete Lee's unfinished scenes for the
movie.[73]

1994: Posthumous success[edit]

In 1994, The Crow opened at number one in the United States in 1,573 theaters with $11,774,332 and
averaging $7,485 per theater.[74] The film ultimately grossed $50,693,129, above its $23 million budget.
It ranked at #24 for all films released in the US in 1994 and 10 for R-rated films released that year. It was
the most successful film of Lee's short career, and is also considered a cult classic. [75][76][77] The film was
also a success overseas.[78][79][80][81] The Crow has an approval rating of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes based on
55 reviews. The critical consensus states: "Filled with style and dark, lurid energy, The Crow is an action-
packed visual feast that also has a soul in the performance of the late Brandon Lee." [82] The film also has
a score of 71 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 14 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".
[83]
 Reviewers praised the action and visual style. [84][85] Rolling Stone called it a "dazzling fever dream of a
movie"; Caryn James, writing for The New York Times, called it "a genre film of a high order, stylish and
smooth"; and Roger Ebert called it "a stunning work of visual style". [85][86][87] The Los Angeles
Times praised the film also.[88][89] Lee's death was alleged to have a melancholic effect on viewers; Desson
Howe of The Washington Post wrote that Lee "haunts every frame" and James Berardinelli called the
film "a case of 'art imitating death', and that specter will always hang over The Crow".[84][85][90] Berardinelli
called it an appropriate epitaph to Lee, Howe called it an appropriate sendoff, and Ebert stated that not
only was this Lee's best film, but it was better than any of his father's (Bruce Lee).[84][85][90]

Death[edit]

On March 31, 1993, Lee was filming a scene in The Crow where his character is shot and killed by thugs.
[91]
 In the scene, Lee's character walks into his apartment and discovers his fiancée being beaten and
raped. Actor Michael Massee's character fires a Smith & Wesson Model 629 .44 Magnum revolver at Lee
as he walks into the room.[92] A previous scene using the same gun had called for inert dummy
cartridges (with no powder or primer) to be loaded in the revolver for a close-up scene. (For film scenes
that utilize a revolver where the bullets are visible from the front and do not require the gun to actually
be fired, dummy cartridges provide the realistic appearance of actual rounds.)

Instead of purchasing commercial dummy cartridges, the film's prop crew created their own by pulling
the bullets from live rounds, dumping the powder charge and then reinserting the bullets. However,
they unknowingly or unintentionally left the live primer in place at the rear of the cartridge. At some
point during filming, the revolver was apparently discharged with one of these improperly deactivated
cartridges in the chamber, setting off the primer with enough force to drive the bullet partway into the
barrel, where it became stuck (a condition known as a squib load). The prop crew either failed to notice
this or failed to recognize the significance of this issue.

In the fatal scene, which called for the revolver to be fired at Lee from a distance of 3.6–4.5 meters (12–
15 feet), the dummy cartridges were exchanged with blank rounds, which feature a live powder charge
and primer, but no bullet, thus allowing the gun to be fired without the risk of an actual projectile.
However, since the bullet from the dummy round was already trapped in the barrel, this caused the .44
Magnum bullet to be fired out of the barrel with virtually the same force as if the gun had been loaded
with a live round, and it struck Lee in the abdomen, mortally wounding him. [93][94] He was rushed to the
New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he underwent six hours of
surgery.
Attempts to save him were unsuccessful, and Lee was pronounced dead on March 31, 1993 at 1:03 pm.
EST. He was 28 years old. The shooting was ruled an accident due to negligence. [95] Lee's passing resulted
in the reemerging conspiracies surrounding his father's early death. Lee's body was flown
to Jacksonville, North Carolina, where an autopsy was performed. He was then flown
to Seattle, Washington, where he was buried next to his father at the Lake View Cemetery in a plot that
Linda Lee Cadwell had originally reserved for herself. [96][97] A private funeral took place in Seattle on April
3, 1993. Approximately forty individuals attended. The following day, 200 of Lee's family, friends, and
business associates attended a memorial service in Los Angeles, held at the house of actress Polly
Bergen. Notable guests included Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, David Hasselhoff, Steven
Seagal, David Carradine, and Melissa Etheridge.[98][99][100][101][5]

The gravestone, designed by North Snohomish County sculptor Kirk McLean, is a tribute to Lee and
Hutton. It is composed of two twisting rectangles of charcoal granite which join at the bottom and pull
apart near the top. "It represents Eliza and Brandon, the two of them, and how the tragedy of his death
separated their mortal life together", said his mother, who described her son, like his father before him,
as a poetic, romantic person.[102]

The graves of Bruce and Brandon Lee

In an interview just prior to his death, Lee quoted a passage from Paul Bowles' book The Sheltering Sky.
[103]
 Lee had chosen for his wedding invitations; it is now inscribed on his tombstone: [104]

Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet
everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more
times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of
your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more?
Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And
yet it all seems limitless...

Legacy[edit]

The film is dedicated to Brandon and his fiancée Eliza Hutton. Lee's mother and Hutton asked for the film
to be complete, at the time director Alex Proyas was ready to abandon the project, as a testament to
Lee's talent.
The Crow was released in May 1994 and became a box office hit, grossing over $50 million in the U.S.
[105]
 Lee's portrayal of Eric Draven posthumously earned him an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best
Male Performance and a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actor. The film retained a loyal following
many years after its release.[106] Due to the macabre nature of the film and Lee's fate it's often described
as a goth cult film.[107]

Some observers found that Lee never quite left the shadow of his father and that The Crow didn't live up
to Lee's full unexploited potential.[108] Most critics agree that The Crow is a very good film and successful
but an eerie conclusion to Lee's career, who wanted to escape the action genre and move on to
dramatic roles.[109]

At the time of his death, his father's biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story was ready for release. The film
was released two months after Lee's death, with a dedication to his memory in the end credits. [110] Lee's
mother and sister attended the premiere. His mother found the film to be excellent and a great tribute
for her whole family.[111]

Lee's on-set death paved the way for resurrecting actors to complete or have new performances since
pioneering CGI techniques were used to complete The Crow.[112]

Personal life[edit]

Lee is the grandson of Cantonese opera singer Lee Hoi-chuen, the nephew of Robert Lee Jun-fai, and the
brother of Shannon Lee.[113][114] Lee's paternal Great Grandfather was Ho Kom Tong, a Chinese
philanthropist of Dutch-Jewish descent who was son of Charles Henry Maurice Bosman (1839–1892). [115]
[116]
 Lee's mother Linda Emery, background includes Swedish and German roots. According to the book,
Lee “proudly told everyone” about his newborn son Brandon’s diverse features, describing him as
perhaps the only Chinese person with blond hair and grey eyes. [117]

Actor and martial artist Chuck Norris, a friend and collaborator of Lee's father, said that when Bruce
died, he kept in touch with Lee's family, and that his son Eric Norris and Brandon were friends at a young
age.[118][119]

Lee was a friend of Chad Stahelski, with whom he trained at the Inosanto Martial Arts Academy.
Stahelski was Lee's double after his passing on The Crow.[8]

In 1990, Lee met Eliza "Lisa" Hutton at director Renny Harlin's office, located at the headquarters of 20th
Century Fox. Hutton was working as a personal assistant to Harlin, and later became a story editor for
Stillwater Productions, in 1991. Lee and Hutton moved in together in early 1991 and became engaged in
October 1992.[120] They planned to get married in Ensenada, Mexico on April 17, 1993, a week after Lee
was to complete filming on The Crow.[98][99][100][101]

Martial arts and philosophy[edit]

Lee was trained from a young age by his father in Jeet Kune do. [121] Martial artist Bob Wall observed, that
Lee and his father trained a lot, he found that Lee hit with power and had good footwork. [122]
Following the death of his father, Lee was trained by Dan Inosanto, a friend and disciple of Bruce Lee. [3]
[4]
 Lee said: "It's always been a part of the daily routine. After my father passed away I began working out
with the man who was his senior student." According to Jeff Imada who at the time was helping with
children classes at Inosanto's Kali Institute met young Brandon. Imada said that the fact that he was the
son of one of its founders was kept quiet and that Lee had difficulty focusing due to seeing his father's
photos taking much space in his studio. Imada said Lee stopped training in his mid teens and preferred
soccer.[7] Richard Bustillo also trained Lee during his teens and said that Lee worked hard and was always
respectful.[5] Lee said that with his training Arnis with Inosanto specialized in both Kali and Escrima and
lasted three to four years.[123]

In 1986, Lee said that he training in Yee Chuan Tao a relaxation based martial arts with a trainer named
Mike Vendrell. Lee said that the exercise helped him being less tense while punching a bag, and that it
consisted of exercises such as slow sparring, Chi sao practice, they also worked on a wooden dummy, as
well as Vendrell swinging a staff at him while he would duck or jump over. [10]

He eventually returned to the craft with Inosanto as his main trainer and became proud of his heritage.
[9]
 Lee said he did a few amateur fights but didn't seek to pursuit martial arts tournament. Lee would
bring a camera to Inosanto's studio, both would choreograph fights for Lee's films and would allow him
to see how various moves played out on screen. By his mid-twenties Lee was seen practicing regularly at
the Inosanto Martial Arts Academy.[11][8] In 1991, Lee received a certification by The Thai Boxing
Association.[2] Lee, while his main goal was dramatic acting, credited the skill to have helped him to
boost his career and become an action film leading man. [124]

During the filming of The Crow, Lee said he was doing many cardiovascular exercises until the point of
exhaustion using a jumping rope, running, riding a LifeCycle, or using a StairMaster, after which he
would train at Inosanto's academy where he took Muay Thai classes.[125]

According to Lee's mother, years prior his death Lee became consumed with his father's written work in
philosophy taking lengthy notes.[2]

When asked about which Martial arts Lee practiced, he responded: [121]

When people ask me that question, I usually say that my father created the art of Jeet Kune Do and I
have been trained in that. However, that's a little too simple to say because Jeet Kune Do was my
father's very personal expression of the martial arts. So I always feel a little bit silly saying I practice Jeet
Kune Do, although I certainly have been trained in it. It would be more accurate to say that I practice my
own interpretation of Jeet Kune Do, just as everyone who practices Jeet Kune Do does.

In August 1992, Bruce Lee biographer John Little asked Brandon Lee what his philosophy in life was, and
he replied, "Eat—or die!"[126] Brandon later spoke of the martial arts and self-knowledge:

Well, I would say this: when you move down the road towards mastery of the martial arts—and you
know, you are constantly moving down that road—you end up coming up against these barriers inside
yourself that will attempt to stop you from continuing to pursue the mastery of the martial arts. And
these barriers are such things as when you come up against your own limitations, when you come up
against the limitations of your will, your ability, your natural ability, your courage, how you deal with
success—and failure as well, for that matter. And as you overcome each one of these barriers, you end
up learning something about yourself. And sometimes, the things you learn about yourself can, to the
individual, seem to convey a certain spiritual sense along with them.

...It's funny, every time you come up against a true barrier to your progress, you are a child again. And
it's a very interesting experience to be reduced, once again, to the level of knowing nothing about what
you're doing. I think there's a lot of room for learning and growth when that happens—if you face it
head-on and don't choose to say, "Ah, screw that! I'm going to do something else!"

We reduce ourselves at a certain point in our lives to kind of solely pursuing things that we already know
how to do. You know, because you don't want to have that experience of not knowing what you're
doing and being an amateur again. And I think that's rather unfortunate. It's so much more interesting
and usually illuminating to put yourself in a situation where you don't know what's going to happen,
than to do something again that you already know essentially what the outcome will be within three or
four points either way.[127]