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Bruce Jun Fan Lee (Lee Siu Lung) was born on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, CA while his parents were on tour with the Chinese Opera. Ultimately raised in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee was a child actor appearing in more than 20 films. At the age of 13, Bruce took up the study of wing chun gung fu under renowned wing chun master, Yip Man. Bruce left Hong Kong at the age of 18, came to the United States and made his way to Seattle, Washington where he worked in the restaurant of a family friend. He soon enrolled in the University of Washington where he pursued a degree in philosophy. Bruce began to teach gung fu in Seattle and soon opened his first school, the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. Two more schools followed in Oakland and Los Angeles. Concurrently Bruce married his wife, Linda and had his two children, Brandon and Shannon. In the mid sixties, Bruce was discovered while doing an exhibition at the Long Beach Internationals and a role as Kato in the tv series The Green Hornet soon followed. During this time, Bruce was also developing his own martial art, which he ultimately named Jeet Kune Do (translated: the way of the intercepting fist). Bruce's art was steeped in a philosophical foundation and did not follow long held martial traditions. Instead it had at its core the ideas of simplicity, directness and personal freedom. After The Green Hornet series was canceled, Bruce encountered resistance while working in Hollywood and so headed to Hong Kong to pursue a film career. In Hong Kong he made 3 films, which consecutively broke all box office records and showcased martial arts in an entirely new way. Hollywood took notice and soon Bruce was making the first Hollywood / Hong Kong coproduction with a film called Enter the Dragon. Unfortunately, Bruce Lee died in 1973 before this film was released. This film catapulted him to international fame. Today Bruce Lee’s legacy of self expression, equality, and pioneering innovation continues to inspire people all around the world.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2026
Broken Rhythm: Bruce Lee's Game of Death
Movie Himself (archive footage)
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2023
The Final Game of Death
Movie Hai Tien / Self (archive footage)
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2021
Jackie Chan: Building an Icon
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2021
A Life in Ten Pictures
TV show Self (archive footage)
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2020
History's Greatest Mysteries
TV show Self (archive footage)
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2020
Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth
Movie Self(archive footage)
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2020
Be Water
Movie Self (archival)
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2019
Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2019
Game of Death Redux
Movie Hai Tien
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2012
Too Young to Die
TV show Self (archive footage)
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2012
I Am
TV show Self
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2012
I Am Bruce Lee
Movie Self (archival)
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2011
Mentiras verdaderas
TV show Self (archive footage)
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2009
How Bruce Lee Changed the World
Movie Self (archival)
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2009
The Brilliant Life of Bruce Lee
Movie Self (archival)
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2007
Big Stan
Movie Thanks
More credits
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2005
The Green Hornet
Movie Kato
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2004
Blood and Steel: The Making of Enter the Dragon
Movie Self (archival)
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2004
Bruce Lee: Martial Arts Superstar
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2002
The Art of Action: Martial Arts in the Movies
Movie Self - Interviewee (archive footage)
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2002
The Real Bruce Lee 2
Movie (archive footage)
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2001
The Unbeatable Bruce Lee
Movie
- 2001
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2000
Bruce Lee in G.O.D.
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2000
Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey
Movie Self (archival)
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1999
The Lees: Action Speaks Louder
Movie Self (archival)
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1999
Bruce Lee: The Legend Lives On
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1999
Bruce Lee: Century Hero
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1998
The GREATEST : Bruce Lee
Movie Self (archival)
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1998
Bruce Lee: In His Own Words
Movie self
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1998
The Path of the Dragon
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1994
Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon
Movie Self (archival)
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1994
Cinema of Vengeance
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1993
The Curse of the Dragon
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1991
Crazy Safari
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1990
Death In Hollywood
Movie
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1990
The Best of the Martial Arts Films
Movie Self
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1985
Amazing Masters of Martial Arts
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1984
Bruce Lee, the Legend
Movie Self (archival)
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1981
Game of Death II
Movie Lee Chen-chiang (archive footage)