| Articles and Interviews | Main |
"One of the reasons my dad had to go to Hong Kong to work was that he encountered a lot of prejudice over here against an Asian man being in a leading role," Lee, whose mother is an American of Swedish descent, told Daily News film writer Bob Strauss.
Profession: Actor.
Marital status: Single. Girlfriend is story editor Lisa Hutton.
Martial arts status: Practices the form developed by Bruce Lee, jeet kune do.
Martial arts deployed in 'Rapid Fire,' which Lee also co-choreographed: "I'm really happy with the martial arts in the film; it's just not my idea of what a real fight would look like. It's theatricalized for the film, and I wouldn't pretend it wasn't. But you do see whole fights, and the movements the characters use are legitimate movements. I can't stand those films where they'll have a shot of one guy throwing a punch and then cut to a shot of the other guy's head snapping back. I've always preferred my dad's films. He'd put together these extended sequences that didn't have an edit in them. They really gave you a feeling for the fluidity of the whole thing. You saw the guy doing it."
Difference between Brandon and Bruce Lee's viewpoints on movies: "It sounds simplistic to say, but my dad was just a phenomenally talented martial artist. He was not a marketing hype, he was what he was. As far as his films go, I think he would have liked to have been thought of as a martial artist first and an actor second. I think he looked at film as a way of disseminating some ideas that he had about martial arts. It's real important to me, however, to have a wide body of work in a few years."
So why is he a martial artist: "Martial arts were pretty unavoidable for me. I don't remember having a choice in the matter, exactly. It just kind of came along with the package."
How being Bruce Lee's son has affected his career: "It's been a help in terms of bringing recognition. I've certainly gotten my foot in the door faster, and perhaps easier, than I would have if I didn't have that comma after my name that I've had my whole life. The only hindrance is that it gives people pre-conceptions about you. But strangely enough, I don't feel too concerned about that. I have a lot of determination not to make the same film over and over again, like many people do."
Pet peeve: "One thing I bridle at a little is being described as an athlete-turned-actor. I'm really not. I've always wanted to be an actor, I went to film school, that's what I've trained in."
Realistic dream: "I don't intend to never make another action film. I don't think that's very realistic, and frankly it's not entirely against my wishes. I've still got some tricks up my sleeve I'd really like to see make it onto the screen. It would be cool to make a film with martial arts in it that was just dead serious. The fights probably wouldn't be very long or particularly pretty to look at. It would be kind of sloppy, but there would be something to that."
by Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News, August 17, 1992
| Articles and Interviews | Main |