MARTIAL ARTS LEGENDS: Showdown in Little Tokyo is a movie about martial arts and action. Yet, in the past you have been reluctant to do martial arts films. Why?
BRANDON LEE: I've always felt that there is a commensurate drop in quality in the materials once it becomes a "martial arts film."

MAL: So what made you decide to do this film in particular?
BL: It's an interesting script and a good character. Plus, which is a niggardly point, it's a question of semantics, but it's not a martial arts film. It's an action adventure film. What's the difference? Bloodsport is a martial arts film. It's about the martial arts, it talks about the martial arts, all the characters in it are portrayed as martial artists. They are shown training, they talk about different styles, they give them names and they advocate viewpoints about the martial arts within the framework of the story. Right? (Tokyo) is a story about two cops. The cops end up getting into fights, and when they're fighting, they use martial arts. That's all.

MAL: Has being Bruce Lee's son been a double edged sword?
BL: It's got a lot of different things about it, yes.

MAL: What's been the positive and what's been the negative results of being the son of a martial arts legend?
BL: Well there really isn't much negative. Sometimes, it can be personally difficult. But I'd imagine that everyone has personal problems, you know? Professionally I can't pretend that it's anything except a positive thing. I believe it has certainly created opportunities for me that I would not have had as quickly, were I not Bruce Lee's son.

MAL: When you were growing up, did you ever suffer an identity crisis?
BL: Sure, sure there was, you know. Not only because of my father's fame, but we moved here when he passed away, which was what, 1972 when I was about 8-1/2. We moved here in 1972 and it was strange coming to a different culture, you know. I mean I had been in America before with my mother's parents but I had grown up in Hong Kong so that was very different for me.

MAL: What do you remember about your dad and how do you incorporate his character into your talent?
BL: I remember a lot of things about my father. I think he was a really exceptional man, a really exceptional man beyond just the public image that most people have of him. I believe that had he lived longer, because he died so young, he died when he was 32, I mean that's young, you know. I believe that if he lived longer he would have gone on to do so much, so many other things and when I think about his passing that's what grieves me most to see something snuffed like that in its infancy. So, what was the question?

MAL: What do you remember about your dad and how do you incorporate his talents into your career?
BL: Well, just so many things. For example, when you're doing a film, particularly an action adventure film, we're shooting really long hours - 14 hour days you know? And then you have to train still, you have to still train so you end up really not having any time to do anything else, except just sleep because you're tired. And I can remember my father being tired when I was younger. I was just thinking this the other night, I was coming home and I was so tired I couldn't even walk up the steps to my house. And I remember seeing my dad come home one night, and he was really tired, you know, and then I remember him saying once in a conversation to someone else, actually, I was just listening - I was just a little kid, but I remember him saying how valuable time was because that's all you have. And how there were a lot of people who tried to be a part of his time and waste his time and how he was finding more and more that he had to make sure that didn't happen. Those words have been occurring in my mind of late.

MAL: How are you different from him?
BL: Right off the bat I'm an entirely different person. I was raised under very different circumstances. I'm an American man, you know, I'm racially half-Chinese, I did grow up there, but I spent my adolescence and my young childhood and my older childhood and my young man hood here in America. My father was a martial artist first and that was his passion. That was what made him what he was and he was an actor second, not that he wasn't a very good actor just that it was not his primary concern. I'm an actor, that's all I have ever wanted to be and that's what I do. To the degree that my father put his passions and his energies into the martial arts, I would only hope to be able to invest as much passion into acting. The kinds of films I'm doing right now involve the martial arts so he gives me the opportunity to use the ability I have which is great. But it's not a be all and end all. And it's not where I want to be or will be in about three or four years. I hope.

MAL: Being the son of Bruce Lee do you think it will help the movie in terms of audience draw?
BL: Well...

MAL: This is your American film debut after all.
BL: Yes it is. I really couldn't tell you. I hope that people come and see the movie. If they come and see it because of a regard that they held for my father then I think that regard is very well-founded. And whenever anyone comes up to me and tells me how much they loved my father and how wonderful he was all I can say is, I agree with you completely and God bless you! So if people want to come and see me because of a regard they held for my father, that's great.

MAL: You had to learn gymnastics for this movie?
BL: I took some lessons, yes. And you see Dolph and I playing partners, have very different styles. Not only are we trained in different styles in the martial arts we have very different physical types. He's a (heck) of a lot bigger than I am. We want to be able to contrast our styles in the film so it's visually more pleasing in terms of choreography.

MAL: Was there a lot of physical preparation for this role?
BL: No, I was training heavily before this film ever came around anyway. So actually we're not doing anything that is anymore difficult; in fact most of the stuff is a lot less difficult than the stuff we're doing down at the gym every weekend anyway.

MAL: What is the best part of acting?
BL: The best part of acting I guess is acting, not the business part of it, not doing interviews and all of the stuff that comes along with it. The best part of it is actually doing the acting which really strangely enough seems to sometimes not comprise that much of what you do all day long. You know what I mean? So that's my favorite part of it. It's one of the reasons I enjoy doing plays very much. I've done quite a few. Because with plays you're just doing a lot more acting and a lot less whatever you call all this other stuff, waiting, meeting people and stuff like that.

MAL: What is the worst part?
BL: All the waiting, the meeting people and the business part of it is the worst part. That's entirely, completely the worst part. I don't mean to say it has to be that way. Sometimes it's very rewarding and it's nice to have people be interested in your affairs. Because it's what gets you the opportunity to do the acting in front of a lot of people but sometimes it's kind of hard to figure out.

MAL: You've been in the limelight all your life. Do you ever wish you would have had a normal childhood?
BL: I had a very normal childhood. After my father passed away my mother was very responsible for moving us out of the limelight as a very conscious act on her part. And I thank her for it very much because it did just that - it gave us a normal childhood. I mean sure there were always people who said, "Oh you're Bruce Lee's son, blah, blah, blah," but then after - I'm talking when I was a kid, when I was 10, 11, 12, 14, 16 - people would find out, they would get to know you and they'd just be your friends and be people. So I had a pretty normal childhood after my father passed away and I really enjoyed it. I never wanted a different one.

by Rachel Hambrick
Martial Arts Legends

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