Bolo Yeung

Biography

Bolo began his martial arts training at the age of 10 in Guangzhou, where he studied under several kung fu masters. Growing up, he took an interest in bodybuilding, and later became Mr. Hong Kong bodybuilding champion. He held the title for ten years. Because of his impressively muscular physique, he was chosen for several bad guy roles in films produced by Shaw Brothers Studios, such as The Heroic Ones, The Deadly Duo, Angry Guest and others. He left Shaw Brothers in 1971.

Bolo met Bruce Lee while the two were filming a Winston cigarettes commercial. A friendship emerged and Lee invited him to star in Enter the Dragon, where he became known as "Bolo", the name of the character he portrayed. The two became close friends during the filming of Enter the Dragon, where Bruce and Bolo worked very closely on technique training. Bolo once stated in an interview, many years after Lee's death, "There will never be another Bruce Lee; and I am privileged to have had the honour of calling him friend."

During the 1970s and '80s, Bolo starred in numerous kung fu films, but his breakout film was Bloodsport, based on the supposedly true story of Frank Dux. Shot on a $US 1.5 Million budget, it became a US box-office hit in the spring of 1988. Jean-Claude Van Damme had the leading role as Frank Dux, while Bolo Yeung played the role of Chong Li. A strong friendship formed between the two actors on the set of Bloodsport; and Van Damme wanted no one but Bolo to play opposite him in his film (Double Impact) set in the Orient.

Canadian action film actor, director and producer Jalal Merhi met Bolo in Hong Kong while shooting his first film Fearless Tiger, then again on the set of Double Impact. Jalal was impressed with his personality and ability, and decided to create a part specifically for Bolo. Later Merhi worked with Yeung on more films such as Tiger Claws, TC 2000 and Tiger Claws 2.

In 2007, Bolo made a rare appearance as a protagonist in Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter. Jalal Merhi directed the first 60 minutes of the film that was shot in Toronto, but due to other commitments could not complete the remaining part of the film in Russia. Producer Erken Ialgashev directed the remainder of the film. Due to legal issues, the film remains unreleased.