They Call ‘Em Bruce: People who played Bruce Lee

The following feature is about the many actors who have portrayed Bruce Lee in movies, TV and advertisements. In an effort to put together the most comprehensive list, I’ve also included those who portrayed him in ways that I can’t explain. It should also be noted that the term “biopics” should be taken lightly, as ALL biopics listed are extremely sensationalized. Yes, even the ones endorsed, produced and blessed by The Bruce Lee Estate (controlled by Bruce Lee’s daughter, Shannon).

Keep in mind this is NOT a Bruceploitation article; in other words, you won’t see Dragon Lee (aka Moon Kyoung-seok) on the list – why? – well, despite capturing the essence of Bruce Lee (his image, mannerisms, Cheshire Cat-smile, clothes, etc), he never actually played Bruce Lee, unless you count The Clones of Bruce Lee, which is where I draw the line (“clones” being the key word; but Bruce Lee “ghosts” are accepted).

This article is not meant to review or rate any of the titles or performances, but that’s not to say I won’t go off track with some criticism here and there.

Enough chit chat. Let’s not keep our Bruces waiting…

MIKE MOH

We’ll start the list off with Mike Moh, the newest actor to portray Bruce Lee in a “Hollywood” movie (literally!). This Atlanta-based martial artist earned his fifth-degree Taekwondo Black Belt when he was 14, so he definitely has all the right kicks.

In 2006, Moh landed a bit part in Benny Chan’s Rob-B-Hood, where he shared the screen with his idol, Jackie Chan. But it was perhaps his role as Ryu in the Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist web series (based on the popular video game) that put him on the map. Since then, he has appeared in a number of high-profile TV shows, including Marvel’s Inhumans as Triton, as well as a recurring character in Fox’s hit drama, Empire.

Moh portrayed Bruce Lee in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 epic, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, opposite Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio. So what is “Bruce” doing in the film? Here’s the facts: In the late 1960s, Bruce was a rising talent within an inner circle of Hollywood friends that included Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Roman Polanski and Steve Mcqueen. It was during this time that Bruce marketed his martial arts skills to mentor stars, choreograph films and even earned him small parts in a number of TV shows and movies (he was a marketing genius as far a I’m concerned). So having Bruce in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood makes perfect sense – after all – the film’s subplot involves Charles Manson’s reign of terror that left two of Bruce’s friends brutally murdered.

Although he looks less like Bruce than the next guy, Moh’s mannerisms and speech execution are spot on, despite some oddball controversy from Bruce Lee fanatics (i.e. “The movie is BS, there’s no way anyone would ever lay a hand on Bruce!”). Even Donnie Yen admitted he didn’t complete watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood when he felt “As filmmakers, I feel we should be more respectful to someone like Lee”. The movie’s theatrical release was cancelled in China after Shannon Lee “filed a complaint to China’s National Film Administration” due to the portrayal of her late father as “arrogant” and “boastful” (via RS).

It’s worth mentioning that Moh had once auditioned for the role of Bruce Lee in 2016’s Birth of the Dragon, but he lost to our next guy…

PHILIP NG WAN-LUNG

Born in Hong Kong, with a good portion of his youth spent in America, Philip Ng Wan-lung is an avid practitioner/teacher of various forms of martial arts, including Hung Gar, Wing Chun and Taekwondo. He also founded the Wing Chung Association during his attendance at the University of Illinois. As both an actor and fight choreographer, he’s had a solid film career in his homeland since the early 2000s. If you look at his filmography, you’ll see that he’s already worked with some of the best in the industry, such as Ringo Lam, Donnie Yen, Corey Yuen, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan.

Birth of the Dragon was a huge turning point in Ng’s career. Not only was it his first Hollywood gig he’s appearing/starring in, but he’s also portraying Bruce Lee, so expectations for his performance were set high (playing Bruce is comparable to playing James Bond for the first time).

Unfortunately, many fans dismissed Birth of the Dragon as and said it was a disgrace to Bruce’s legacy – and their negative reaction towards it had nothing to do with Ng’s performance. When the film made early screenings, fans were upset that the character of Bruce (Ng), the Asian, took a backseat, while the character of Steve (Billy Magnussen), the white guy, was front and center; in other words, they accused the filmmakers of racially “white washing” the film. Due to the backlash, director George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau) was forced to recut Birth of the Dragon, so it focused more on Bruce, and less on Steve.

The irony about this alleged “white washing” thing is that Birth of the Dragon (despite its title, it’s NOT a biopic) is centered around Bruce’s legendary fight with Wong Jack Man (Yu Xia). This real-life, controversial bout was initiated due to Lee’s teaching of Chinese martial arts to non-Chinese, which was a big no-no to Chinese traditionalists at the time. The deal behind the fight was simple: if Bruce won, he’d earn the right to teach non-Asians; if he lost, he’d have to give up these teachings. To put it simply, it’s a movie about the right to educate ALL races in complete harmony.

Not surprisingly, the Bruce Lee Estate also called it inaccurate travesty, but their words are questionable because of their own 1993 biopic starring…

JASON SCOTT LEE

To mainstream audiences, Chinese/Hawaiian actor Jason Scott Lee (no relation) is the most widely recognized person to ever portray Bruce. In 1993, he starred in Rob Cohen’s Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, which was the first Hollywood project to explore Bruce’s life – an the first “officially authorized” film about Bruce.

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is based on the 1975 book, Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew, by Bruce’s widow, Linda Lee, who gave the film her complete blessing (at the time, she was head of The Bruce Lee Estate). If the book’s title is an indication of truth, then Bruce’s blood parents, blood brothers and blood sisters have no idea who the hell Bruce ever was, despite living with him during his most crucial years in Hong Kong. In fact, it’s open for debate if the demonic samurai appearing in Bruce’s nightmares really happened, but only Linda would know that – after all – she’s the only one who knew Bruce.

Anyway, back to Jason…

To prepare for the role, Jason trained in Jeet Kune Do under the late, white Jerry Poteet, who was one of Bruce’s actual students. Poteet would go on to become Jason’s personal fight choreographer again for both 1998’s Solider and 2003’s Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision.

Dragon: The Bruce Lee story was, for the most part, was adored by the general public. Some of those well-read on Bruce were quick to point out inaccuracies (and fantasy-additives, such as the demon samurai) and dismissed the acrobatic-laced choreography as bring more “Jackie Chan” than they were Bruce.

Since then, Jason has become a certified Jeet Kune Do instructor himself. Til this very day, he still uses his JKD skills, but now, they’re laced with computer enhancements, as recently noted in 2016’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. Hey, just like Bruce says,”There are no limits!”

Our next actor to portray Bruce is a Killer actor…

DANNY LEE SAU YIN

Hong Kong director/producer/star Danny Lee Sau Yin (again, no relation) is perhaps best known for starring in John Woo’s 1989 ultra-violent masterpiece, The Killer, opposite Chow Yun-fat. But if you dig deeper into his decades-long career, you’ll eventually come across a sleazy, Shaw Brothers-produced oddity that goes by a number of sexy titles like: 1) Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights, 2) I Love You, Bruce Lee, 3) Bruce Lee & I and my personal favorite, 4) Sex Life of Bruce Lee.

This biopic centers on Bruce’s final days, as told through the eyes of Betty Ting Pei, who reenacts her slutty ways. Here’s a little background info on her so you have a clear understanding: In the late 60s/early 70s, Betty was a Taiwanese actress who was known for appearing in sleazy films, often as a sex symbol, seductress, or some sort of bad girl. Her popularity grew when she became romantically linked with Bruce towards the tail end of his film career. She became notorious to the public and Hong Kong press for being the last person to talk to – and see – Bruce just hours before his death, as he was found unconscious in her apartment, in her bedroom and on her bed. Somehow I doubt they were having a conversation about puppy dogs and ice cream. But let’s get back on topic…

In the film, Danny’s portrayal of Bruce involves smoking lots of weed, getting drunk, picking fights with white people, swallowing mysterious prescription drugs and having sex, lots of it, but not with Linda (if Matthew Polly’s Bruce Lee: A Life is any indication, then Bruce’s sexual affairs with other woman is accurate).

The Bruce Lee Estate wants you to stay away from Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights the same way the Elvis Presley Estate wants you to stay away from Elvis’ 1977 concert footage.

Our next actor has been the Estate’s official go-to “Bruce” for the last 12 years…

DANNY CHAN KWOK-KWAN

Stephen Chow’s 2001 Blockbuster hit, Shaolin Soccer, featured a Bruce Lee-wannabe played by newcomer Danny Chan Kwok-kwan. His breakout performance in the film earned him steady work in a number of movies, most notably 2004’s Kung Fu Hustle, which became another box office smash for Chow, in turn, giving Danny yet another career boost. But regardless of the characters Danny played, he was stuck as the “Bruce Lee dude in Shaolin Soccer.” Film producers took note of this and Danny became the go-to guy when a “Bruce Lee” was needed for a project.

His first real portrayal as Bruce Lee came in the form of 2008’s The Legend of Bruce Lee, a 50-episode series that centered on Bruce’s life starting from his early Hong Kong years to his untimely death. The series, which was executively produced by Shannon Lee, is filled with so much embellished and historical inaccuracies that it makes Dragon: The Bruce Lee story look like Das Boot. But hey, gotta keep the legend alive, right?

Danny’s next gig as Bruce came in the form of a 90-second television commercial for Johnnie Walker Blue Label whiskey. For the advertisement, Danny’s face was digitally altered to resemble Bruce as accurately as possible (the final product resembles a PS3-era video game with no evidence of Danny being present).

Danny’s assistance was once again needed for 2015’s Ip Man 3, starring Donnie Yen. Originally, the plan was for Ip Man 3 to feature a computer generated version of Bruce (over a real guy, laced with CGI, just like they did for his favorite beverage), but due to a last minute legal threat from The Bruce Lee Estate, the CGI idea was ditched. Note: The Bruce Lee Estate owns Bruce’s likeness, image, name, persona, voice, signature, DNA and the air he used to breathe.

Eventually, an agreement was made between Ip Man 3 producers and The Bruce Lee Estate to bring Danny back as Bruce. Perhaps it was Danny’s association with Shannon’s The Legend of Bruce Lee that saved Ip Man 3 from scrapping Bruce from the storyline completely? Make sense.

Danny reprised his role as Bruce Lee in 2019’s Ip Man 4.

AARIF RAHMAN

In 2010, a rising heartthrob named Aarif Rahman (aka Aarif Lee, no relation) – who is of mixed Arab, Malay and Chinese descent – portrayed Bruce in Raymond Yip and Manfred Wong’s Bruce Lee, My Brother (aka The Young Bruce Lee), a Bruce Lee biopic that takes place between 1940 and 1959.

Bruce Lee, My Brother is noted for being produced by Robert Lee, Bruce’s younger brother (the film even opens with an introduction by him and his older sister, Phoebe Lee), which gives the movie a sense of credibility, hence the film’s title.

Even before Bruce Lee, My Brother went into production, Robert approached Shannon about the details of the film’s investors: “Then she didn’t want to work with me. She wanted the whole deal to herself,” he said. “We don’t talk as much as I would like to. They don’t want to collaborate with us. We are one family. There is no reason why we shouldn’t collaborate. We share different parts of Bruce’s life.” (via SCMP)

Unfortunately, the film has yet to see an official release in the U.S., due to legal clashes with The Bruce Lee Estate.

Aarif never portrayed Bruce or played Bruce Lee-like characters again, but his singing and acting career continues to flourish in a number of high profile projects. He recently co-starred with Jackie Chan in 2017’s Kung Fu Yoga, where he was able to show more of his fighting skills.

HO CHUNG-TAO

Ho Chung-tao, a Taiwanese actor/martial artist who goes by the screen name, Bruce Li, has played Bruce so many times, that it’s nearly impossible to give you an accurate list of his Bruce-related titles.

Although he’s not not the first person to play Bruce (technically, some dude’s sweaty back in 1972’s Fist of Unicorn gets that honor), he was the first to portray him in the first ever biopic, Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story, which was a cheaply produced, 1974 Chinese production filmed months after Bruce’s death. Ho would go on to play Bruce again in a handful of biopics such as 1975’s Super Dragon, 1976’s Story of the Dragon and 1978’s The Dragon Lives.

Of all Ho’s biopics, the one that’s considered the most legitimate was 1976’s Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth. It had a big budget, was shot on location in Hong Kong, USA, Korea and Rome, and it had one hell of a director, Ng See Yuen (The Secret Rivals), whose Seasonal Films Corporation would skyrocket both Yuen Woo-ping and Jackie Chan – with 1978’s Snake in the Eagles Shadow and Drunken Master – into a new level stardom.

It was because of Ho’s biopic output that a planned 1975 Hollywood movie titled Bruce Lee: His Life and Legend never saw the light of day. The film was to be directed by Robert Clouse (Enter the Dragon), in association with Linda Lee. Producers had even found their “Bruce” with Alex Kwok (aka Alex Kwon). Ultimately, the project was shelved due to the oversaturated market of Chinese-made biopics. So because of Ho, Alex Kwok isn’t on this list.

Ho would go on to star in a number of acclaimed projects that had little or nothing to do with Bruce. Films like 1977’s Last Strike, 1979’s The Golden Connection and 1981’s The Chinese Stuntman, which he also directed, proved that Ho could stand on his own, without the help of his marketable idol. By mid-late 80s, Ho semi-retired from film industry, before completely quitting the scene by 1990.

HUANG CHIEN LUNG

If Ho Chung-tao is the “Walmart” of Bruce Lee-inspired actors, then Huang Chien Lung was the “Walmart Bargain Bin” of Bruce Lee-inspired actors. Ho had some oddballs in his filmography, but Huang takes the cake for making movies that resembled the cheapest Filipino exploitation films – in fact, a handful of them were actually made in the Philippines.

Better known as Bruce Le, this Chinese-Burmese native – and avid martial artist – got his start as taking minor roles in a number of films produced by the famous Shaw Brothers studios.

When Bruceploitation-era was taking shape in the 70s, Huang’s likeness to Bruce Lee caught the eye of producers, and he was eventually cast as Cheng Chao-an’s brother in 1976’s The Big Boss Part II (Bruce Lee played Cheng Chao-an in the 1971 original). The same year came Bruce’s Deadly Fingers, starring Huang as a very Bruce-like character, where he teamed up with frequent Bruce Lee co-star, Nora Miao (Way of the Dragon).

From this point forward, Huang would churn out titles like 1978’s Enter the Game of Death (it was Fist of Fury meets Game of Death), 1980’s Clones of Bruce Lee (with Dragon Lee, Bruce Lai and Bruce Thai), 1982’s Bruce Strikes Back (with Hwang Jang Lee, Casanova Wong, Harold Sakata) and 1986’s Future Hunters (starring Terminator 2’s Robert Patrick and directed by Filipino film legend Cirio H. Santiago).

But the reason why Huang is even on this list is because he actually plays Bruce Lee in 1980s Bruce – The King of Kung Fu, a highly fabricated biopic he also directed. The film features main Enter the Dragon villain, Sek Kin, as well as Bolo Yeung (which is really nothing special, since he’s in everything).

Today, Huang is still going at it, but mainly behind the camera as a director. One of his recent projects include 2014’s Eyes of Dawn (a redux of his 1992 film, Comfort Women) and he has just wrapped up the war movie, Bloody Hero. He’s also keen on going back to martial arts movies with a dream project that would be a worthy successor to Enter the Dragon.

KIM TAI-CHUNG

If there’s one guy that qualifies as a certified “Bruce Lee” actor, it’s Korean martial arts star, Kim Tai-chung, who also goes by his Chinese screen name, Tong Lung.

A few years after the death of Bruce Lee in 1973, Golden Harvest Studios (the company behind all of Bruce’s films) started pre-production on Bruce’s incomplete film, Game of Death. Bruce had already shot the film’s action finale, which meant that all that was left to shoot was… well… the rest of the damn movie. This meant they needed someone who could not only fight like Bruce, but also walk, move, and capture his overall essence.

After an exhaustive search, producers finally found their leading man in Kim Tai-chung. With the help of some cardboard cut outs, sunglasses, a prosthetic beard, Bruce’s actual corpse, two or three other body doubles and footage from Bruce’s other completed films, they were able to finally complete 1978’s Game of Death, which was directed by Robert Clouse (Enter the Dragon). The film features a cast consisting of so many white people that’s probably the most white washed movie ever made. They even threw in clips of Chuck Norris to give it a little financial boost.

Despite its sloppy finished product, Game of Death was a box office smash. The demand for more Bruce Lee was obviously evident, so Golden Harvest called Kim called back for 1981’s Tower of Death (aka Game of Death II). This time around, Kim was able to fully sell himself, as he was playing his own character (let’s just say he’s supposed to be Bruce’s brother). Together with director Corey Yuen (Raging Thunder), choreographer Yuen Woo Ping (Dance of the Drunken Mantis) and the perfect villain in Hwang Jang Lee, Tower of Death is considered one of the greatest Brucepoitation movies ever made. There was even a Korean cut of the film, which proved that Kim was becoming a star in his homeland.

After Tower of Death, Kim returned to Korea where he immediately began work on 1981’s Miss, Please Be Patient (our very own yellow washed Paul Bramhall premiered the film at the Korean Culture Office in Sydney) and then came 1982’s Jackie vs. Bruce to the Rescue, where Kim, as a Bruce-like character starred alongside a Jackie Chan-like character, played by Lee Siu-Ming.

Even though I just went through a bunch of paragraphs regarding Kim’s Bruceploiation output, the main reason he makes this list is because of his role as Bruce Lee’s ghost in 1985’s No Retreat, No Surrender. The film, which reunites Kim with Corey Yuen, follows the Karate Kid mold, only instead of Pat Morita, we get the ghost of Bruce Lee and better fight choreography. Above of all, No Retreat, No Surrender is predominantly remembered for launching the career of Jean-Claude Van Damme (who is now doing shit like Kill ’em All).

Shortly after the release of No Retreat, No Surrender, Kim retired from acting to pursue a successful career in business. Sadly, Kim passed away in 2011, due to a stomach hemorrhage.

LEUNG SIU-LUNG

Just as producers did with Ho Chung-tao (Bruce Li) and Huang Chien Lung (Bruce Le), Leung Siu-lung was given the name Bruce Leung to help market his movies as Bruce Lee products. But unlike Li and Le, only a couple of Bruce-centric titles made their way into Leung’s 65+ filmography.

Legend has it that Leung once took on 13 armed attackers and defeated them single-handedly (too bad Smartphones and YouTube didn’t exist back then), which eventually led to his film career. Trained in the Cantonese Opera, as well as various forms of karate and kung fu, Leung spent the most of the early 70s taking minor roles or action directing in a number of movies. It wasn’t until Ng See Yuen’s 1975 film, Little Superman, that Leung finally gained momentum as a kung fu star.

In 1978, Leung co-starred in Magnificent Bodyguards with Jackie Chan (who was only months away from becoming an overnight sensation). Directed by Lo Wei (The Big Boss), the film is groundbreaking for being Hong Kong’s first ever 3D film (it’s also infamously known for ripping off John Williams’ Star Wars score). Then in 1979, Leung teamed up with Ho Chung-tao (Bruce Li) in Bruce and the Iron Finger. Although neither of the two technically connected to Bruce Lee, the “Bruce” the title is referring to is for Ho, since he’s the first-billed star (makes sense to me).

But let’s jump back to 1976’s Dragon Lives Again, which is one of the reasons Leung is qualified for this list. Taking place after Bruce Lee’s passing in 1973, this over-the-top flick starts with “Bruce Lee” (Leung) rising from his death and waking up in a mysterious after-life universe where people like James Bond, The Godfather, The Blind Swordsman, The One Armed Swordsman, Clint Eastwood, Dracula, Emmanuelle (yes, you guessed right), Zombies, Mummies and Popeye (played by Eric Tsang) roam the streets. Bruce takes on most of these guys (sometimes, in his Kato outfit).

Leung played Bruce again in the 2010 TV series, Jeet Kune Do. This time around, he portrays an elderly version of Bruce who mentors a character played by Chen Tian Xing (Nunchucks), who actually happens to be one of the newest additions of Bruceploitation era.

For the most part, Leung has had a steady career that still goes strong, but it was his memorable role as “The Beast” in Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle that gave him a second wind of success not seen since his 70s glory days.

STEPHEN AU KAM-TONG

In 1999, rising Hong Kong actor Stephen Au Kam-Tong directed, starred-in and wrote What You Gonna Do, Sai Fung?, which focused on Bruce Lee’s turbulent years in Hong Kong during the late 1950s.

If you’re wondering who the film’s title is referring to, here’s the explanation: In the film, Stephen’s character doesn’t go by the name Bruce, he goes by the name Sau Fung (or Sai Fon), which was Bruce’s childhood name that meant Little Unicorn.

It was said that Bruce’s family gave him this nick name (a substitute for his real name, Lee Jun-fan) which was actually a girl’s name. They believed that evil spirits did not like boys in the family (their firstborn was a son who died in infancy). So, by calling him Sau Fung, they were able to trick demonic spells into thinking Bruce was female.

I’ve never seen What You Gonna Do, Sai Fung?, but judging from the footage, Stephen is almost a spitting image of a late 1950s-era Bruce Lee. Since Stephen holds a Black Belt in Karate, he’s probably not too shabby in the action department either.

Prior to What You Gonna Do, Sai Fung?, Stephen appeared in yet another 1992 Bruce Lee biopic (not as Bruce), which is the subject of our next Bruce Lee actor.

Today, Stephen is still very active in the industry. Some of his film’s include 2000’s The Blood Rules, 2009’s Overheard, 2014’s That Demon Within and just recently, 2016’s Three.

DAVID WU DAI-WAI

I’m going to struggle with this one. All I have to say is thank God for Wikipedia…

David Wu Dai-Wai (aka Wu-Man) is Chinese-American actor and TV personality. In 1992, he took a stab at playing Bruce Lee in the ATV series, Spirit of the Dragon.

I’ve never seen the series, but there is a character named Linda, played by Gwennie Tam (reverse white washing?). Of special note, the series features Lau Kar-leung, Nick Cheung, Eddy Ko Hung and of course the guy you just read about, Stephen Au.

Since 1985, David has had a solid career as he’s appeared in a number of films, including 1990’s Tiger Gage 2, 1991’s Robotrix, 1995’s Full Throttle and 1996’s Temptress Moon.

JIANG DAI-YAN 

There have been many of child actors – some infants, possibly some fetuses – who have played Bruce, but I’m excluding them because their roles weren’t substantial enough (even if they were included, we wouldn’t be able to properly identity them).

When the original Ip Man movie came out in 2008, its trailers, posters, TV spots and other advertising material were branded with the words “Mentor of Iconic Legend Bruce Lee” – it was as if both Ip Man, the master of Wing Chun, and Donnie Yen, a top martial arts action star, were living in the shadow of Bruce Lee (even Donnie himself has had his share of Bruce-like performances in the 1995 Fist of Fury TV series, as well as 2010’s Legend of the Fist). If anything, it was proof that the words “Bruce Lee” were a powerful marketing tool.

Ip Man would go on to become a box office smash and its leading man, Donnie Yen, went from star to international superstar (for more on this, read How ‘Ip Man’ made Donnie Yen ‘The Man’). Instantly, the public wanted more Ip Man. They also wondered if a Bruce Lee character would be making an appearance in future Ip Man sequels. Let’s face it, most of the general public wouldn’t even know who Ip man was if it weren’t for Bruce’s close association with him. Besides, the two names were practically synonymous with each other (imagine making a John Woo biopic without the appearance of a Chow Yun-fat character).

When Ip Man 2 finally made its way to theaters in 2010, the audience was treated to a nice surprise during the last few minutes of the movie: A digit old version of Bruce, played by Jiang Dai-Yan. Depending on how big of a Bruce Lee fan you are – and depending if you were expecting him or not – the cameo is worthy of goose bumps.

To date, Ip Man 2 was the first and only acting gig for Jiang. There are a number of premier/press conference photos of him performing kung fu stances in front of cast and crew, so this establishes that he’s had some martial arts training. What’s next for him? Only time will tell.

Who’s our next Bruce? 

For the last few years, Shannon Lee/The Bruce Lee Estate has been in the process of producing an all-new official Bruce Lee biopic (read about it here). At time of writing this article, a “Bruce Lee” has yet to be cast, but filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who helmed Elizabeth (1998) and New York, I Love You (2008), is attached to direct.

According to Variety, Little Dragon will be a contemporary dramatization of the 1950s Hong Kong social and political forces that shaped Bruce Lee into both the most famous martial arts star of all time and a significant modern day philosopher. Themes include family disappointment, young love, true friendship, betrayal, racism, deep poverty and an inner fire that threatened to unravel his destiny.

5,000 people around the world have auditioned for the role of a 17 to 18-year-old Bruce Lee – one of the four shortlisted is an unnamed Malaysian actor (via MMO). And that’s where we’re at.

We’ll be sure to keep this article updated as new Bruces hit the market. Until then, here’s our favorite performance of Bruce: