Wushu master and heir to
Bruce Lee's crown as king of kung fu movies. Jet Li (real name Li Lianjie) spent some years as one of the world's most well-known exponents of
Wire Fu, before making a move to more brutal fighting styles after heading west to try his luck in Hollywood.
His films include:
- The Once Upon a Time in China series as Wong Fei-hung, his Star-Making Role.
- Danny the Dog, a.k.a. Unleashed as Danny.
- The Expendables as Ying Yang, the sole Fragile Speedster amongst a party of Mighty Glacier warriors.
- Fearless as Huo Yuan Jia.
- The Forbidden Kingdom as the Silent Monk/the Monkey King.
- Ocean Heaven: as Wang Xuechang. Jet Li's first and thus far only non-action or Martial Arts Movie: A heartwarming-drama about a single father aquarium technician diagnosed with cancer, who must find a way to take care of his mentally-retarded adult son, by spending quality time with him amongst the dolphins and turtles of his workplace (hence the title). Bring tissues, you WILL need them.
- Black Mask which was inspired by character of Kato in The Green Hornet.
- Hero as Nameless.
- Lethal Weapon 4, his first Hollywood role, and his first major villain role, as Wah Sing Ku.
- The One as Gabe Law, Yulaw, and Lawless (it's that kind of movie).
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, as the Dragon Emperor.
- War as Rogue.
- Kiss of the Dragon as Liu Jian.
- Cradle 2 the Grave as Su.
- Romeo Must Die as Han Sing.
- The Fong Sai Yuk series (known in the US as The Legend) as Fong Sai Yuk.
- Fist of Legend as Chen Zhen.
- The Defender/Bodyguard From Beijing as Allan Hui Ching-Yeung/John Chang.
- Tai Chi Master
- Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate as Zhao Huai'an
Tropes applicable to him:- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Some of his roles.
- Bad Ass: Was a real wushu champion before he started playing films. Naturally, almost all his roles (with the exception Wang Xuechang of Ocean Heaven) are about him being a major Bad Ass.
- He Really Can Act: As show in My Father Is A Hero, Danny the Dog and especially Ocean Heaven.
- Lightning Bruiser: He's really fast. Even when doing Tai Chi. And he'll put just enough pressure behind it to make you feel it without injuring you. Brendan Fraser put it best in his The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor interview:
"We got into position, then Action! I didn't even see it, his leg just went BOOM! *doubles up while holding his left ribcage* Not hard enough to knock me out, but enough to make me go whoof!"
- Marth Debuted in Smash Bros.: Has actually starred in a movie set in America way back in 1988 and filmed entirely in San Francisco. It was a Hong Kong production, however, and he starred with Stephen Chow there. The latter was playing one of his few serious roles.
- Martial Pacifist: Most of his other roles.
- This is also a fair description of him in Real Life. Despite being one of the biggest bad asses in all of media, he's actually a pretty hardcore Buddhist who's gone so far as to say that those who view martial artistry as a weapon are not true martial artists.
- Mean Character Nice Actor: Played villainous roles from time to time after he debuted in Hollywood.
- Nice Guy: Started a charity after he escaped the 2006 tsunami. Also tends to play this type of characters before he moved to Hollywood.
- Playing Against Type: Jet Li proudly touts Ocean Heaven as his first non-action movie, playing a terminally ill father who must find a way to say goodbye to his mentally-retarded adult-son while spending time together at the Aquarium.
- Shuichi Ikeda: He normally dubs his movies in Japan. Yep, that's right, Char Aznable can not only being three times faster, he can kick your ass three times faster too!
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