When Brandon Lee came to the world’s attention in (1994), his first – and last – major American movie, he seemed to have arrived fully formed. Directed by Alex Proyas and based on the comic books by James O’Barr, this gothic thriller saw Lee cast as revenant rocker Eric Draven, who comes back from the dead to take vengeance on the thugs who killed him and his girlfriend. was completed using digital trickery and Lee’s stunt double, Chad Stahelski, to finish his few remaining scenes.
It became a worldwide smash hit, spawning three sequels and a television series. The original was one of only six films made by Lee, if we include his cameo appearance in Swedish action spoof (2000), released posthumously. Looking at them now, these early films are a reminder that legends aren’t born, but made.
Growing up in California and Hong Kong, Lee learned martial arts from his father, among others, and studied acting at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York. He wanted to be taken seriously as a performer but accepted that – probably owing to his name – action movies might be a necessary route into the business. Lee’s first film role was the lead in 1986’s , the only movie he made in Hong Kong, and in Cantonese.
It was directed by Ronny Yu Yan-tai – who would become known for American horrors such as (1998) – and is typical of the Hong Kong action era’s usual fare. Lee plays Brandon Ma, a regular guy caught up in a drugs plot thanks to .
