In 1979, at the age of 16, he made his cinematic debut in the Shaolin Temple series, which immediately became a national hit in China. A gifted martial artist with impressive technical mastery, perfectionist and hard-working, he is often compared, rightly or wrongly, to Bruce Lee. Indeed, Jet Li appears to be “only” practicing while Bruce Lee has created his own style, jeet kune do, through constant theoretical and practical research.
He became famous abroad by working with Tsui Hark on the Once Upon a Time in China series in 1991, where he demonstrated his art of combat. He will also shoot a new version of Bruce Lee’s film: The Fury to Conquer.
Spotted by Hollywood, he will make himself known in the United States and in Europe in the role of villain in The Fatal Weapon 4, in 1998. He then went on to shoot other Western films, notably with Luc Besson as producer and filmmaker, but continued shooting in parallel in China, with director Zhang Yimou, and in Hong Kong province.
In the 2000s, he played in Romeo Must Die, Danny the Dog, The One, Rogue: The Ultimate Confrontation, En sursis and The Master of Arms.