BRANDON LEE'S FINAL MARTIAL ARTS INTERVIEW
Actor/Martial Artist Gave Us a Glimpse of His Perfonal Life Before Passing

by John Little

Not long before he was cut down last March 31 in a fatal shooting on the set of the movie The Crow, actor/martial artist Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, consented to what, by our estimation, turned out to be his final martial arts-related interview. Fresh from his critical acclaim in the film Rapid Fire, Lee was looking forward to his next project, The Crow, in which he was to play a rock musician who is murdered, but is then reincarnated and avenge his death.

Interviewer John Little, a senior writter at Flex magazine, spent two hours with Lee, discussing everything from the actor's training regimen and recollections of his late father, to topics such as his father's influence on his acting career and Brandon's own real-life self-defense encounters.

What was it like to be the son of the legendary Bruce Lee? Little dug deep in this exclusive interview and uncovered the answer to that question like no interviewer before him. Ever the straight shooter, Lee refused to camouflage his beliefs or opinions in perhaps his most candid interview ever.

When their lenghty discussion ended, the two shook hands and Lee jokingly punched Little on the arm. "We'll do this again when The Crow is released." he told the interviewer. Sadly, fate had other plans.

We hope you enjoy Brandon Lee's farewell interview.

BLACK BELT: Is it true that your father first caught the attention of Hong Kong movie producers when, as a five-year-old, you appeared on Hong Kong television with him and broke some boards?
BRANDON LEE: I wouldn't go so far as to say it was my dad's first big break, but it was one of the first times I performed.

BB: Do you have vivid recollections of that day, or were you too young to remember?
LEE: Oh no, I have vivid recollections of that. My father was going to "present" me to the Hong Kong audience, basically. Being Bruce Lee's son, there was obvioiusly some pressure to break the board, which I did and everything was fine.

BB: Why did you choose acting as a profession?
LEE: I'm not sure, but from that time I was very, very young, that's all I used to tell my mother and father that I was going to do.

BB: Did your father ever try to dissuade you from being an actor?
LEE: No, I think that I was so young back then that my parents just sort of smiled and shook their heads. It was left up to my poor mother alone to find out later that I was serious.

BB: Your first professional acting job was on the 1985 television production Kung Fu: The Movie. How did you get the part?
LEE: I was working for a producer in Los Angeles, reading scripts and doing synopses of them. One day, Lynn Stalmaster, who had been casting Kung Fu: The Movie, came into the office to have a meeting with the producers. The producer I was working with knew I wanted to get into acting and kind of said "Hey, Brandon's an actor. Why don't you let him read (for the part)?" And they did, and I got the part.

BB: What was it like working on the movie with David Carradine?
LEE: David was very nice. He was really good to me when we worked together. I liked him.

BB: Your next film was the Hong Kong production Legacy of Rage, then you made your American motion picture debut in Showdown in Little Tokyo, starring opposite Dolph Lundgren. How did that role come about?
LEE: I had been out on the audition circuit trying to get jobs like everyone else, and Showdown just kind of fell into my lap. At that time, I was trying to get ready to do Rapid Fire, but there still wasn't a script and the deal wasn't set for sure. It was just kind of being worked on when along came the audition for Showdown. I got the part, so I did it.

BB: What excited you the most about the Rapid Fire project?
LEE: I had the chance on Rapid Fire to do martial arts choreography, along with the stunt coordinator, Jeff Imada. It was the first time I'd ever done the stunt choreography for a film, and that's a kick. It's thrilling and fulfilling to make something up, rehearse it, shoot it, and then see it come to the screen pretty much the way you had it. It was the first time I had a chance to have that much involvement with a film. Sometimes it was scary, but overall it was very fulfilling.

BB: Every actor who makes a movie with martial arts in it runs the risk of being compared to Bruce Lee. In your case, the comparison obviously would run that much deeper. Is being Bruce Lee's son a boon or a drawback to your acting career?
LEE: I don't really feel it is either. All I can tell you is that you cannot make choices in your own career based on trying to live up to a comparison with somebody else. You have to do your own work, based on your own instincts and your own life. I respect my father very much, but I'm a very different person than he was.

BB: What do you consider the biggest difference?
LEE: Well, I've grown up in a different country; I've had many different influences than he had. Comparisons, to me, are kind of shallow. You can't compare any two people. When Paul Newman was young, they compared him to Marlon Brando all the time, and he hated it. I'm not worried about comparisons with my father. I've done my work and I'm happy with it.

BB: Your father influenced millions of people throughout the world, both through his fillms and his writing. In what do you feel his influence the most?
LEE:Wow, that's a really hard question. He was my father. I guess the martial arts, which are an integral part of my life, come entirely from my father. Acting, however, is something I've pursued, to a large degree, on my own. My dad passed away when I was young, so we never really had a chance to get into any real deep conversation about acting. And I've had the opportunity to pursue acting in a lot of different ways that my dad didn't have, because he got into it when he was much older. The martial arts, however, are an area that I'm completely beholding to my dad for. He started me in the martial arts when I could walk. He trained me until he passed away, and even when I continued my training, it was with one of his students. So while I've had some different influences throughout the course of my martial arts training, essentially the martial arts are connected to my dad. I guess that's the strongest influence he's had.

BB: Accorning to reports, you had to use some of your martial arts skills to disarm a knife-wielding thug who entered your house. Is it true?
LEE:Well, I came home and caught a gentleman in the midst of burglarizing my house. This was the kind of house where all the rooms were connected, so you literally run around the house. He looked at me and I looked at him, and I started running at him and he took off, and we ran around the house a couple of time. I was like a Three Stooges routine; it was really silly. In any event, on his last circuit through the kitchen, he picked up a big cutting knife and we squared off in the living room. I've got this scar on my thumb (from where he cut me), and I broke his arm, dislocated his shoulder, and broke his nose and his jaw. Then the police came. I happen to feel that if someone breaks into my home and wields a knife at me, he's given up his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to a large extent. But I didn't kill him, which I very well could have. I thought that was fair.

BB: Because you are Bruce Lee's son, you probably had your share of confrontations while growing up.
LEE: Yeah, I had a bunch of stupid encounters when I was growing up. I moved around a lot and attended a lot of different schools, and sometimes when I'd go to a different school there would be somebody there who would want to prove they were tough by beating up Bruce Lee's son. It wasn't that big a deal; no one ever got hurt too badly. It was a big deal at the time when I was 14, but it doesn't seem that important now. You live through it.

BB: How do you keep in shape?
LEE: I like to get up and actually push the television buttons instead of using the remote control. And I buy beers that have twist-off tops— that seems to keep my forearms in shape. No, actually, it depends on what film I'm working on, frankly. The majority of the films I've done have been physical roles, so I've done some pretty hard training leading up to them. I would hit the gym anyway, whether I had a film to do or not, but I wouldn't hit as hard unless I was playing a role in a film that seemed to call for it. When I'm training hard, it's about four days a week for about five hours a day. I usually don't do any weight training there at all, but I did do some weight training before I did Rapid Fire. Frankly, I did it purely for aesthetic reasons because I was playing a character without a shirt on. If it weren't for that, I don't think I would have been doing it.

BB: That's interesting in light of the fact that your father liberated many people from the fear of using weight training as an adjunct to their martial arts training.
LEE: That's true. There used to be the belief among martial artists that weight training would cramp up their muscles and restrict their movement—which I don't think it does if it's performed properly.

BB: So most of your training is directed toward cardiovascular conditioning?
LEE: I do a lot of cardiovascular work. I'm interested in reaching that point when you actually fail from exhaustion at something. When you reach that point where you say "That's it, I can't do another one," you should challenge yourself with something. Maybe you pretend a man had a gun to your mother's head, and he says "If you do one more of whatever exercise you doing, I won't pull the trigger." Then see if you can do it. I find that you have to make it into a game at some level in order to continue. So that's what I do. I jump a lot of rope, I run, I ride a LifeCycle, and I've gotten into using the Stairmaster. And then I work out down at the (Dan) Inosanto Academy. Sometimes I take the muay Thai kickboxing class—which is a hell of a cardiovascular workout.

BB: Do you train in a particular style of martial arts?
LEE: When people ask me that question, I usually say that my father created the art jeet kune do and I have been trained in that. However, that's a little too simple to say because jeet kune do was my father's very personnal expression of the martial arts. So I always feel a little bit silly saying I practice jeet kune do, although I certainly have been trained in it. It would be more accurate to say that I practice my own interpretation of jeet kune do, just as everyone who practices jeet kune do does.

BB: Which of your father's films do you enjoy watching the most?
LEE: That's kind of a toss-up between Return of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon. Return of the Dragon was his third film, and I think his films very clearly evolved from one to the other. Because he wrote, directed and starred in Return of the Dragon, it was a very individual film for him. But Enter the Dragon is probably my favorite, being that it's the only film that he spoke in English in with his own voice, and it certainly had the best production value, so it's the most slick-looking, the most well-polished of the group.

BB: How do you feel about Way of the Dragon, in which your father fights Chuck Norris in a facsimile of the Roman Colosseum?
LEE: You know, that was our family cat that appeared at the end of the film in the Colosseum. And the car that pulled up at the end—the red Mercedez Benz—that was our car. My mom still has that car, as a matter of fact. I remember being on the set of that whole Colosseum thing. That fight with Chuck Norris was actually shot on a soundstage in Hong Kong.

BB: Do you have any anecdotes from the set of Enter the Dragon?
LEE: One of the interesting sidelights in Enter the Dragon, that not too many people realize, occurs in that underground tunnel fight sequence, which is one of my very favorite fight sequences on film. One of the guys who comes in and gets his neck broken by my dad in that sequence is Jackie Chan. Jackie was probably about 17 years old then and was a stunt man.

BB: What advice would you give to today's martial artists?
LEE: My personal opinion would simply be that one should always pay more attention to the spiritual side of the martial arts than to the physical side. I think that is probably an area that initially attracts most people to the martial arts. The majority of people who ask me questions about the martial arts seem to center on the spirituality of the martial arts, but they don't seem to really know what they're talking about. The martial arts is a pursuit that, in my mind, is very capable of providing some deep and lasting spiritual experiences, if a person is open to them. When you move down the road toward mastery of the martial arts, you come up against these barriers inside yourself that will attempt to stop you from continuing. And as you overcome each one of these barriers, you end up learning something about yourself.

BB: When you think about your father, what comes immedialtely to mind?
LEE: This is not intended to be rude, but the personal memories I have of my dad are not so many many because of how young I was when he passed away. And what memories I do have are actually quite cherished, and I'd really rather keep them to myself.

From Black Belt Magazine, August 1993

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BRANDON LEE - HE WAS HIS OWN MAN TO THE END
Brandon Lee spent the better part of his 28 years living in the immense shadow of his famous father, Bruce Lee. But in one of his last interviews, he talks about how important it was to create a persona all his own.

by Caroline Vie

Brandon Lee is dead. And it sure seems unfair. I met him a few months ago when he came to Paris to promote Rapid Fire. I couldn't help thinking of his father when I was introduced to this quiet young man. Of course, that was Brandon's problem: he was trying real hard to make a name for himself, but is was still very difficult to forget that he was his father's son. Brandon Lee was very patient with that: he knew you were obliged to ask him questions about Bruce Lee and he was ready to answer them with kindness and sincerity. Sweet, polite, he was full of life and projects and curious about everything. You should have seen him tasting goat cheese or talking about his admiration for some director! Today, there's only one thing to say: what a pity! SO much potential wasted! Twenty years after his father's death, Brandon has gone to meet him. Was it an accident? Was is foul play? Police continue their investigation. Ironically, Lee was killed while shooting a scene which called for his character to be killed. The movie, a $14-million, action-packed fantasy thriller, was eight days from completion. The publicity generated by Lee's death is too hot for the studios not to use it to promote the movie. But let's just remember him as he was when he was alive: a nice person with a very warm smile who surely deserved better than post-mortem fame.

INSIDE KUNG-FU: Your father died when you were eight years old. Do you have precise memories of your life with him?
BRANDON LEE: Bruce Lee was a good father. He was a very busy man but he was always finding time to take care of his family. It's true that my father's career had a great influence on my own life. Even when I was very young, my life became a matter of public scrutinity because I was my father's son. It was not too easy for me to deal with it at first but I came to accept it little by little. you know, for me, being a famous actor's son was a standard childhood. I kind of thought that it was the same for all children. Now, I'm very proud of my father and I'm always glad when people talk to me about him. Even 20 years after his death, they still remember his and love him. It's not like I was a killer's son! I still have very precise memories of the time I've spent with him but I don't want to talk about that to the press. I think I should keep that to myself. It's just between him and myself and it should stay private.

IKF: Do you consider your father's name to be a burden for your own career?
BL: I don't think that my father would have like his life accomplishments to become a burden upon his son's shoulders. It took me a few years to understand that but, once I got it, I didn't let myself be overwhelmed by Bruce Lee's personality nor his fame. If I had a kid, I know that I would want him to find his own way to be happy. I had to wait to be an adult to be able to accept my father's fame without any suffering.

IKF: How would you define jeet kune do, your father's fighting method?
BL: My father just mixed several existing techniques to find a style of his own. He used to say that he was using everything essential in each and every technique to get a very personal way of fighting. He used to call this martial art jeet kune do. When he died, one of his pupils became my teacher. Jeet kune do was my father's own conception of martial arts so it should have disappeared after his death. He was not exactly teaching it to his pupils but he was giving them some notion in order for them to find their own fighting style.

IKF: Do you think you should have to defend jeet kune do?
BL: I don't think it's my role to do that. Bruce Lee had a lot of pupils before he died and I think they're the ones that should perpetuate jeet kune do.

IKF: When did you decide to become an actor?
BL: Since I was a kid, I wanted to work in movies. I consider myself very lucky to be able to start an acting career. It's great to have my wish to be an actor become true and to get paid for it.

IKF: Did you take acting classes?
BL: I decided to drop out of school when I was 17 to go and take acting lessons with Lee Strasberg in Los Angeles. Then I took theatre lessons in college before going to New York where I joined a theatre company called, "Illegal Aliens". I'm still taking acting lessons now and I will start to act in a new play called "In Doubt" after my next movie. I'm always keen on trying new experiences.

IKF: Do you work out a lot?
BL: I used to go and exercise every day but I don't do it anymore. Before working on Rapid Fire, I used to work out at Dan Inosanto's Martial Art Academy for several hours daily. And I was always finding time to do different types of exercises. Now, I only work out a lot if I need it for a particular part. Rapid Fire's character had to be in great shape. He's a very angry young man who just lost his father and needs to get it out of his system by working out in the gym. At one point, I was supposed to play one of the killer Marines in Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men. I'm sure this part would have asked for very intense training. I'm still sorry I didn't play in this movie because it turned out great and I love Rob Reiner's work.

IKF: Are you a movie buff?
BL: I used to go to the movies very often when I was a kid and I was influenced by many of the pictures I've seen. I love my father's movies for obvious reasons but I'm also a Martin Scocese fan. I also like Mel Gibson a lot because he's able to play various kinds of parts.

IKF: How do you pick the scripts of your movies?
BL: The screenplay and the part I'm supposed to play are, of course, the main factors for me to say "yes" to a movie. But I sometimes read wonderful scripts I couldn't accept because I couldn't relate to the character. When I choose to play a part, I need to find a link between myself and my character. If this relationship doesn't exist, I know I should refuse the movie even if the screenplay is great. I know I wouldn't be able to do a good job if I was forcing myself to perform it. I really need to feel close to the guy I'm supposed to play.

IKF: Are you interested in the technical aspect of movie making?
BL: I'm interested in everything! On Rapid Fire, I was trying to get involved in as many aspects of the shooting and editing as I could without making a nuisance of myself! Making a movie is teamwork and I want to find out how it works.

IKF: Did you have a good time working on the TV series Kung Fu?
BL: It was so wonderful to work with David Carradine and Martin Landau! It was my first acting experience and I was like a kid in a toy store. I also liked the idea of acting in it because my father wasn't cast for the part in the original series because he was Chinese and it was impossible at the time to have an Asian actor starring in a Hollywood production. I think it's kind of ironic that I play David Carradine's son in it!

IKF: Were you offered to play in remakes of your father's films?
BL: Several times! But I don't think it would be a good idea. I was also offered to play my father's part on several occasions. It's really not something I'd like to do. It's hard enough to make people forget I'm Bruce Lee's son for me not to go and try to act like him.

IKF: You've been working in the States and in Hong Kong. What do you like best?
BL: The way of working is very different in Hong Kong and in the States. In H.K., everything is crazy; there are no unions, no schedules and no screenplays. It's a bit like doing student movies with your pals. Everybody is doing everything. There are no defined functions: one day, you take care of the lights; two days later, you're acting and everyone finds it natural because everything is improvised and there's no safety obligation like in the States. I like to work in America better because actors and scripts are better here. I'm getting used to having a screenplay when I work, you know! I think it'd be very difficult for me to go back and work in Hong Kong.

IKF: Are you interested in Hong Kong movies anyway?
BL: I love John Woo's movies. I'd love to work with him and I'm looking forward to seeing his film with Jean-Claude Van Damme. I'm also a great fan of Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan. Hong Kong directors are the best in the world as far as action scenes are concerned. No American directors could do better than them.

IKF: Will you be ready to do another martial art movie?
BL: I know I have to be careful with my choices because I'm always at risk of being typecasted. I'm ready to fight to prove I'm able to do all kinds of things and play all kinds of parts! But I really love action films and I feel I can bring something of my own in the genre. I'll probably do other martial arts films in my career but I want to prove that I'm able to work on something else. Of course, if Oliver Stone was ready to direct a martial arts movie, I wouldn't mind at all doing it.

IKF: Jean-Claude Van Damme is giving up martial arts films to do pure action. Woudl you like to take his place in the martial arts market?
BL: Martial arts have always been part of my life ever since I was a kid. I don't think that most of the movies which are shown nowadays are really martial arts films because they don't show what this discipline is really all about: self-improvement and peace of mind. In most films, martial arts are shown for violent scenes. I would love to do a movie to show its true meaning. I was offered a picture called The Silent Flute—which my father was supposed to do before his death—about a guy who finds his true self thanks to martial arts. That's the kind of feeling I'd like to share with an audience, so I might do it one of these days.

IKF: What can you tell us about your next movie, The Crow?
BL: I'm very happy to be able to play in a fantasy thriller because it's a nice change for me. I play a dead rock musician who has been murdered and I'm coming back from the grave to find out who killed me. The movie is based on the James O'Barr comic book and its atmosphere reminds me a little bit of Jacob's Ladder. Even if have some stunts in the film, I'm glad to do something other than action. It's also a lot of fun because I play the guitar very badly. I sure hope Eddie Van Halen's fingers look like mine!

From Inside Kung Fu, July 1993

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