Jet Li retired from competition at twenty and was immediately offered many starring film roles and subsequently began his film career with director Chang Hsin Yen for 'Shaolin Temple' (1979). Upon its release, Jei Li was propelled into instant movie stardom, and he would go on to act on the two sequels that precipitated the kung-fu mania in 1980s China. Jet Li was bitten by the silver screen bug.

Breaking into the world of film with an exciting performance in 1979's Shaolin Temple, Jet Li's screen presence was undeniable and ignited a boom in the kung-fu film industry during the 1980s. Though he took an unsuccessful attempt at directing a few short years later with Born to Defend (1986), his acting career continued to accelerate at high speed with such hits as the Once Upon a Time in China and the Fong Sai-Yuk series in the early '90s. Rising to remarkable celebrity status due to his charm and unmatchable moves, Jet Li gained fans in both the young and old and continued to thrill Eastern moviegoers in increasingly awe-inspiring ways.

Despite his growing fame in Asia, Jet Li was still largely unknown in North America and Europe. This would all change when he took on the role of Mel Gibson's nemesis in the high octane block buster, 'Lethal Weapon 4'. Jet Li was quickly shaping up to be a global force to be reckoned with. Li built on his initial success taking a starring role in Joel Silver's explosive inter-racial take on Shakespeare, 'Romeo Must Die' (2000). In 2001, Jet Li continued to challenge himself with the 'The One', playing the Jekyll and Hyde police officer, Gabriel Yulaw. His latest success was 'Kiss of the Dragon' (2001), where he played the starring role as well as donning writing and producing hats.

A crossover to American films began with his role as the villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) (a role originally offered to Chan but turned down due to his inclination never to play the bad guy), and continued with more likable roles in Romeo Must Die and Kiss of the Dragon (2000 and 2001 respectively). Jet Li caused something of a sensation with the release of Kiss of the Dragon when he made a special plea to parents not to bring their children to the film due to the unusually (for Li) adult-oriented violence of the film. A request virtually unheard of in the Hollywood system, Jet Li promised parents that they would soon be able to share his high-kicking escapades with their children with the decidedly more family friendly The One a few short months later. Soon after joining an impressive Chinese cast for Hero in 2002, Jet Li would return to stateside screens alongside DMX in Cradle to the Grave (2003). Li's future projects include a Joel Silver produced action-adventure film in the vein of 'Indiana Jones'. He has also teamed up with Mel Gibson's Icon Productions to produce a martial arts television series for TBS entitled 'Invincible'. Jet Li's Kung Fu features have attracted millions of viewers worldwide.

Extras

Hero [Initial Pressing Limited Edition]	Swordsman II+The East Is Red Boxset [DTS]	Shaolin Kung-Fu Master Collection	A Grand Collection Of 'Black Mask'	Once Upon A Time In China Collection [DTS]

Related links

Jackie Chan
Bruce Lee
Michelle Yeoh
Chow Yun-Fat
Stephen Chow
Andy Lau
Tony Leung
Zhang ZiYi
Gong Li
Maggie Cheung
Shu Qi

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