Bolo Yeung The former competitive bodybuilder, martial artist, and martial arts film actor Yang Sze is known as Bolo Yeung. Aside from his roles as Bolo in Enter the Dragon (starring Bruce Lee), Chong Li in Bloodsport (starring Jean Claude Van Damme), and Chang Lee in Bloodfight (starring Yasuaki Kurata and Simon Yam), numerous appearances, and a long career in Hong Kong martial arts films, he is best known for his villainous roles.
Bolo Yeung Career
At a young age, Bolo Yeung began training in martial arts, and because of his impressive muscular physique, he was chosen for several bad guy roles in Shaw Brothers Studios films, including The Heroic Ones, The Deadly Duo, and Angry Guest. In 1971, he left Shaw Brothers.
After working together on a Winston cigarette commercial, Bruce Lee invited Bolo to star in Enter the Dragon, where he was portrayed by Bolo, the name of his character. During the filming of Entering the Dragon, where Bruce and Bolo worked very closely on technique training, the two became close friends.
In an interview many years after Lee's death, Bolo stated, “There will never be another Bruce Lee, and I am honored to have been his friend.”
As a young actor in the 1970s and '80s, Bolo starred in a number of kung fu films, but Bloodsport, based on Frank Dux's claims, became his breakthrough film. The film was shot on a $1.5 million budget and became a box-office smash in 1988. Jean-Claude Van Damme played Frank Dux, while Bolo Yeung portrayed Chong Li.
The two actors formed a strong friendship on the set of Bloodsport, and Van Damme wanted Bolo to play opposite him in his East Asian film Double Impact.
In his first film Fearless Tiger, Jalal Merhi met Bolo on the set of Double Impact, and then again on the set of Fearless Tiger. Merhi worked with Yeung on other films such as Tiger Claws, TC 2000, and Tiger Claws 2. Jalal was impressed with Bolo's personality and abilities and decided to create a part just for him.
A rare appearance by Bolo in Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter took place in 2007. Although Jalal Merhi directed the first 60 minutes of the film in Toronto, he was unable to complete the remaining 60 minutes in Russia due to other commitments.
Taking inspiration from Bolo Yeung's role in Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, Rich Ting plays a Hong enforcer titled “Bolo” in the 2019 Cinemax series Warrior. Based on Bruce Lee's original writings for the series, Warrior features the fictional Bolo as a rival to Ah Sahm (the protagonist who shares many similarities to Lee).
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