Sammo Hung has worked with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen

In a career spanning seven decades, Hong Kong action legend Sammo Hung has seen a lot and, what's more, his body has been through a lot. So it was no surprise to see the 72-year-old using a cane as he took to the stage for a masterclass session at the Tokyo International Film Festival. But as he charmed an appreciative audience, the confidence and humor that accompanied Hung throughout his illustrious career in martial arts films shone through.

Born into a showbiz family, Hung's career began as a child actor while attending the China Drama Academy, a Peking Opera school in Hong Kong. He made his film debut in the early 1960s, at the age of nine. A slightly grainy, black-and-white clip from the film showed a fresh-faced boy, Hung, cooing at his assembled admirers. “The training at school was very strict. We learned all the basic movements. By the time you graduate, you will be able to make almost every move,” Hung said.

One of his big breaks came when he fought Bruce Lee in the opening scene of the seminal 1973 film Enter the Dragon. Lee's death that year left Game of Death unfinished and in 1978 Hung was put in charge of the fight choreography for the filming.

“I didn't get to spend much time with Bruce Lee. But his skillful cinematographic work made a great impression on me,” Hung recalled. “It broke my heart when he died so young. It shocked people not only in Hong Kong, but around the world. His fans and those of us in the industry who respected him so much were devastated.

In his directorial debut in 1977 The monk with the iron fistin which he also starred, Hung incorporated many of the comedic touches that he had noticed audiences reacting well to in previous films. He helped kick off a trend for comedic kung fu films, made famous by rival and collaborator Jackie Chan in classics like Drunk teacher. “And Hong Kong films at that time were mostly in Mandarin, but we used Cantonese [for The Iron-Fisted Monk]and from then on we decided to make all our films in Cantonese,” Hung said.

Its 1978 Enter the Fat Dragonagain directed and starring him, it was released in Japan with the title Moeyo Debu-gon. All of his subsequent films have included Debu-gon (fat man) in the Japanese title, film critic and producer Jun Edoki explained during his introductory speech.

Sammo Hung in “The Fat Dragon”

Everett Collection

Hung was also instrumental in creating the jiangshi genre of kung fu horror in the 1980s, inspired by his childhood love of ghosts and monsters. “I was always thinking of new elements I could add to my action films,” he said. “I almost never took a break during that golden era of Hong Kong cinema. I was still young and could go at that pace. Making films was preferable to resting.”

While the '90s didn't see Hung reach the heights of previous decades at home, he starred in two seasons of the CBS series Martial law from 1998 to 2000, making him a rare East Asian lead on a U.S. television network show. Co-starring Arsenio Hall, the show was a surprise success, despite Hung's dialogue being limited by his English ability.

Sammo Hung and Arsenio Hall in “Martial Law”.

Everett Collection

“The hardest part was the language. When people asked me if there was anything I wanted to change about America, I told them I wanted everyone to learn Chinese to make things easier for me,” Hung said with a big laugh.

Next was a clip of the iconic tabletop fight scene between Hung and Donnie Yen IP Man 2 (2010). Hung was asked if it was difficult to film the fight sequence with the athletic Yen, known for his martial prowess and training in multiple disciplines.

Sammo Hung fights Donnie Yen in “Ip Man 2”.

Everett Collection

“It wasn't hard work with Donnie, he's very skilled, and so am I. We could do a lot of them in one take. Donnie is incredible, but I'm even more incredible,” Hung smiled, amid laughter and applause from the audience.

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