Bruce Li
ChinaBiography of Bruce Lai
Bruce Lai, a film actor and also a stunt double for Bruce Lee in Bruceploitation films, was born in Taiwan on June 5, 1950. He was born Ho Chung-Tao, but later changed his name to Bruce Lai. Lai began studying martial arts at a young age, learning judo and taekwondo in school and later attending a physical education institute. His exceptional athletic abilities helped him break into the film industry, starting off as a stuntman and supporting actor.
Lai made his first appearance on screen in 1972 in Taiwanese kung fu films "Triangular Duel" and "Death Duel," although his roles were very small and he could easily go unnoticed. He had a slightly bigger role in the film "Duel in the Tiger Den" (1972), where he played the villainous boss of the Japanese, engaging in a life-or-death battle with the main protagonist.
After Bruce Lee's death in 1973, Lai signed a contract with Jimmy Shaw's Atlas Films. In 1974, he appeared in "Bruce Lee – A Dragon Story," which is considered the first film in the popular "bruceploitation" genre. This genre exploited the resemblance of its main actors to the deceased star. Lai reluctantly agreed to change his name to Bruce Lai for the next two films in the series, "Bruce Lee against Supermen" (1975) and "Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death" (1975). However, Lai was not satisfied with this change as he knew he couldn't compete with the real Bruce Lee.
Despite his feelings, Lai was promoted by the producers to be the official successor to Bruce Lee, with his films even featuring the real Bruce Lee in promotional materials. Throughout the late 1970s, Lai starred in numerous bruceploitation films, with only a few exceptions. Some of his notable films include "Exit the Dragon Enter the Tiger" (1976), "Bruce Lee – Man and Myth" (1976), "Deadly Strike" (1977), "Dynamo" (1978), "The Fury of the Dragon" (1978), and "Iron Dragon Strikes Back" (1979). Many fans of kung fu films consider these movies to be decent martial arts action films of their time.
In the late 1970s, Lai's contract with Atlas Films ended, and he briefly joined Ng See-Yuen's production company. However, the decline of the bruceploitation genre and his creative dissatisfaction led him to retire from acting after directing and starring in the films "Fists of Bruce Lee" (1979) and "The Chinese Stuntman" (1981), with the latter being one of his best works. Lai made one final appearance in the film "Dragon Force" (1982) before completely leaving the film industry.
In the early 1980s, Lai returned to Taiwan and became an instructor at Ping Chung University in Taipei. He later opened his own gym. He made a brief return to the film industry, only appearing in the action film "Not Again" (1990) and agreeing to do interviews for documentaries about Hong Kong action cinema. In 1985, Lai's wife passed away from cancer.
