Bruce Leung

Leung learned martial arts from his father at the Cantonese opera. While his major style is Goju ryu Karate, he also was a Wing Chun practitioner.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he appeared in a large number of martial arts films. Most familiar to Western audiences may be Jim Kelly's The Tattoo Connection (in which he only appeared briefly, but choreographed the action sequences) and Jackie Chan's Magnificent Bodyguards, which was the first Hong Kong film shot in 3D. He is also known for playing Bruce Lee in the notorious Bruceploitation classic, The Dragon Lives Again.

In addition, Leung appeared in his own star vehicles, including My Kung-Fu 12 Kicks, Kung Fu: The Invisible Fist, and Black Belt Karate.

Leung retired from acting after 1988's Ghost Hospital. However, in 2004, he made a return to the screen as The Beast in Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle (which, incidentally, was his first villainous role). In 2007, he appeared as himself in Italian documentary Dragonland directed by Lorenzo De Luca. The interview was made by night on the set of Shamo. He also appeared in a Chinese television series called Heroes which aired in 2020.

In 1975, Leung married Eurasian Hong Kong singer Irene Ryder and had a daughter. However, due to Leung's frequent travels to Mainland China for work, he was rarely in contact with Ryder and their daughter, resulting in their divorce in the 1980s.^[3]

In the summer of 1994, Leung's senior visited him in Shenzhen and introduced him to a 26-year old Northeast Chinese woman named Song Xiang (宋骧). Half a year later they would meet again, and Leung employed her as a floor manager of his Baolong Hotel. Leung and Song were married in 1995 at the hotel, and have a daughter and a son together. Their two children have practiced martial arts since they were very young.^[4]

Leung died in Shenzhen on 14 January 2026, after prolonged heart failure. He was 77.^[1][2][5]

Sources:^[6][7]