Summary
- Many popular martial arts actors began their careers playing villains, which served as a springboard for their success.
- The villains in martial arts movies are often portrayed as strong fighters, sometimes even better than the heroes.
- Some actors, like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, started their careers playing villains before becoming iconic heroes in the genre.
Many iconic martial arts actors got their start by playing villains. While some continued to play villains throughout their careers, others later established themselves as heroes of the genre. Still, starring as a villain was a popular springboard for many martial artists to break into the action movie scene.
The villains of martial arts movies are often portrayed as strong fighters, with some of them being even better in combat than the heroes. Although the heroes tend to emerge victorious, the villains of martial arts films are able to showcase incredible skills. It makes sense that so many careers have been launched in the martial arts world via villainy — and it could explain why some actors stayed in these roles so long.
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10 Great Martial Arts Stars Who Play Both Heroes & Villains
Many great martial arts stars have played memorable heroes or villains, but some versatile actors have done both many times throughout their careers.
10 Dick Wei
Iconic Villain Roles: Sand Palm Fighter From Kid With The Golden Arm & Lor Sam Pau From Project A
Dick Wei started out making his own movies while in the Taiwanese army. He signed with the Shaw Brothers after being discovered in a martial arts studio. Although he didn’t start out playing villains, they became his most popular roles and springboarded his career. Wei starred in dozens of martial arts movies, including popular classics like Five Deadly Venoms and Kid With the Golden Arm. Wei played Master in Five Deadly Venoms and the Sand Palm Fighter in Kid With the Golden Arm. He also trained fellow martial arts actors, Michelle Yeoh among them. Wei eventually left his acting career behind to become a director and producer.
9 Hwang Jang-lee
Hwang Jang-lee began his career in villain roles and seemed content to stay there. His first noteworthy role was as Yamamoto’s bodyguard in The Korean Connection, a Korean martial arts movie made in 1974. Lee’s career grew as he earned bigger roles in martial arts movies. Lee’s most prominent credits are as Silver Fox in Secret Rivals, Thunderfoot in Drunken Master, and Sheng Kuan in Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. Many of Lee’s villain roles saw him playing the antagonist to Jackie Chan’s hero character. Although his characters are antagonists, they are still fun to watch — and sometimes better fighters than the hero.
8 Bolo Yeung
Iconic Villain Role: Chong Li From Bloodsport
Bolo Yeung’s film career began due to his time as a bodybuilder. The Shaw Brothers started casting him in various villain roles, where Yeung succeeded due to his strength and physique. After befriending Bruce Lee, Yeung made an appearance in Enter the Dragon as Han’s enforcer. Bloodsport, however, is considered his breakout role. His martial arts skills were put on display as the dominating Chong Li. Starring alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme, who he worked with again as Moon in Double Impact, Yeung put on a brilliant performance. Although his career stalled in the early 2000s, Yeung’s latest movie came out in 2017, when the actor was 71 years old.
Yeung’s real name is Yang Sze. The name ‘Bolo’ came from his time in Enter the Dragon, as his character was called Bolo. The name stuck, so Yeung used it throughout his career.
7 Collin Chou
Iconic Villain Roles: Jade Warlord From Forbidden Kingdom & Shang Wai From Hail The Judge
Collin Chou’s villainous performances throughout his career have made him a staple bad guy in many martial arts films. One of his first roles was Ai, an antagonistic policeman in the action-comedy film Slickers vs. Killers. His character attempts to kill a telephone salesman because of his interest in his wife. Chou has played the villain as Jade Warlord in The Forbidden Kingdom, Tony in Flash Point, and Shang Wai in Hail the Judge. He managed to break out of his villain archetype, however, as Seraph from The Matrix franchise. Still, Chou’s career was built off of being the villain because he is very good at it.
6 Wang Lung-wei
Iconic Villain Roles: Ma Fu-yi From Five Shaolin Temples & Justice Wang From Five Deadly Venoms
Wang Lung-wei’s on-screen career is full of villain roles. Like many other martial artists, he started out in Shaw Brothers films. His first role with the Shaw Brothers was in Five Shaolin Temples, where he played Ma Fu-yi, a traitor who sided with the Qing. He continued to play villains as his acting career went on, until Martial Club in 1981. In Martial Club, Wang portrayed Master Shan, a martial arts expert who was unaware that he was doing evil deeds for a school. Wang retired from acting not long after Martial Club to begin working as a choreographer, writer, and director before retiring altogether in the early 2000s.
5 Chuck Norris
Iconic Villain Role: Colt From Way Of The Dragon
Although he is known for his heroism and inability to be beaten by anything, one of Chuck Norris’ first on-screen roles was as a villain. Norris played Colt, a martial artist hired by Ho to fight Tang in The Way of the Dragon. Tang, played by Bruce Lee, fights Norris in an arena, with the latter being killed after refusing mercy. After Norris began to pursue acting seriously, he starred in hit after hit. His name became synonymous with everything there is to love about martial arts movies. His martial arts prowess — and the hilariously impossible aspects of Chuck Norris movies — cemented him as an icon within the genre.
4 Jean-Claude Van Damme
Iconic Villain Role: Ivan Kraschinsky From No Retreat, No Surrender
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s storied career has seen him defeating bad guys with little more than his incredibly powerful kicks. Van Damme’s fight scenes are some of the most entertaining to watch. One of his first film appearances was No Retreat, No Surrender, where he played Ivan Kraschinsky. Ivan was the main antagonist, who is soundly defeated by the hero at the end of the film. Van Damme’s next role saw him as the hero. He played Frank Dux, who faced off against Bolo Yeung in Bloodsport. Over the course of his career, Van Damme played several other villains, including Andrei in Black Eagle and Jean Vilain in The Expendables 2.
3 Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa
Iconic Villain Roles: Shang Tsung From Mortal Kombat & Heihachi Mishima From Tekken
Many of Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa’s roles see him playing the villain. His first role was uncredited, but it saw him as a Wing Kong swordsman in Big Trouble in Little China. His first credited role was as a henchman in Tanaka’s gang in Armed Response. Hiroyuki-Tagawa’s career included villain and hero roles alike, but he is most famous for his villains. The most well-known is Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat. He also played Heihachi Mishima in the live-action Tekken film. Hiroyuki-Tagawa plays a good hero, but his charisma and incredible acting make him an even better villain.
2 Jackie Chan
Iconic Villain Role: Immortal Meteor Wa Wu-bin From Killer Meteors
Jackie Chan’s unbelievable movies have made him a legend in the martial arts world. His career began when he was a child in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that he gained recognition as one of the world’s biggest action stars. Chan starred in Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon, playing one of Han’s prison thugs. In 1976, he played the Immortal Meteor Wa Wu-bin in Killer Meteors. This was one of his first credited roles as a main character. Wa Wu-bin was the antagonist of the film, as he set about destroying a town in Hong Kong. After that, Chan’s career took off, and he started playing heroes.
1 Bruce Lee
Iconic Villain Role: Winslow Wong From Marlowe
Bruce Lee was one of the most influential martial arts actors of all time. Lee’s iconic roles included Mr. Lee in Enter the Dragon, Billy Lo in Game of Death, and Tang Lung in The Way of the Dragon. Prior to his death in 1973, Lee starred in dozens of films, some of which were released posthumously. His acting career began when he was a child, but one of his first proper roles as an adult was the villain Winslow Wong in Marlowe. He also played Cheng Chao-an in The Big Boss. Bruce Lee’s dazzling martial arts moves showcased his talent and cemented him as a legend.
