Yuen Biao Fan - little tiger, big talent

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Say the name Yuen Biao to your average movie fan and chances are they won't know who you are talking about but from fans of the martial arts action genre particularly Hong Kong action he has much respect and admiration, he may not have the world wide house hold name status of Jackie Chan, international fame of Sammo Hung or the genre breaking appeal of Bruce Lee but his incredible acrobatic and martial arts skills along with his humble attitude make him a firm fan favourite.

Yuen had humble beginnings he was born in 1957 in Nanjing, Mainland China and had a poor childhood, he was then enrolled into the Sifu Yu Peking Opera Academy at the age of 6 click here there he was renamed Yuen Biao (Little Tiger) and quickly found a natural talent for acrobats as Jackie Chan says in Jackie Chan: My Life In Action on Yuen's first day at the opera school .The new kid shyly covered his face, but the temptation proved to be too much: after a few more minutes, he timidly walked over and tugged on my shirt. As Yuen Lung executed a complex set of tumbles, i explained how a somersault worked.
"Let me try," he said "I can do it!"
"Its tricky..." I said remembering my clumsy first attempt. I unconsciously rubbed my head, remembering the bump I'd received upon smashing into the hard practice room floor.
The new kid took a deep breath, ran forward a few quick steps, and performed an almost perfect somersault.
While there he was the youngest member of the Seven Little Fortunes who performed in many stage performances and a few film roles. After leaving he went over to the States accompanied by some of his old school mates and his former opera teacher to do some shows overseas, but after a short while the business went down and the performance troupe split up after which he went to New York and worked in a cassette factory, while there he heard that action movies were coming back in Hong Kong and returned, In 1973 at age 16 Yuen got the job as Bruce Lees stunt double (the fake Bruce Lee in Game of Death) but it wasn't until the late 70's after many small roles and bit parts and doing stunts and action choreography that he got his big break.

In 1978 Yuen Biao appeared in fan favourite Magnificent Butcher this was followed by Knockabout (1979) which big brother Sammo Hung acted as director he worked with YB again with another large role in The Prodigal Son (1982) they have worked together on many occasions even before while Yuen was a stuntman it's fair to say Sammo helped launch YB the star, they last appeared together on screen in 2001 in The Avenging Fist some 26 years since their first on screen appearance together (The Hand Of Death) during the mid 80s and early 90's Yuen joined forces along with Sammo and Jackie Chan to make several movies 3 of which were known as the Three Brother films as all 3 had sizeable role, these being Project A, Wheels On Meals and Dragons Forever the latter two being directed again by Sammo Hung (more information on these movies see my article in the article section)

During this time Yuen made it alone as co star and lead in several movies like Rosa, Zu Warriors and My personal Favourite Righting Wrongs directed by another peking opera buddy Corey Yuen-kwai. Right at the end of the 80's Yuen starred in Icemen Cometh along with fellow peking opera buddy and constant foe Yuen Wah, this was possibly one of his biggest hits without Sammo or Jackie. A Year before he made On The Run which showed a dramatic side to Yuen's talents without martial arts or action this was poorly received at the box office but is now regarded as one of his best, these dramatic talents are being shown again in more recent roles. During the 90's his career started to decline compared to his peak as the popularity for this type of action declined and the Hong Kong public became more interested in good looking idol types rather than real talent most of the action roles went to them, he did however make at least 3 films worthy of mention the classic License To Steal, the underrated period Kick boxer (his answer to his small role in Once Upon A Time In China) and the self directed A Kid From Tibet.

Yuen has spent much of the later 90's on making low budget Filipino funded movies such as Tough Beauty and Sloppy Slop and Hunted Hunter but did gain roles in larger films such as Hero a rare movie from the classic Shaw Bros and The Avenging Fist. Yuen now in his 47th year is still working and can be seen in larger productions such as his cameo in Enter The Phoenix and lower budget mainland films like Hero Youngster, his last movie was a made for tv film called A Boxer's Story and he has just completed production on his fifth television series Mr Leung Tsan of Foshan.
Even though his work load has declined, the huge catalogue of films as actor or stuntman is ever impressive.
A father and husband Yuen enjoys spending his free time playing golf and living in Vancouver.