Born Ha Lingchun (Chinese: 夏令震) in Nanjing, China on the 26th July 1957, he was the fifth child in a family of eight children. He and his family moved to Hong Kong when he was five years old. At the age of six he was enrolled at the Peking Opera SchoolThe China Drama Academy. He was given the stage name Yuen Biao (Little Tiger) and trained alongside schoolmates Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Corey Yuen, Yuen Wah and several others, under master Yu Jim-yuen, who would later become famous in Hong Kong cinema. He quickly showed a talent for acrobatics. According to Jackie Chan's autobiography, when Yuen was asked by his master to do a backflip on his first day of training, Yuen did a proper backflip on his very first try. He remained at the school until the age of 16.[2] When he left, Yuen followed his classmate Sammo Hung into a career in the Hong Kong film industry.
During his early acting period, he adopted the anglicised name Bill Yuen for use on the Hong Kong films that were released internationally. However, recognising the growing success of Jackie Chan, Golden Harvest were keen to give him a similar name, and on some international film prints, he was credited as Jimmy Yuen. Both anglicised names were later dropped.[3]
Late 1970s and 1980s
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, thanks to his good friends and former classmates, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, he began working more frequently as an actor. After his co-starring role in The Dragon, the Odds (1977) and his full lead role debut in Knockabout (1979), he starred in several films in the early 1980s, notably The Prodigal Son (1981) (directed by Sammo Hung) and Dreadnaught (1981) (directed by Yuen Woo-ping). He later co-starred alongside his Peking Opera "brothers", Chan and Hung, in Project A (1983), Wheels on Meals (1984) and Dragons Forever (1988), and also appeared in smaller roles in films such as Hung's original Lucky Stars trilogy. He co-starred with Sammo in films such as Eastern Condors (1987) and Millionaires Express (1988). He played the lead with Cynthia Rothrock in Righting Wrongs (1986) and alongside Maggie Cheung in The Iceman Cometh (1989).
1990s
Yuen's acting roles waned somewhat in the early 1990s, although he notably played a supporting role alongside Jet Li in Once Upon a Time in China (1991). Yuen did not appear in the sequel as he was replaced by Max Mok. In the late 1990s, films such as Hero (1997) co-starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and A Man Called Hero (1999) co-starring Ekin Cheng saw Yuen return to the big screen. During this time he began to concentrate more on television work and took lead roles in the series Righteous Guards and The Legend of a Chinese Hero in 1998.
2000s
In 2000, Yuen went to the United States to work with Jackie Chan as the action choreographer on Shanghai Noon. In 2001, he co-starred alongside Hung in The Avenging Fist. Yuen also starred in a more comedic role in the 2002 Japan HK film No Problem 2.
In 2006, Yuen played Inspector Steve Mok in Robin B Hood along with his long-time friend Jackie Chan.
In 2007 he finished filming the Wing Chun TV series (a remake of the 1994 series that had preceded the film Wing Chun) alongside Nicholas Tse, Sammo Hung and another of Hung's sons, Sammy Hung. Biao plays an elder version of the character Leung Jan, the role he played 25 years earlier in The Prodigal Son, and father to Tse's character.[4]
The series has since been re-edited for release as a film, entitled Shuang Long Ji (aka Legend of Twins Dragon). However, the film's release has been delayed as it has been banned in mainland China for containing too much violence.[5]
Yuen appeared as a guest judge on the China Beijing TV Stationreality television series The Disciple, which aired in mainland China, and was produced by and featured Jackie Chan. The aim of the program was to find a new star, skilled in acting and martial arts, to become Chan's "successor", the champion being awarded the lead role in a film. It concluded on June 7, 2008, with the series winner being announced in Beijing.[6]
Yuen also starred alongside Bryan Leung and Ji Chunhua in Legend of Shaolin Kung-fu II: Thirteen Cudgel Monks, a series directed by Yuen Bun. It was edited down and released as Kung Fu Master in the United States.
Directing and producing
Though mainly known as an actor, Yuen also directed the film A Kid from Tibet (1991).
Yuen set up his own film production company, Yuen Biao Films Limited, which produced his films A Kid from Tibet and Kick Boxer, also known as Once Upon a Chinese Hero (1993).[7]
Personal life
In 1984, Yuen married Didi Pang Sau Ha. They have two children: daughter Yi-Bui, born in 1986, and son Ming-Tsak, born in 1988.
Yuen has a second home in Canada, where he enjoys golf.
^"Legend of Twin Dragons". Wu-jing.org. July 2007. Archived from the original on October 15, 2002. Retrieved 2007-08-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
