10 Unsung Movie Heroes Of The Video Rental Era

This heavily muscled actor mastered the role of the strong, dangerous villain of little words. He was born Yang Sze but started going by the name of Bolo after his character in Enter the Dragon, a part he was recommended for by real-life friend, Bruce Lee.

Thanks in part to the success of Enter the Dragon in 1973, Yeung was in demand and worked tirelessly in Hong Kong cinema. It was in 1988 that he found further success in the west. Now going by the Bolo Yeung name, he was cast as the seemingly indestructible villain Chong Li, opposite a young Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport. The film was a phenomenally popular video to rent thanks largely to a perfect bad guy. It cemented Van Damme’s status but without Bolo, that may not have been the case.

Bloodsport also spawned a few imitations, namely Bloodfight (also starring Yeung) and Bloodfist. He would work with the muscles from Brussels again in Double Impact in 1991, another heavily rented tape. He became recognisable thanks to his Chong Li role and would carry on playing ruthless bad guys in straight-to-videos greats like Tiger Claws. Yeung had the opportunity to fight for good for a change in TC 2000 and Shootfighter. Those would not do so well.

Turning from competitive bodybuilding to acting, Bolo- aka the Chinese Hercules- was a former Mr. Hong Kong. He is also a genuine martial artist and was once a student of Bruce Lee.