Yeung began his
martial arts training at the age of 10 in
Canton, where he trained under several
kung fu masters. Growing up, he took an interest in
bodybuilding, and later became
Mr. Hong Kong bodybuilding champion. He held the title for ten years. Because of his muscular physique, he was chosen for several bad guy roles in films produced by
Shaw Brothers Studios, such as
The Heroic Ones,
The Deadly Duo,
Angry Guest and others. Yeung met
Bruce Lee while the two were filming a
Winston cigarettes commercial. A friendship emerged and Lee invited him to star in
Enter the Dragon, after which he became known as "Bolo", the name of the character he portrayed. The two became close friends during the filming of
Enter the Dragon, during which Lee and Yeung worked very closely on technique training. Yeung once stated in an interview, many years after Lee's death, "There will never be another Bruce Lee; I am privileged to have had the honour of calling him my friend." During the 1970s and 1980s, Yeung starred in numerous martial arts films, but his breakout film was
Bloodsport. Shot on a US$1.5 million budget, it became a box office hit in the spring of 1988.
Jean-Claude Van Damme had the leading role as
Frank Dux, while Yeung played the role of Chong Li. A strong friendship formed between the two actors on the set of
Bloodsport, and Van Damme invited Yeung to appear in his subsequent film
Double Impact. Canadian action film actor, director and producer
Jalal Merhi met Yeung in
Hong Kong while shooting his first film
Fearless Tiger, then again on the set of
Double Impact. Merhi was impressed with Yeung's personality and ability, and decided to create a part specifically for him. Later Merhi worked with Yeung on more films such as
Tiger Claws,
TC 2000 and
Tiger Claws 2. In 2007, Yeung made an appearance in
Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter. Merhi directed the first 60 minutes of the film that was shot in
Toronto. Due to other commitments, he could not complete the remaining part of the film in Russia. Producer Erken Ialgashev directed the remainder of the film. ==Filmography==