Yuen trained in the traditional
Peking opera role of
wusheng. He began his film acting career at age 37, in the first
Wong Fei-hung film to star
Kwan Tak-hing,
Story of Huang Feihong (1949), though his film appearances were rare until the late 1950s. He is best known for portraying mentors and kung fu masters in his films, and featured in almost 150 films throughout his career. One of his internationally best-known films came late in his career,
Drunken Master (1978), in which he played
Beggar So (Sam Seed in some English dubs), an old hermit who had mastered the art of
drunken boxing, aiding a young
Wong Fei-hung, played by
Jackie Chan. The role was a reprisal (in all but name) of the one he had played in another of Chan's films, ''
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978). At the time, Drunken Master
proved to be the most successful film to feature Chan. The film portrayed Wong Fei-hung as a young and mischievous rascal as opposed to the venerable, Confucian master of kung fu played in many films by Kwan Tak-hing. The movie was a surprise international hit, and greatly helped to boost the career of the then 66-year-old actor. Yuen reprised the role of the beggar So for three further films, Dance of the Drunk Mantis, Story of Drunken Master, and World of the Drunken Master'' (in which he had a cameo appearance). ==Personal life==