When Bruce Lee fought an extra on the set of ‘Enter the Dragon’
Martial arts cinema would not be in the position it is today if it were not for the works of Bruce Lee, and when looking for Lee’s most significant contribution to action films, it’s hard to look beyond the impact of 1973’s Enter the Dragon, a true masterpiece of the genre directed by Robert Clouse.
The film sees Lee play a martial artist also called Lee, who is entered into a deadly martial arts tournament in order to investigate a crime lord called Han for the British intelligence agency. There’s a brilliant combination of the spy, blaxploitation and action film genres in what would become one of the greatest martial arts movies ever made.
Not only did Enter the Dragon explore Chinese philosophy, the deeper meaning behind martial arts and the themes of honour and justice, but it’s fair to say that the actual fighting scenes are some of the best ever committed to screen. Lee’s prowess as a fighter is on full display as he faces a range of foes during the tournament on Han’s private island.
Interestingly, though, Lee had to fight at least one more person than he had initially been expecting. There’s an entire mythology surrounding the life of Lee and what he was really like on the sets of his many films. Quentin Tarantino famously dived into this other side of Lee in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and was subsequently criticised by Lee’s family and some of his fellow actors.
The scene in Tarantino’s film sees a fictional version of Lee, played by Mike Moh, challenged to a fight by Brad Pitt’s stuntman character, Cliff Booth. The scene looks to have had at least some inspiration, though, other than Tarantino just not really liking Lee, because in Enter the Dragon, Lee did indeed fight an extra.
Actor and martial artist Bob Wall, who played Han’s bodyguard, O’Hara’ in the film, explained in Black Belt magazine how the ordeal went down. “There was this young Chinese guy working as an extra on the film,” Wall began. “During a break, this guy was talking with a bunch of friends. I understand a bit of Cantonese, and I overheard them discussing Bruce’s martial arts skills.”
One would think that the extra and his friends would be blown away by Lee, but Wall explained that they felt precisely the opposite. He continued, “This loudmouth said, ‘I reckon you only act out your fighting. You’re not for real!'” According to Wall, Lee had often been challenged during his productions but mostly “kept his cool”.
However, eventually, Lee grew tired of the Chinese extra’s insolence and suddenly pointed at him and said, “You! Come on down. Now!” A fight broke out between the two martial artists, with Wall claiming that the extra could hold his own in combat. However, he was no match for Lee, who proved that he really was the real deal.
“Bruce played with him for a couple of minutes, then slapped him around until the guy was all bloody and messed up,” Wall said. The fight was complete, and the Chinese extra returned to his position and never spoke of Lee’s phoney qualities ever again. Lee didn’t hold back on the young man and showed him the important lesson of respect while proving his credentials in a real fight at the same time.
Check out the trailer for Enter the Dragon below.
