The huge concession Chuck Norris made to fight Bruce Lee
It’s hard to imagine Chuck Norris being the kind of guy who makes concessions to anyone, let alone a co-star. This is the tough son of a gun who captured our hearts as Walker, Texas Ranger, after all. However, when your co-star is the legendary martial arts icon Bruce Lee, even someone like Norris is inclined to fall in line.
In 1972, Norris appeared as the villainous martial artist Colt in Bruce Lee’s seminal breakthrough film The Way of the Dragon. At the time, he was the world’s international karate champion, and he had begun to take his first tentative steps into the world of film. In fact, The Way of the Dragon was only his third screen appearance, following a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it turn as an uncredited extra in the 1968 spoof The Wrecking Crew and a cameo as himself in a 1970 episode of comedy-drama Room 222.
Lee – an old sparring partner of Norris – knew he was destined for big things in the movies, though, and pushed for him to be his opponent in the epic climax of the film. In 2007, Norris told Empire that it all came from a simple phone call – complete with an offer he couldn’t refuse. He revealed, “I was still the world karate champion then. Bruce Lee, my old work-out partner from Los Angeles, called me up out of the blue, saying, ‘I’m gonna do a fight scene in the Colosseum in Rome, like two gladiators fighting.'”
Interestingly, Norris wasn’t entirely convinced he wanted audiences to see him in a choreographed fight with Lee on-screen. After all, he was a legitimate martial arts champion and had a reputation to maintain. He admitted that he told his pal, “Bruce, I’ve seen your films and you annihilate everybody. It’s gonna be a one-way fight.” Thankfully, Lee assured him that the epic fight scene he was imagining wouldn’t be a one-sided obliteration – far from it, in fact. Norris claimed Lee said, “No, no, no, I know you and respect you. It will be a seesaw battle.”
In order to be cast, though, Norris needed to undergo a physical transformation. At that time, he weighed a beefy 168 pounds compared to Lee’s more lithe 145—but that size difference still wasn’t enough for the filmmakers, who wanted him to bulk out even further.
Amusingly, Norris told Physical Arts that the unimpressed producer told him, “You two don’t look much different in size. You need to be bigger than Bruce. Can we make you bigger?” He replied, “What do you mean?” to which the producer explained, “Can you put on some weight?” The bemused young fighter said, “Well, I don’t know”, and admitted to being slightly frightened by the prospect of changing his body for the part.
In the end, though, Norris agreed to gain the weight – and did it by wolfing down cheeseburgers and drinking malts. By the time he showed up on set, he had put on almost 20 pounds, which he admitted was mostly fat. The producers were happy that the extra heft made him look more intimidating on-screen, but it led to a funny side effect for Norris – a man known for his iconic roundhouse kick.
He chuckled, “That’s why you didn’t see me do any jumping kicks. I couldn’t get off the ground.”
