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Born in Hong Kong in 1948, 'Bruce' Leung Siu-Lung was the eldest of twelve brothers (which included stuntman/martial arts actor/action choreographer 'Tony' Leung Siu-Hung) and he obtained his martial arts training from his father at the Cantonese Opera. He also learned different forms of Karate and Kung Fu from different masters, which would serve him well later in films where he showcased his talent in traditional combat and became a kung-fu star during the 70s & 80s.
Even though Leung Siu-Lung (Cantonese) "aka Liang Hsiao-Lung (Mandarin)" is his real name, he was known best to international kung-fu fans as Bruce Leung and/or Bruce Liang. His American name, "Bruce" was added on when he took his shot at the Bruce Lee clone phenomenon in the late 70s alongside Bruce Li (real name Ho Chung-Tao), Bruce Le (real name Huang Kin-Lung) and Dragon Lee. Unlike the other Bruce Lee look-a-likes, Leung Siu-Lung was compared to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan for his effective martial arts, acrobatics and laughable humor; and tried his hand at only a few 'Brucexploitation' films which included 'Bruce and the Iron Finger' (aka Bruce Against the Iron Hand) with Bruce Li, and 'The Dragon Lives Again'.
His beginnings in the film industry took off in the early 70s when the legendary Ng. See-Yuen (producer of Jackie Chan's 'Snake in the Eagle's Shadow' and 'Drunken Master') gave him his first role in 'Little Superman', the film that gained him recognition as a kung-fu star. He continued to showcase his mastery in martial arts in classic films like 'My Kung Fu 12 Kicks', Ten Tigers of Shaolin', Showdown at the Equator', 'Kung Fu: The Invisible Fist', 'The Fists, The Kicks & The Evils', 'Black Belt Karate', 'The Fighting Machine' and one of his most memorable roles in the Golden Harvest-produced cult classic, 'Broken Oath', which featured one of Hong Kong's first internationally acclaimed female kung-fu stars, 'Angela' Mao-Ying (Enter the Dragon, Sting of the Dragon Masters "aka When TaeKwonDo Strikes") and Sammo Hung (TV's Martial Law, Jackie Chan's Project A, Magnificent Butcher).He went on to work in numerous kung-fu films in the other years.
Some sources say that Leung Siu-Lung gathered the public's attention and earned his fame when he encountered 13 armed attackers and defeated them single-handedly.
He was also a talented action choreographer for films where he crafted some quality martial arts sequences for 'The Tattoo Connection' with African-American Karate Champion Jim Kelly (Enter the Dragon, Black Belt Jones), 'Bruce and the Iron Finger' (aka Bruce Against the Iron Hand) with Bruce Li, 'Rich & Famous' with Chow Yun-Fat (Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon; Bulletproof Monk) and many more throughout the 80s and early 90s.
Leung Siu-Lung's unfortunate disappearance from films would follow when he took a visit to Mainland, China, where the Communist government banned his film work. He wouldn't be present in front of the cameras again for almost two decades but that wouldn't stop him from returning in 2004, where he was given the opportunity to make a surprising comeback to play the part as the main villain, The Beast, in Stephen Chow's blockbuster comedy, 'Kung Fu Hustle'. That was his very first bad guy role ever.
Dispite his disappearance from films, Leung Siu-Lung's on-screen return in 'Kung Fu Hustle' will hopefully reinvent him as the kung-fu legend he's been throughout the 70s & 80s and help him gain some recognition to international newcomers.
