Danny Chan Kwok-kwan

Danny Chan
陳國坤
close-up of Danny Chan wearing a white shirt, dark sweater, and black leather jacket, smiling at camera
Chan in 2018
Born
Chan Kwok-kwan

(1975-08-01) 1 August 1975 (age 49)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • martial artist
Spouse
(m. 2014)
[1]
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinChén Guókūn
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingCan4 Gwok3-kwan1
Musical career
Also known asSiu Long (小龍, "Little Dragon")
InstrumentVocals
Member ofPoet
Signature

Danny Chan Kwok-kwan (born 1 August 1975) is a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. He is known for resembling Bruce Lee in appearance and has portrayed Lee in the 2008 television series The Legend of Bruce Lee, the 2015 film Ip Man 3, and its 2019 sequel, Ip Man 4. Chan is also a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do, the martial art created by Bruce Lee.[2]

Career

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Chan started his career as the lead singer of the rock band Poet.[citation needed] He also played minor roles in several Hong Kong films.[3] He first came to prominence for acting in two films directed by Stephen Chow: as the goalkeeper "Empty Hand" in Shaolin Soccer (2001) and as the Axe Gang boss Brother Sum in Kung Fu Hustle (2004). In 2008, due to his resemblance to Bruce Lee, he was chosen to portray the famous martial artist in the biographical television series The Legend of Bruce Lee.[3][2]

Chan reprised his role as Lee in the 2015 film Ip Man 3, which is loosely based on the life of Lee's mentor. He took on the role once more in the 2019 film Ip Man 4, the final installment in the franchise.

Personal life

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Chan has been married to Hong Kong actress Emme Wong since 2014. He has sparked controversy for his pro-Beijing stance, after he expressed support for the Hong Kong Police Force during the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. He had posted on social media that police should not "go easy on any [protesters]" nor "let any one of them go".[4]

Selected filmography

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Film

[edit]
List of film appearances, with year, title, and role shown
Year Title Role
1996 Young and Dangerous 3
古惑仔3之隻手遮天
Fat Sze's gangster
1999 Sealed with a Kiss
甜言蜜語
Yellow-haired thug
2001 Shaolin Soccer
少林足球
Empty/Lightning Hand
Bullets of Love
不死情謎
2002 The Era of Vampires
殭屍大時代
Choi
2004 Kung Fu Hustle
功夫
Brother Sum
2007 It's a Wonderful Life
心想事成
Sun Wukong, the Monkey God
Kung Fu Fighter
功夫無敵
Don Ching
2008 CJ7
長江七號
My Wife is a Gambling Maestro
我老婆係賭聖
Manu
The Luckiest Man
大四喜
Ho Kin
2009 All's Well, Ends Well 2009
家有喜事2009
Web single #2
2010 Just Another Pandora's Box
越光寶盒
Soldier
Ice Kacang Puppy Love
初戀紅豆冰
Aquarium owner
2015 Monk Comes Down the Mountain
道士下山
Zhao Xinchuan
Blind Spot
探靈檔案
Ip Man 3
葉問3
Bruce Lee
2018 Kung Fu League
2019 Ip Man 4
葉問4
Bruce Lee

Television

[edit]
List of television appearances, with year, title, and role shown
Year Title Role Channel
2008 The Legend of Bruce Lee
李小龍傳奇
Bruce Lee CCTV
2011 Twin of Brothers
大唐雙龍傳之長生訣
Kou Zhong CCTV-1

References

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  1. ^ Danny Chan Emme Wong of Bali Island married Jordan Chan to send blessings Archived 10 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Bendijin. 27 October 2014
  2. ^ a b Report: Chan Kwok-Kwan to Play Bruce Lee. The Washington Post. 2 December 2006.
  3. ^ a b "Clones Of Bruce Lee – The Ultimate Guide to Bruce Lee Exploitation Cinema". Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Hong Kong Protestors Boycott 'Ip Man 4' for Donnie Yen and Producer's Pro-Beijing Stance". The Hollywood Reporter. 23 December 2019.
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