Celebrated Hong Kong martial arts actor and director Corey Yuen died two years ago during the Covid pandemic, it has been reported.
The Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers confirmed Yuen’s death following a social media post by action star Jackie Chan naming Yuen (also known as Yuen Kwai) among a list of late disciples of China Drama Academy head Yu Jim-yuen, who died in 1997.
Chan and Yuen were both members of the Seven Little Fortunes, a famous touring troupe of child performers from the China Drama Academy based in Hong Kong, along with other future notables, including Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Having appeared as a fight extra in Hong Kong films in the 1970s including Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury, Yuen gained a larger role in Tsui Hark’s landmark 1983 film Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain while acting as a stunt choreographer and becoming a director in his own right.
Yuen worked on a string of martial arts films in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 90s, including Dragons Forever, starring Chan and which Yuen co-directed with Hung, hit comedy All for the Winner, co-directed with Jeffrey Lau, and Michelle Yeoh vehicle Yes, Madam. Yuen also branched out into English language film-making, with No Retreat, No Surrender marking Jean-Claude Van Damme’s first significant film role.
In the early 1990s Yeun began a productive collaboration with Jet Li, directing a series of the latter’s successful Hong Kong films (including The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk, The Bodyguard from Beijing and My Father Is a Hero). He followed Li to the US, becoming a fight choreographer and stunt coordinator on a number of Li’s Hollywood pictures, including Lethal Weapon 4, Romeo Must Die and The Expendables. He was also credited as joint director on the Jason Statham action film The Transporter, along with Louis Leterrier.
Yuen’s final directorial credit was the 2006 video game adaptation DOA: Dead or Alive, starring Jaime Pressly and Holly Valance, but continued to work as a fight choreographer or second unit director on high profile titles including War, Red Cliff and The Man With the Iron Fists.