Ho Chung-tao 何宗道 (Bruce Li)
Bruce Li is the most famous Bruce Lee imitator. He built his career from the early 1970s until the mid-1980s, starring in Bruceploitation films across Hong Kong and Taiwan. He is the first of the three primary established Bruce Lee clones—alongside Bruce Le and Dragon Lee—and was regarded by many as the official "Successor to Bruce Lee."
Bruce Li was born on June 5, 1950, in Taiwan. His real name is Ho Chung-tao. From a young age, he was heavily involved in martial arts and gymnastics. He trained in Kung Fu, Karate, Wing Chun, Taekwondo, and Western Boxing. He initially worked as a stuntman in Taiwan and Hong Kong under the name James Ho. Following the sudden death of Bruce Lee, when film producers were desperately searching for replacements, a friend of his looked at him from a specific profile angle and pointed out his striking resemblance to the late icon. This friend introduced him to producer Jimmy Shaw, who subsequently gave him the stage name Bruce Li and began casting him in leading roles.
Ho starred in the very first Bruceploitation film, Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story (1974), a loosely based biography of Bruce Lee. He later starred in two direct sequels to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury (1972): Fist of Fury II (1977) and Fist of Fury III (1978). In both sequels, Ho portrays Chen Shen, the brother of Chen Zhen (the character originally played by Bruce Lee). He also starred in Bruce Lee Against Supermen (1975), playing the role of Kato—the iconic character that initially made Bruce Lee famous on American television in the 1966 series The Green Hornet.
Additionally, he headlined a long series of popular martial arts features, including Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth (1976), Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger (1976), Bruce Lee, We Miss You (1977), The Dragon Lives (1977), Soul Brothers of Kung Fu (1978), Dynamo (1978), Return of the Tiger (1978), and Bruce Against Iron Hand (1979).
On screen, Bruce Li captures a highly convincing physical resemblance to Bruce Lee; he is exceptionally well-conditioned, agile, and an incredibly capable martial artist. Naturally, he never truly replicates Bruce Lee himself—a standard that applies to all of the clones. However, his facial expressions avoid over-the-top exaggeration, and his fighting style relies on a simplified blend of Kung Fu and Karate, featuring highly visible elements of Wing Chun. In several of his projects, his fight choreography is remarkably impressive, whereas in others it remains standard fare.
A substantial number of Ho Chung-tao's films, such as Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story (1974), Bruce Lee's Secret (1976), Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth (1976), and The Dragon Lives (1977), are biographical films about Bruce Lee. These scripts bear very little relation to Lee's actual life, operating almost entirely as works of fiction.
In other projects like Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger (1976) and Bruce Lee, We Miss You (1977), Ho portrays either a dedicated student, a close friend, or an avid admirer of Bruce Lee who launches a personal investigation into the mysterious causes of his death—which, according to these fictional plots, was orchestrated by powerful crime syndicates.
Furthermore, some of his films are explicit remakes or extensions of Bruce Lee's actual filmography, including Fist of Fury II (1977), Fist of Fury III (1978), and Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death (1975).
Concurrently, a large portion of Ho Chung-tao's filmography features standalone storylines completely unrelated to Bruce Lee. In these films, Ho simply portrays a regular fighter or a law enforcement officer. Some of these features were given titles referencing Bruce Lee for marketing purposes, while others were not. A few key examples include Bruce Lee in New Guinea (1977), Deadly Strike (1978), Edge of Fury (1978), Fists of Bruce Lee (1978), Soul Brothers of Kung Fu (1978), Blind Fist of Bruce (1979), and Bruce and the Iron Finger (1979).
During his cinematic career, he also directed two of his own starring vehicles: Fists of Bruce Lee (1979) and The Chinese Stuntman (released internationally as Counter Attack in 1981). In the latter, it is highly evident that he made a conscious effort to break away from the traditional, restrictive Bruceploitation tropes. Throughout his career, he was credited as "Bruce Li," "Li Shao Lung," and occasionally under his real name, "Ho Chung-tao."
Due to his strong physical resemblance to Bruce Lee, the producers of Game of Death approached him to help complete the half-finished film alongside other stand-ins. However, Ho disagreed with director Robert Clouse and flatly refused. The production company, Golden Harvest, was highly impressed by Ho Chung-tao's screen presence and martial arts capabilities, offering him the opportunity to officially replace Bruce Lee in The Game of Death, which was being assembled posthumously. Ho rejected the offer because the studio's plan required sharing the role of Billy Lo with three other actors and stunt-doubles (Yuen Biao, Kim Tai-chung, and Albert Sham). Ho wished to be the sole actor completing the role, but the studio refused to alter their production strategy.
He worked prolifically from 1974 until 1985, permanently retiring from the film industry following the tragic death of his wife. Ho later stated in interviews that he was deeply unhappy with being forced by studios to constantly impersonate Bruce Lee. He returned to Taiwan and became a physical education professor at Ping Chung University. While he temporarily relocated to South Korea at one point, he has since returned to Taiwan, where he focuses on teaching therapeutic massage and musculoskeletal health rehabilitation.
Filmography Actor
The Last Fist of Fury (1977) (Archiv Footage)
documentary
The Young Bruce Lee (1976) (Archiv Footage) The Real Bruce Lee (1977) (Archiv Footage) Director
Hong Kong Movie Database (HKMDB): Official actor profile and session history for Ho Chung-tao (Bruce Li).
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