Jet Li 李连杰
Li Lianjie (born April 26, 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a film actor, film producer, Chinese martial artist, wushu champion, and international star who was born in Beijing.
Li was eight when his talent for wushu was noticed at a summer course at school, and he began his practice there. After three years of intensive training with Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. He went on to win fifteen gold medals and one silver medal in Chinese wushu championships, where, despite his young age, he competed against adults.
After retiring from Wushu at age 19, he went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple (1982). Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce. They likened his career to an aircraft, which likewise “takes-off” as quickly, so they placed the name Jet Li on the movie posters. Soon everybody was calling him by this new name, which was also based on the nickname, “Jet,” given to him as a young student, due to his speed and grace when training with the Beijing Wushu team.
He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films, The Shaolin Temple series (1, 2 and 3), which are considered to be the films which sparked the rebirth of the real Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China; most notably the Once Upon A Time in China series, in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung, and Fist of Legend (Chinese title: Jing Wu Ying Xiong), a remake of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury.
Li’s first role in a Hollywood film was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), but his first Hollywood film leading role was in Romeo Must Die (2000). He has gone on to star in many Hollywood action films, including Kiss of the Dragon and Unleashed. In 2002, the epic period martial arts epic film Hero was released in the Chinese market. This film was both a commercial and critical success and became the highest-grossing motion picture in Chinese film history at the time. In 2006, when the martial arts epic Fearless, was released worldwide, Li said that although he will continue to make martial arts films, Fearless is his last wushu epic. In Fearless, he played Huo Yuanjia, the real-life founder of Chin Woo Athletic Association, who reportedly defeated foreign boxers and Japanese martial artists in publicized events at a time when China’s power was seen as eroding. Together with the film Fist of Legend, Li has portrayed both Chen Jun, the student and avenger of Huo Yuanjia (aka Fok Yun Gap), as well as Huo Yuanjia himself.
He co-starred in The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) with the legendary Jackie Chan, as the title character villain in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) opposite Brendan Fraser and The Expendables (2010) with Sylvester Stallone. Li will appear in the sequel later this year, The Expendables 2.
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre “Mickey” Rourke, Jr. (born September 16, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films.
Rourke’s film debut was a small role in Steven Spielberg’s ‘1941’ (1979). He followed this with a minor role in Michael Cimino’s mega-flop ‘Heaven’s Gate’ (1980). However, it was his portrayal of an arsonist ‘Body Heat’ (1981) that garnered significant attention, despite his modest time onscreen. He mostly appeared in television films in his early career. During the early 1980s, Rourke starred in ‘Diner’ (1982), alongside Paul Reiser, Daniel Stern, Steve Guttenberg, Tim Daly and Kevin Bacon, and yet again drew further critical notices for his portrayal as the suave compulsive gambler “Boogie” Sheftell; The National Society of Film Critics named him “Best Supporting Actor” that year. Soon thereafter, Rourke starred in ‘Rumble Fish’ (1983), Francis Ford Coppola’s follow-up to The Outsiders.
Rourke’s performance in the film ‘The Pope of Greenwich Village’ (1984) alongside Daryl Hannah and Eric Roberts also caught the attention of critics, although the film was not financially successful. In the mid-1980s, Rourke earned himself leading roles. He starred in Michael Cimino’s controversial cop drama ‘Year of the Dragon’ (1985). However, it was his role opposite Kim Basinger in the erotic drama ‘9½ Weeks’ (1986) that gave him his first box-office hit and helped him gain “sex symbol” status. An image which he detested and actively took gritty roles to downplay.
Although some of Rourke’s work was viewed as controversial in the U.S., he was well-received by European audiences, who loved the “rumpled, slightly dirty, sordid … rebel persona” that he projected in his early 80’s roles. He received critical praise for his work in ‘Barfly’ (1987) as the alcoholic writer Henry Chinaski (the literary alter ego of Charles Bukowski). Rourke also appeared in ‘Angel Heart’ (1987), the film was nominated for several awards, but is best remembered for the controversy generated by some owing to a sex scene involving Cosby Show cast member Lisa Bonet, who won praise for her part in the film. It was a slow downward spiral from there on for Rourke.
He appeared in the controversial ‘A Prayer for the Dying’ (1987) as an IRA hit man. Around the same time he also wrote his first screenplay, ‘Homeboy’ (1988), a boxing tale in which he starred. In 1989, Rourke starred in the docu-drama ‘Francesco’ (1989), portraying St. Francis of Assisi and the under-rated ‘Johnny Handsome’. This was followed by ‘Wild Orchid’ (1990), another critically panned film, which gained him a nomination for a Razzie award (also for Desperate Hours). In 1991, he starred in the box office bomb ‘Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man’ as Harley Davidson, a biker whose best friend, Marlboro, was played by Don Johnson. In his last role before departing for the boxing ring, was ‘White Sands’ which reviewers found to be stylish but incoherent.
In 1991, Rourke, who had trained as a boxer in his early years, left acting and became a professional boxer for a period, fighting 8 times, he retired undefeated with a record of 6 wins and 2 draws. His return to acting was tough, mainly featuring in poor choices, or more often that not, the only offers he received. He did however have supporting roles in several good films, including ‘The Rainmaker’, ‘Buffalo ’66’, ‘The Pledge’, and ‘Man on Fire’.
In 2005, Rourke made his comeback in mainstream Hollywood circles with a lead role in ‘Sin City’ and ‘Domino’. In the 2008 film ‘The Wrestler’, Rourke portrayed a past-his-prime wrestler, and garnered a 2009 Golden Globe award, a BAFTA award, and a nomination for an Academy Award. In 2010, he appeared in the blockbusters ‘Iron Man 2’ and ‘The Expendables’; next he’s in the big-budget ‘Immortals’. Mickey is back.
socialpsychol 