Yang Sze, better known as Bolo Yeung, is a Chinese former competitive bodybuilder, martial
artist and a martial arts film actor, was born on July 3rd, 1946 in Canton, China. Primarily
cast as the villain in the movies he stars in, he is best known for his performances
as Bolo in Enter the Dragon, as Chong Li in Bloodsport, and for his numerous appearances
and long-spanning career in the martial arts filmography for Hong Kong's motion picture
industry.
Bolo is married. His wife’s identity isn’t known. The couple has two sons and one daughter
as Danny Yeung, David Yeung, and Debbra Yeung. His son David was a former bodybuilding champion,
and is now a strength trainer for MMA athletes.
Yeung began his martial arts training at the age of 10 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, where he
trained under several kung fu masters. Growing up, he took an interest in bodybuilding, and
later became Mr. Hong Kong bodybuilding champion. He held the title for ten years. Because of
his muscular physique, he was chosen for several bad guy roles in films produced by Shaw Brothers
Studios, such as The Heroic Ones, The Deadly Duo and others.
Yeung met Bruce Lee while the two were filming a Winston cigarettes commercial. A friendship
emerged and Lee invited him to star in Enter the Dragon (1973), after which he became known
as "Bolo", the name of the character he portrayed. The film was a success and earned him a lot
of recognition and fame. During the 1970s and 1980s, Yeung starred in numerous martial
arts films, but his breakout film was Bloodsport, which became a box office hit in the spring
of 1988. Jean-Claude Van Damme had the leading role as Frank Dux, while Yeung played the
role of Chong Li. Yeung also appeared in more films such as Tiger Claws, TC 2000 and Tiger
Claws 2. Bolo Yeung has served as a long career in
the film industry and has performed challenging roles with leading personalities in the world.
For his athetic physique, people used to call him "the Chinese Hercules".
Yeung has a net worth of $1.5 million dollars as of 2020.
“Sweetest guy you could ever know,” says Jean Claude Van Damme of his co-star, Bolo
Yeung on set of Bloodsport. “He was famous for being Mr. Asia and this big bodybuilder,
but he couldn’t have been nicer. Yeung brought his son to set every day and spent all of
his downtime with him.” Yeung and Bruce Lee became close friends during
the filming of Enter the Dragon, in which Lee and Yeung worked very closely on technique
training. Yeung once stated in an interview, many years after Lee's death, "There will
never be another Bruce Lee; I am privileged to have had the honour of calling him my friend."
In the 2019 Cinemax series Warrior, Rich Ting portrays a Hong enforcer named "Bolo" to pay
homage to Yeung's character in Enter the Dragon. Warrior was developed from Bruce Lee's initial
writings for the series and features the fictional Bolo as a rival to Ah Sahm, the protagonist
who bears many similarities to Lee.