Jet Li

Born: 26th April 1963
Where: Beijing, China

Li managed to make an acting virtue out of his skills as a child prodigy in martial arts, specialising in the high-kicking wu shu style.

Landing the first of his five gold medals in the Chinese championships when he was nine, he made his film debut ten years later in Shaolin Temple.

Relocating to San Francisco on a two-year permit he then settled in Hong Kong, where his flagging career was lifted by the breakthrough Once Upon A Time In China.

Despite numerous offers from the likes Oliver Stone and Quentin Tarantino, Jet took his time following fellow Hong Kong actors Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Chow Yun-Fat to LA.

Finally, in 1998, Jet appeared in his first American studio film, playing the martial artist villain opposite Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon 4.

He followed with Romeo Must Die, starring alongside Aaliyah, then had a lead role in Kiss of the Dragon, which he also co-produced with Luc Besson.

Li reunited with the Romeo Must Die team Joel Silver and director Andrzej Bartowiak for the frankly ludicrous Cradle 2 The Grave.

Recent work includes the Crouching Tiger-style epic Hero and the violent gangster story Unleashed with Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins.