The late Brandon Lee was once offered the chance to play his father, the late martial arts legend Bruce Lee, on film — but the young actor felt it would have been wrong.
In an undated interview unearthed by Heat Vision to commemorate what would have been Brandon Lee’s 53rd birthday on Thursday, the son of Bruce Lee discussed why he passed on the lead role in the 1993 hit Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.
“I was a little scared by the whole thing, really,” Brandon Lee explained. “It’s strange to play your own father, you know? I couldn’t really wrap my mind around it.”
Both men tragically died far too young. Bruce Lee died in 1973 at the age of 32 from an allergic reaction. Brandon Lee died at 28 in 1993 after he was shot accidentally during production of The Crow.
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, directed Rob Cohen, is a biographical drama about the life of Bruce Lee, which ultimately stared Jason Scott Lee (no relation) in the title role.
Brandon Lee said that had he been older, perhaps the situation would have been different.
“It’s funny, too, because to tell you the truth, if it had come along later in my career, I might have more seriously considered it,” he said. “But as it is, it is so early in my career, it’s the kind of thing I just feel like it could be a career ender.”
In the same interview, Brandon Lee said he turned down plenty of offers for action movies because he wanted to be a proper actor and not typecast.
Check out the interview and a trailer for Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, below:
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