His good looks and natural athleticism took him to Shaw Brothers, where he appeared in several renowned period kung fu films, although he was rarely offered leading roles.
His big-break came under the direction of Sammo Hung, with whom he fought in Enter the Fat Dragon (1978), and co-starred in the seminal Warriors Two (1978).
His performance in Warriors Two, as Mr. Tsan, a real-life historical doctor and master of Wing Chun, is described as "the best performance of his career" by Mark Pollard of Kung Fu Cinema, who goes on to write: Leung continued to work with Sammo Hung, achieving further success with a string of highly rated kung-fu comedies, including Knockabout (1979), where he and Yuen Biao played crooks being harassed by a kung-fu beggar played by Hung.
The film again featured Yuen Biao, as well as veteran kung-fu star Kwan Tak-hing playing Wong Fei-hung.
He continues to act and direct into the 2000s, occasionally appearing in high-profile films like Last Hero in China (1993), where he co-starred with Jet Li and reprised the role he had played in 1981's Dreadnaught, and several Stephen Chow vehicles including Legend of the Dragon (1990).