[3] After his retirement from the sport in 1979, he went on to win great acclaim as an actor, making his debut with the Chinese-Hong Kong martial arts film Shaolin Temple (1982), which instantly catapulted him to stardom in East Asia.

[4] Though continued success followed after two sequels in 1984 and 1986, Li had a major breakthrough across Asia with the Once Upon a Time in China film series (1991–1993), in which he portrayed Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung.

He starred in his directorial debut film Born to Defence (1986), which saw Li, for the first time, playing a character in a period setting.

[5] Before transitioning to Hollywood in the late 1990s, he appeared in several contemporary Hong Kong action films which fused guns and kung fu, most notably High Risk (1995), Black Mask (1996), and Hitman (1998).

[6] His movie career in China is credited with reviving wushu in Hong Kong martial arts films during the 1990s,[3] and revitalising the Shaolin Temple.

[13][14][15] He also co-founded Taiji Zen, an online health and wellness program providing instruction in meditation and tai chi.

Renowned coaches Li Junfeng and Wu Bin[22] made extra efforts to help the talented boy develop.

He has also studied other arts including baguazhang, tai chi, xingyiquan, drunken boxing, Eagle Claw, and Praying Mantis.

He has also mastered wushu's main weapons, such as Sanjiegun (Three Section Staff), Gun, Dao (Broadsword), Jian (Straight Sword).

[30] The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong.

[31] 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.

Along the way, he pairs up with a wacky sell-out actor, Frankie (played by Jacky Cheung), and proceeds to engage in a series of violent battles in a high-rise building.

Li had two wuxia feature films released in 2011, The Sorcerer and the White Snake and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate; the latter was helmed by Tsui Hark.

He agreed to do Lethal Weapon 4 after the producer Joel Silver promised to give him the leading role in his next film, Romeo Must Die (2000), alongside singer Aaliyah.

Though Li spoke very little English at the time of production, his performance as Chinese mafia hitman Wah Sing Ku was praised.

[39][40] Li turned down Chow Yun-fat's role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) because he promised his wife that he would not make any films during her pregnancy.

In July 2001, Li agreed to produce and star in an action film with Jackie Chan which was to be released in 2002 or 2003, but no further news of their collaboration surfaced until 2006.

[42] In 2003 he reunited with producer Joel Silver for the action thriller film Cradle 2 the Grave where he starred alongside rapper DMX and fellow martial artist Mark Dacascos.

Li was presented the Visionary Award by East West Players, the oldest Asian American theatre in the United States,[43] in 2002 by contemporary John Woo.

[46][47][48][49] 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 publicised events at a time when China's power was seen as eroding.

Specifically, he plans to continue acting in epic action and martial arts films dealing more with religious and philosophical issues.

[citation needed] Li's 2007 Hollywood film, War, was released in August of that year, and re-teamed him with actor Jason Statham, who previously starred with him in The One, and action choreographer Corey Yuen.

In late 2007, Li returned again to China to participate in the China/Hong Kong co-production of the period war film The Warlords with Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro.

Li and fellow martial arts veteran Jackie Chan finally appeared together onscreen for the first time in The Forbidden Kingdom, which began filming in May 2007 and was released to critical and commercial success on 18 April 2008.

[57][58] After a one-year hiatus from filmmaking, Li returned to acting in 2010, portraying a mercenary in the film The Expendables, teaming up with action stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture.

Li believes that Wushu is not primarily for self-defense and instead of trying to play the hero people should think about peaceful resolutions of conflicts and call the police if necessary: "A gun outdoes years of martial arts training in a split second.

He contributed 500,000 yuan (US$62,500) of box office revenues from his film Fearless to the Red Cross' psychological sunshine project, which promotes mental health.

Since the starting of the foundation, Li has been involved with recovery efforts in seven disasters, including the 2008 Sichuan earthquake[90] and Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.

[91] In the 2013 Lushan earthquake in Ya'an, Sichuan, Li and other members of the entertainment sector were the first to appeal for donations of money, goods and materials to help the victims of the disaster.

[94] Li discussed his commitment to philanthropy in an interview with the December 2009 issue of Alliance magazine, stating that "grassroots non-government organizations can help the government in its blind spots.