Gordon Liu

Gordon Liu (Chia – Hui – Liu) was born on November 30th, 1955, Guangdong, China, as Jin – Hsi – Shin. He was trained in his early childhood by Master Lau Cham. Gordon was very impressed by his master’s skills and changed his name to Liu – Chi hui. He started his movie career as a stunt man and later got promoted to a stunt master and stunt double in movies. Not many people in the Chinese movie industry believe in the Stunt Double profession, and therefore, it took time for Gordon Liu to come to fame. His brother’s debut work in the films “Shaolin Martial Arts” introduced him as a supporting character. He was molded into becoming one of the greatest heroes – “a Hero of Kung-Fu”, in the Challenge of the Master, where he began to gain fame due to his main lead role.

To make ends meet, he worked as a shipping clerk as he only wanted to do martial arts in any way possible. He even mentions in many of his interviews to being the boy who skipped school without letting his parents know, to train in Martial Arts. He is known to be ' Quentin Tarantino There are people who follow the created path and g >> Read More... ’s favorite, and therefore “Kill Bill’s” master Pai Mei is born. His roles in both the Kill Bill movies raised his recognition worldwide. In 2008, he starred in the film “Chandini Chowk to China” as the lead villain and antagonist to Akshay Kumar’s lead role. He played a villain named Hojo, a smuggler and also a person well trained in the Martial Arts. It is said that as of 2013, there has been no information given out about his health after suffering from a stroke.

His famous movies and well-known roles include The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) and its sequels, Johnny Mo, the leader of the crazy 88 Yakuza gang in Volume 1 (2003) and Kung - Fu master Pai Mei in Volume 2 (2004) of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

Another Version

Known for his role of "San Te" in the 1978 movie, "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin," Gordon Liu is a Chinese martial artist and an actor. He also featured on the sequels of the 36th chamber and was a personal favorite of 'Quentin Tarantino', who cast him in both the Kill Bill films. Liu has been long admired by Tarantino.

He was known as Xian Jinxi. The Guangdong Province in China is Gordon Liu's hometown, where he was trained in Martial Arts school run by Lau Cham. Lau Cham is Liu's Godfather. Gordon belonged to the "Hung Gar" discipline. Right from a very young age, Liu was passionate about martial arts and often used to skip school and rush to Lau Cham's training academy. Gordon was treated as a family member and Cham's wife used to assist him in training Liu. In his adolescent days, Liu used to work as a clerk at docks his for living.

Liu set foot in cinema with brief roles in movies such as 5 Shaolin Masters, 4 Assassins, and Shaolin Martial Arts. As time passed, Liu played the role of the warrior, "Wong Fei Hung," in the 1976 film "Challenge of the Masters," and in the following year, was cast in "Executioners from Shaolin." In the year 1978, Liu featured in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Liu played the part of San Te, the Shaolin hero, who has to overcome 35 chambers of the Shaolin temple to classify as a student. Liu's physique earned him the title of "Iron Arms," and people started following his workout regime all over the globe. He also featured briefly in "Tiger on the Beat," directed by Kar-Leung.
     

A long-term contract with TVB Limited in Hong Kong would mold Liu's television career. Liu often played the role of a police officer. Quentin Tarantino has often been vocal about his liking for Liu, and eventually cast him in Kill Bill: Volume I and Kill Bill Volume: II. In the year 2008, Liu was offered a part in the Akshay Kumar-starrer Chandni Chowk to China. The following year saw Liu in the Italian documentary "Dragonland," based on Chinese martial arts.
               

Gordon Liu suffered a stroke in the year 2011, which lead to a short hiatus, but didn't completely stop him from his film and TV commitments. Drunken Master III, Return to the 46th Chamber, the Disciplines of the 36th Chamber, and True Legend constitute some of his other films.