56 Kung Fu & Action Legends Then & Now (2026) – The Real Stories Behind the Fights

A skull cracked on a stunt in Yugoslavia. A motorcycle jumped onto a moving train. A kick that knocked out Jackie Chan's tooth for real. From Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Jet Li to Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen, Chow Yun-fat and Jean-Claude Van Damme, these are the true stories behind 56 kung fu and action legends, from the Shaw Brothers studios to Hollywood, and where every one of them is today in 2026. Which legend taught you your first kung fu move? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for more stories of the stars, then and now. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:41 Sammo Hung 02:11 Stephen Chow 03:46 Gordon Liu 05:27 Jackie Chan 06:59 Michelle Yeoh 08:35 Bolo Yeung 10:09 Donnie Yen 11:43 Steven Seagal 13:22 Casanova Wong 14:51 Jeff Speakman 16:25 Mark Dacascos 18:04 Kara Hui 19:35 Tony Jaa 21:09 Jean-Claude Van Damme 22:45 Leung Kar-yan 24:21 Shaw Yin-yin 25:47 Yuen Biao 27:16 Iko Uwais 28:50 Conan Lee 30:24 Yuen Woo-ping 31:57 Ti Lung 33:30 Danny Lee 35:07 Phillip Ko 36:39 Cynthia Rothrock 38:15 Ching Siu-tung 39:47 Billy Chong 41:22 Wilson Tong 42:56 Frankie Chan 44:29 Phillip Rhee 46:04 Angela Mao 47:42 Stephen Tung Wei 49:11 Scott Adkins 50:55 Lo Mang 52:24 Ken Lo 53:57 Daniel Wu 55:29 Michael Jai White 57:02 John Liu 58:40 Louis Fan 1:00:12 Andy Lau 1:01:42 Philip Ng 1:03:11 Meng Fei 1:04:45 Vincent Zhao 1:06:17 Richard Norton 1:07:54 Jet Li 1:09:29 Jason Statham 1:11:03 Wu Jing 1:12:38 Don Wilson 1:14:08 Hiroyuki Sanada 1:15:46 Chuck Norris 1:17:26 Sho Kosugi 1:19:02 Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa 1:20:31 Simon Yam 1:22:04 Collin Chou 1:23:37 Hwang Jang-lee 1:25:12 Max Zhang 1:26:41 Chow Yun-fat 1:28:12 Final Thoughts #KungFu #MartialArts #ThenAndNow #JackieChan #JetLi #MichelleYeoh #DonnieYen #HongKongCinema #ActionMovies