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How much potential did Brandon Lee have to break out into the A-list had he lived?

posted a year ago by TMC-4 (20149)
25 replies | jump to latest

Or more to the point, the potential to break out in straight dramatic roles, that didn't immediately call for his physicality?

I was watching this video retrospective:
https://youtu.be/1EwmJ2Ycwus

It was noted that Brandon was you could say, ethnically ambiguous, which could be both a positive and negative depending on your point of view.

Regardless, Brandon definitely had leading man good looks and the charisma (as seen in Rapid Fire and Showdown in Little Tokyo) to potentially rise of above the decidedly niche martial arts market.

[–] TandyMan (11097) a year ago

I think he would have been exactly as famous as Jason Statham. Not quite Bruce Willis. Long run of solid B list flicks.

[–] Puvwall (1373) a year ago

His role as the crow was definitely commanding. The next few movies with him in the role would have faired better and maybe been less watered-down and maybe even more amped up the blood and violence. As it was in the graphic novel. I like to think that. I still have a crow movie poster up in my house. I love it. I also think he would have competed with keanu an heath ledger for some roles. Keanu the matrix, heath the joker maybe

[–] TMC-4 (20149) a year ago

I do admittedly, wonder how Keanu Reeves' career would've panned out had Brandon not died. It's sort of like how it has long been theorized that Leonardo DiCaprio was a beneficiary of River Phoenix's own tragic death later that October.

http://staystillreviews.blogspot.com/2021/01/10-roles-brandon-lee-could-have-played.html

[–] VinceD (9805) a year ago

I can see him being cast as Neo in Matrix, in lieu of Keanu Reeves, had he still been around.
I think he would have had a pretty good career, but the days of the action hero were on it's last legs when he was just starting to blow up, and I'm not sure how he could have transitioned into dramatic, non-action roles.

Man, so I was a huge fan of Showdown in Little Tokyo and Rapid Fire and Brandon Lee in general. I saw Rapid Fire in theaters opening night. Anyways, I still remember when I turned on the TV one night after I got home from school and his death was being announced on the news. I remember the disbelief I felt. I had to sit down to let it sink in, like it was so strange they were even talking about Lee on the news, the only places that talked about Lee back then, pre-internet days, were film/sci-fi/martial arts magazines, all of which I was an avid reader of. So it was so weird to see him on the nightly news, especially because he died.

[–] TMC-4 (20149) a year ago

The video compares other martial arts stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal and their own desires to diversify. I think that Brandon had the range and acting chops that maybe his peers of the time (Dolph Lundgren included) didn't.

https://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/609555/brandon-lee-fans

[–] Keelai (34864) a year ago

Lee would've starred in multiple Crow sequels. He wasn't replaceable in that role and the subsequent sequels and series showed that. He had his father's charisma so I could see him having a very successful acting career if he hadn't died.

[–] TMC-4 (20149) a year ago

I have read arguments that Brandon was actually a better overall actor than his father:
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/m3ibyf/brandon_lee_was_the_better_lee/

[–] Keelai (34864) a year ago

Apples and oranges. I never compare them. Bruce was much more than an actor. He's a legend and broke new ground in several areas.

Brandon also had a gift for improvising. I've seen him in a few very bad movie, but his performance always stood out and made the movie enjoyable.

[–] DoctorThirteen (13995) a year ago

I'd say he was. Bruce was incredibly charismatic, more so than Brandon IMO. But for all his abilities Bruce never struck me as a good actor.

[–] VinceD (9805) a year ago

Brandon was a better actor, but Bruce was a better movie star, IMO anyway.

Regardless, they were both great and the world was robbed of their talents far too soon.

[–] furiousstyles (4391) a year ago

His performance in the crow was brilliant, i suspect he would of got some really big roles.

[–] [deleted] a year ago

>would of

Stop it already?

[–] TMC-4 (20149) a year ago

The proverbial what ifs regarding Brandon's career beyond The Crow is discussed here beginning at the 1:23:58 mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZQnau1gJY8

They bring up the feeling that The Crow would've been a career defining movie for Brandon Lee. You can argue that Heath Ledger's turn as The Joker in The Dark Knight would've been one too, except that Heath was already more established in the industry by the time of his own death than Brandon was. But still, what's not to say that The Dark Knight could've been the film that completely and absolutely catapulted him into the mainstream. What I mean by that is that Heath could've gotten to Johnny Depp-level of superstardom or even Christian Bale's level after The Dark Knight.

It's kind of coincidental that it was The Crow and The Dark Knight that solidified Brandon and Heath's legends respectively, and they weren't able to enjoy it. And not only that, but they both died at the age of 28. In The Crow, you can argue that Eric Draven is like is like a more supernatural, good guy version of Heath Ledger's Joker.

[–] Mustang (5421) a year ago

I think he would have peaked with The Crow, been given a shot at another film which wouldn't have done as good or been as good. Then he would have tried a RomCom to break the action star thing also wouldn't have done well.

In short he would have remained a B grade star.

[–] TMC-4 (20149) a year ago

The commentators in this video, Captain Logan and Eric at the 1:24:52 mark suspect that after The Crow, Brandon Lee's career would've more or less, continued down that path:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZQnau1gJY8

Basically, Eric suspects that Brandon would've continued doing action movies as his "bread and butter". He had done action movies like Showdown in Little Tokyo and Rapid Fire before The Crow so it's naturally safe to assume that like his dad, Bruce, he would've kept doing action movies. I mean, Brandon again like his father, was a very physical, martial arts guy. But on the same token, it's likely that after The Crow, Brandon would've gotten bigger projects.

Captain Logan adds that he thinks that Brandon would've had a career similar to Keanu Reeves'. They both agree that on that table, Brandon could've been Neo in The Matrix.

[–] Mustang (5421) 9 months ago

There were also a number of Crow sequels so perhaps he may have been in the follow up and then not done a couple only to return to it later.

I don't think he would have ever been short of work, I just don't think it would have been an amazing body of work outside of the original Crow.

[–] TMC-4 (20149) 8 months ago

I thought that I read that there were originally plans to make Crow sequels before Brandon died. The idea would've been that Eric Draven would've been "cursed" to continue roaming the earth for all of entirety as punishment for straying from his mission and interfering with the living (such as intervening with Darla, Sarah's mom's drug addition).

It probably wouldn't have made sense anyway once they cut out the Skull Cowboy character (who was kind of a freaky, Obi-Wan Kenobi type of mentor/spirit guide for Eric) from the finished product even had Brandon lived.

[–] Mustang (5421) 8 months ago

Interesting curse given he would have roamed the Earth intervening more.

[–] SteveG (1370) a year ago

I think would have been a superstar much like Arno.d but with much better acting skills. He had an undeniable screen presence and charisma.

[–] TMC-4 (20149) 9 months ago

Brandon's death come to think of it, sort of reminds me of what would happen to Selena less than two years later. They both just so happened to die senselessly (granted, Selena's death was due to a loony fan whereas Brandon died due to workplace negligence) after being shot on March 31 just as their respective careers were about to go to the next level.

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/brandon-lee-and-selena.320563/

[–] mechajutaro (2788) 9 months ago

We speak as if Brandon Lee enjoying a career resurgence today is out of the question, despite the fact that Aleandre Aja is currently casting for his remake of I Walked With A Zombie

[–] Cognoscente (2648) 7 months ago

The March 31 connection is also interesting because Bruce Lee's childhood friend and co-star, Siu Kei-Lun, died on March 31, 1987 - the same year when the director of Enter the Dragon published a book about the making of the film.

In 1986, Brandon starred in a Hong Kong film called Legacy of Rage. I don't know if Robert Clouse interviewed him for his book, but the Legacy of Rage director - Ronny Yu - would probably have gained a better career in Hollywood had Brandon lived. Perhaps Brandon would have returned to HK now and then since he was a big fan of HK action films.

Seeing as how most people in 1993 had learned about Brandon's death on April Fools Day, it should be noted that Leslie Cheung died on April Fools Day in 2003. Ronny Yu had directed him, too. I've never read an interview with Ronny where he talked about the tragic similarity.