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Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, was a talented actor who died tragically during a stunt for the film The Crow. Despite a troubled childhood, he showed promise in both acting and martial arts. The circumstances of his death led to conspiracy theories and a cult following. The film was completed with a stunt double and released to positive reviews. Lee’s death led to increased safety measures on film sets.
Brandon Lee was a talented young actor who was tragically killed when a stunt in a movie went wrong. The son of famed martial arts actor Bruce Lee, Brandon had already displayed considerable acting prowess when he was cast in what was likely to be a career-making role in a film adaptation of the popular comic strip The Crow. Although he was only 28 when he died, Brandon became a cult figure and the center of conspiracy theories surrounding the film and his unfortunate death.
Born in Oakland, California and raised for a time in Hong Kong, Brandon had a somewhat troubled childhood and youth. His father extraordinaire, a movie star, died when Brandon Lee was 8 years old, due to a fatal accumulation of fluid in his brain. After Bruce Lee’s death, Brandon’s mother, Linda Lee Cadwell, moved her two children to Seattle. Brandon Lee was not a great student, dropping out of high school a few times and even dropped out of a place at Emerson College to pursue his acting career.
Lee’s first real gig came in a Hong Kong martial arts film Legacy of Rage. While sources suggest Brandon wasn’t interested in following in his father’s footsteps into the world of martial arts films, he did have a knack for the genre. Additionally, his semi-Asian ancestry made him a popular choice for American-made martial arts films where the genre was really catching on as a trend.
While most of Brandon Lee’s early films are not considered to be of exceptionally high quality, it was clear that he had budding acting talent and martial arts skills. His career seemed to be on the upswing when he was cast in The Crow by director Alex Proyas. The film tells a dark story about a man who returns from the dead for revenge after he and his fiancée are murdered.
Filming was nearing its end when the fatal accident that took the life of Brandon Lee occurred. During a scene where one of the film’s assailants shoots Lee’s character, the prop gun jammed with tremendous force. Despite the fact that the bullet was hollow, the large size of the bullet and the force with which it entered Lee’s body caused the bullet to lodge in his spine. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and operated on, but was pronounced dead later that evening.
Filming of The Crow continued at the urging of Lee’s family, with a stunt double used for Brandon Lee’s few remaining scenes. The film was released to positive reviews for its style, content and acting. As stories surrounding Brandon Lee’s death began to circulate, a cult fan base began to form around both the film and the late actor. Some have suggested that his death was in fact foul play, despite the police’s determination that it was an accident. Others believed that the untimely deaths of Brandon and Bruce Lee implied some kind of curse on the family.
Brandon Lee was a brilliant and talented young actor with all the signs of a long career ahead of him. After his death, his girlfriend Eliza Hutton successfully lobbied for additional safety measures when guns were used in films. While it is a great tragedy to lose someone so young, fans have Lee’s few completed works to remind them of his talent, including his historic performance as Eric Draven in The Crow.
