Out of all the martial arts stars, Jet Li was one of my favorites. Tragically I didn’t actually hear of him until Lethal Weapon 4 where he plays the bad guy. As a kid, I was transfixed with Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee films.
Stars like Jet Li and Donny Yen never got a look in but once I discovered him there was a whole library of classic martial art films I could enjoy. It was like first discovering Jackie Chan all over again. This is why the recent pic of him broke my heart. He looked like a frail old man, not the fast, proud star I was used too. At the time of this article, the guy is only 55 years old, nearly 10 years younger than Jackie Chan who is still smashing it at action films so what happened?
A little background
For those who don’t know, Li Lianjie better know as his stage name Jet Li was born in Beijing, China in 1963. He started practicing Wushu at a very young age and was only 8 years old when his talents were first noticed. Some people class Wushu as modern Shaolin or Kung Fu. It has a lot of similarities with Shaolin Kung in terms of forms, weapon forms, and Sanda.
Li competed in the Chinese Wushu Championships, winning 15 gold and 1 silver medal. He was only 12 years old at the time competing against competitors in the twenties. He retired from competition age 17 to pursue making movies.
His debut film was Shaolin Temple which made him a star in China and the rest is history. He went on to make such classics as Once Upon a Time in China, Black Mask, Fist of Legend, The Enforcer to name a few. Once he broke into the American market by staring in Lethal Weapon 4 he made worldwide box office hits such as The One, Kiss of the Dragon, Romeo Must Die, Cradle 2 the Grave and of course he starred in The Expendables.
His last so-called action role was in The Expendables 3 and let’s face it compared to his other action roles there was little to no fighting and screen time. It was more of a cameo appearence. That was back in 2014 and although he looked his normal self it makes me ask, was his condition already present?
Jet li’s Condition
Jet Li was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism back in 2013 so it was present during Expendables 3. So what is it? Hyperthyroidism is basically an overactive thyroid.
The thyroid produces too much of a hormone known as Thyroxine. This can speed up your body’s metabolism causing sudden weight loss, sweating, irritability, a rabid or irregular heartbeat. Other symptoms can include: Fatigue, muscle weakness, Skin thinning, Tremors — usually a fine trembling in your hands and fingers, Fine, brittle hair.
Hyperthyroidism can also pose some serious problems such as Heart Problems, Brittles bones, Eye problems, red, swollen skin, and Thyrotoxic crisis.
So it’s not a life-threatening condition and is manageable with a few changes to lifestyle. Li’s manager said:
“He’s been dealing with it for almost 10 years. It’s nothing life-threatening and he’s dealing with it. He’s well and good.”
The real reason for Jet li’s lack of recent action roles
It could be asked that would Hyperthyroidism stop him making his classic action movies. Seen as he’s had it for nearly 10 years and it didn’t stop him back then so the guessing would be no. So why has Jet Li not made anymore awesome martial arts movies?
Apart from his condition, he is also plagued with injuries. The guys been at it since he was 8 years old and injuries will come with the territory. When he was 18 he tore his knee, which required surgery to fix. Follow that on with a major back injury at the age of 23. Li’s has personally said he suffers from problems with his legs and spine which sometimes even keep him from standing up straight for too long. Li’s has said in 2013 doctors told him he would end up in a wheelchair if he continued making martial arts films. Looking at his filmography you can see this is where his major martial arts roles taper off. So basic wear and tear of his body is the main reason and he’s started to slow down a little. Seems to me the guy doesn’t have much choice unless he wants to go down the Steven Seagal route and use a stunt double for every action scene.
That Picture
So the main reason this topic has come up and everyone has voiced there opinion was a picture of Li in 2018 looking 20 years older then his actual age and many were quick to blame his condition. I myself was also shocked but after reading a bit more into it I can see that’s not the case. The main pic in question is of him looking frail with what looks like someone helping him stand. It’s just a case of a really bad angle. We have all been there where someone catches us looking like the creature from the Black Lagoon and we instantly say delete it. Li also shaving his head and wearing glasses doesn’t help and has added a good 10 years to his actual age. As Li’s manager put it:
“It’s one picture and people are making these interpretations from it. If you took a picture of me at the wrong angle and wrong time of day, I could look frail as well.”
Li still does a lot of martial arts choreography which requires him acting out the moves, fights and showing the actors what do to. If he was really in failing health this would not be possible.
So, in conclusion, give the guy a break. He takes one bad picture and everyone says he’s dying. If he grew his hair and took his glasses off, no one would be saying anything. We all have bad pictures taken off us but unfortunately, movie stars don’t get to say delete that pic I look awful.
