Quentin Tarantino dropped the trailer for his ninth movie yesterday with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Surprisingly, the trailer dealt little with the plot but had a large dose of Bruce Lee. So, who plays Bruce Lee in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?
The trailer lasted just under two minutes and Bruce Lee is there for 15 seconds, making it seem like he plays a large role in the film.
Who plays Bruce Lee in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?
Mike Moh was cast for the role of Bruce Lee in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in August 2018.
He has had some prominent roles recently. He played Triton in the Marvel Comics TV series Inhumans and also had a recurring role on Empire in the character of Steve Cho. In the 2014 TV miniseries Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, he had the key role of hero Ryu.
The role of Bruce Lee makes sense as well since Mike Moh is a black belt in Taekwondo and has practiced since he was 14.
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He was inspired by one of the greats of movie martial arts masters, Jackie Chan.
He also created a tribute to Bruce Lee back in 2015, which might be part of what led Quentin Tarantino to cast him in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
What role will Bruce Lee have in the movie?
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tells the story of a Hollywood movie star and his stunt double, played respectively by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, but the backdrop is Hollywood in 1969.
In the trailer, there were two characters shown but with no dialogue. Those were Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate and Damon Herriman as Charles Manson. In 1969, the Manson Family killed Sharon Tate, among their other victims.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has DiCaprio and Pitt as fictional characters living and working in Hollywood when the tragedy occurs.
Here is where Bruce Lee fits into the story.
The murders took place at the home of Roman Polanski but he was not there when it happened. Polanski was involved with Sharon Tate and, for a short time, he believed that Bruce Lee committed the murders instead of the Manson Family.
According to Matthew Polly, the author of the book, “Bruce Lee: A Life,” he explained that when Roman Polanski learned of the murders, one of the killers left their glasses at the scene of the crime. Bruce Lee mentioned to Polanski that he had lost his glasses and the director immediately began to assume it was Bruce Lee who killed Tate.
Of course, that may have nothing to do with why Bruce Lee is in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Quentin Tarantino is a self-professed huge fan of the late Lee and even created the outfit that Uma Thurman’s Bride wore in Kill Bill after a yellow suit Lee wore in the movie Game of Death.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood hits theaters on July 26, 2019.