PHOENIX - Even nearly 50 years after his death, Bruce Lee can still make ripples.
From this summer鈥檚 ESPN documentary, 鈥淏e Water,鈥 to Quentin Tarantino鈥檚 heavily criticized depiction of him in 鈥淥nce Upon a Time ... In Hollywood,鈥 the martial arts legend continues to captivate audiences.
That continues with 鈥淲arrior,鈥 a Cinemax historical drama inspired by his original idea and premiering its second season Friday. A screen icon who struggled with racism, Lee is now influencing the careers of the mostly Asian cast as Hollywood faces a national reckoning on race and representation.
鈥淚鈥檓 more proud of something like 鈥榃arrior鈥 than if I was putting on a superhero costume and being the token Asian,鈥 said leading man Andrew Koji, who credits the show with helping him land the role of Storm Shadow opposite Henry Golding in the upcoming 鈥淕.I. Joe鈥 movie 鈥淪nake Eyes.鈥
鈥淚t has helped me open doors, literally, but also in terms of confidence in my ability.鈥
Koji plays the series鈥 titular warrior, Chinese immigrant Ah Sahm who arrives in 1870s San Francisco. 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥 level carnage ensues. Instead of warring houses, there are warring Chinatown gangs known as tongs. The crime drama doesn鈥檛 shy away from showing anti-Chinese racism 鈥 painfully relatable 150 years later in the COVID-19 era.
鈥淭hey wrote this a year and a half ago,鈥 Koji said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just scary how relevant it is because we haven鈥檛 learned.鈥
The production came from an eight-page, typed treatment Lee offered to Warner Bros. in 1971. But the studio 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 sign off on having a Chinese man star in an American TV series,鈥 according to daughter, Shannon Lee.
The treatment and Lee鈥檚 accompanying handwritten notes sat in his family鈥檚 garage until 2015, when 鈥淭he Fast and the Furious鈥 franchise director Justin Lin asked Shannon Lee about it. Lin helped get the concept on the development track and became an executive producer. Jonathan Tropper, co-creator of the show 鈥淏anshee鈥 and a Lee fan-boy, boarded as showrunner.
Koji, who is of Japanese and British descent, studied martial arts growing up but knew little about Lee. He鈥檚 since consumed Lee鈥檚 movies, writings and philosophies. In the beginning, Koji was worried that he was essentially playing Lee and that people would compare them. But Shannon Lee assured him that they wanted the best actor, not martial artist.
鈥淪he said 鈥橬o, just keep doing your thing. Don鈥檛 worry about finding out who Bruce Lee is,鈥欌 Koji said.
It remains unclear whether 鈥淲arrior鈥 will get a third season. Cinemax decided earlier this year to stop producing original programming. Canceling it would especially hurt in a TV landscape with few Asian-led vehicles.
Shannon Lee isn鈥檛 giving up on finding a new home for 鈥淲arrior,鈥 which will eventually be available on HBO Max. It鈥檚 helped reveal another side of her father, she said.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 really getting his due as a creative 鈥 someone who knows how to story-tell,鈥 Shannon Lee said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e finally getting to see he wasn鈥檛 just a flash in the pan.鈥
Any fan of Lee 鈥 who died in 1973 at age 32 after an allergic reaction to pain medication 鈥 will recognize his DNA in the brutal, blood-spilling fights.
Dustin Nguyen, a star on the original 鈥21 Jump Street鈥 series in the 鈥80s, plays a menacing tong leader and directed an episode this season. A huge fan who studied under Lee鈥檚 old training partner, Nguyen helped sprinkle in nods to his idol.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just little things that the writers put in there to pay homage to Bruce Lee without being a caricature, which I think is the danger zone whenever you get to the subject of Bruce Lee,鈥 Nguyen said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of bad caricatures and portrayals of who he is and what people think he is.鈥
One of those, in Shannon Lee鈥檚 view, was her father鈥檚 鈥渃ameo鈥 in last year鈥檚 鈥淥nce Upon a Time ... In Hollywood鈥 movie. She was incensed watching a boastful Bruce challenge Brad Pitt鈥檚 stuntman to a fight. It was especially 鈥渋rresponsible鈥 as Tarantino never consulted her but spoke with families of other real-life characters.
鈥淗e was not a bully and he was not arrogant,鈥 she said. 鈥淨uite frankly, my father was treated in that film like he was by white Hollywood when he was alive.鈥
It was sheer coincidence that the documentary, 鈥淏e Water,鈥 aired on ESPN in June. Almost like a tonic to Tarantino鈥檚 film, director Bao Nguyen fleshed out the difficult path Lee had to stardom through archival footage and interviews, including with Shannon Lee. The title comes from Lee鈥檚 belief that fighters need to be 鈥渇ormless鈥 and adapt like water.
If Lee were alive, his daughter believes he would be part of the current national conversation about Hollywood white privilege and support Black Lives Matter.
鈥淗e believed in celebrating people鈥檚 cultures and backgrounds and not holding it against them,鈥 Shannon Lee said. 鈥淗e was interested in people showing up as themselves and being authentic.鈥
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Tang reported from Phoenix and is a member of The Associated Press' Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at
