Sammo's the man!

ONE of the first remarks ever said about Sammo Hung was "boy, this fat guy can
sure move". Mr Hung has single-handedly changed the perception of "fat guys"
since he appeared on screen in 1961 in the movie "Education of Love".


In the Hong Kong film industry, Sammo is also called "Tai Loh" (Big Brother) by
those who know him well. Sammo's two closest friends and colleagues are Jackie
Chan and Yuen Biao. Both guys studied with Sammo at the Peking Opera School from
an early age.


Life in the opera school wasn't easy. Actually that's an understatement. It was
very hard, as Sammo later admitted. He along with the other little boys had to
learn martial arts and acrobatic skills. Sammo later became an attraction in the
troupe called Seven Little Fortunes. This group went on tours to showcase Wushu
martial arts. Since Sammo was the oldest compared to Jackie and Yuen Biao, he
became known as "big brother".


When he graduated from the Peking Opera School, Sammo quickly found work as a
stuntman. He was later much sought after as a stunt coordinator as well as an
action director. In 1973, Destiny kept its date with Sammo and this roly-poly
martial artiste appeared in a sparring match with the famous Bruce Lee in Enter
the Dragon.


Sammo was a close friend of Bruce and was later responsible for completing The
Game of Death when he took on the role of fight choreographer. He made his
directorial debut in "The Iron Fisted Monk" in 1977. One year later, in a
tribute to his deceased buddy Bruce, he starred and directed in Enter the Fat
Dragon.


Much to delight of Sammo, audiences in Southeast Asia found his role in comedy
kung fu movies refreshing and endearing. Often, Sammo was bouncing all over the
movies like a very elastic rubber ball, and deadly too when he needs be. Sammo's
biggest contribution to the world of martial arts was the policy of "never
underestimate the shape and size of your opponent".


Before I learnt about Sammo's background, I was always puzzled by his agility
and physical dexterity. After I dug a little deeper into his past, it became
quite clear that Sammo was an abnormal physical specimen having unusual
acrobatic skills.


In the 1980s, Sammo, Jackie and Yuen Biao became known as the Golden Trio. What
has been left relatively unknown to a lot of people around the world is Sammo's
directorial efforts of global proportions. He was the man behind "Wheels on
Meals", "Eastern Condors" and "Ashes of Times" (Wong Kar Wai's arthouse martial
arts film).


Sammo later became involved in two of Jean Claude Van Damme's movies "Double
Team" and "Knock Off". He was the action direction for one and second unit
director for the other. His other notable achievements were being the fight
choreographer for "A View From The Top" starring Gwenyeth Paltrow and Mike
Myers.


In recent years, Sammo Hung can be seen in the CBS TV series Martial Law in
which he plays Shanghai cop Sammo Law. Sammo's excellence as an action
choreographer resulted in his active participation in Jackie Chan's 2003 movie
The Medallion. At that time, it was Hong Kong's most expensive movie, costing
US$35 million.


His latest acting role was in SPL in which he played the role of an underworld
godfather starring Simon Yam and Donnie Yen. Born in 1952, Sammo Hung at 54 is
still amazing agile. He also goes by the names of Hung Kam Bo and Hong Jinbao.


Some movie viewers are of the opinion that fat guys almost never make it big in
the film industry. Sammo will beg to differ. In fact, he won't even want to
dignify the statement with a comment because he's too busy making millions from
his Hollywood and Hong Kong movie commitments.


So let's stand up and give our "fei koh" (fat brother) a big hand in his
outstanding success as an actor and director.