Born Hsia Ling-Jun (夏令正) in Hong Kong (Jul
26, 1957), Yuen studied at the Peking Opera School between the ages of
five to 16. In 1973, Yuen became a stunt double for
Bruce Lee. He was one of the "fake" Bruce
Lee's in Game of Death, doing the acrobatics and stunts that the Bruce
Lee "body double" (Taekwondo expert, Tai Chung Kim) was unable to
perform. Yuen continued working as a stuntman, doubling for actors in
Hong Kong action films. In the late 1970's and early 80's, thanks to his
good friends and former classmates, Sammo
Hung and Jackie Chan, he
also began working as an actor. He was the star of several successful
films in the early '80's, notably The Prodigal Son (directed by Sammo
Hung) and Dreadnaught (directed by Yuen Woo-ping). He later co-starred
alongside his Peking Opera "brothers", Chan and Hung, in Wheels on Meals
and Dragons Forever, and also appeared in smaller roles in films such as
Hung's Lucky Stars trilogy.
During his early acting period, he adopted the anglicized name Bill Yuen
for use on the Hong Kong films that were released internationally.
However, recognizing the growing success of Jackie Chan, Golden Harvest
were keen to give him a similar name, and on some international film
prints, he was credited as Jimmy Yuen. Both anglicized names were later
dropped.
Yuen's acting roles waned somewhat in the early 1990's, but films such
1997's Hero and 1999's A Man Called Hero saw him return to the big
screen. In 2000, Yuen went to the United States to work with Jackie Chan
as the fight choreographer on Shanghai Noon. In 2001, he co-starred
alongside Sammo Hung in The Avenging Fist. Yuen also starred in a more
comedic role in the 2002 Japan-HK film No Problem 2. He is best known
for his acrobatic action scenes which often overshadow the work of his
more famous co-stars, especially in films such as Eastern Condors (with
Sammo Hung) and Dragons Forever. In most of his roles he plays
inexperienced and foolish young men, or eccentrics caught up in the
schemes of his co-stars.
As of 1984, he is married to DiDi Phang Sau-Ha and has two children.
In 2005, he starred in a TV series called
"Real Kung Fu", which gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his kung
fu skills.