Few actors have succeeded in becoming legendary in the world of action films, captivating audiences with their fierce performances and impressive skill sets. Jet Li, 60, is one of these icons. The actor has put a lot of effort into building a strong reputation over the years, so he is aware that consistent character development is essential to success.
The Chinese-born Singaporean martial artist made his acting debut in 1982’s Shaolin Temple, and since then, he has starred in a number of critically acclaimed action films, including Hero, Once Upon a Time in China series, Romeo Must Die, and Fearless.
Jet Li must preserve his recognizable appearance and distinctive hairdo in order to uphold the morals of his characters, even if to others this may seem unimportant.
Well, he follows this particular rule for each film in which he appears. So, is that the reason he left Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables 2?
Jet Li’s Exit From The Expendables Series Due To a Bad Hair Day?
Even though Jet Li was one of the most skilled action actors in the first The Expendables cast, he never played as much of a role in the later films as the other cast members. Despite receiving top billing alongside the other returning actors, he left the sequel after the opening sequence, giving the impression that he might not join the series again.
According to director Simon West, the Mulan actor’s reduced role in The Expendables 2 was a result of scheduling conflicts.
Nevertheless, his hair has nothing to do with Li’s exit. In an earlier interview with Conan O’Brien for Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Li discussed his fighting style and how, more than any particular move, his success is a result of his “attitude”.
“It’s a smile. It matters to people because the way you’ll hurt people, they will [want] revenge. You’ll fight again and again and never stop. Just smile, make people happy, and then we will stop.”
However, he cannot tolerate it when there is a fuss made over his hair and makeup when filming:
“If I make a movie, the hair stylist, you know, takes care of my hair. [They] always bother me, bother me. One day, I talked to people and said, ‘Okay, you can beat me up. You can kill me. But don’t touch my hair’.”
Another Star Turned Down The Film As He Didn’T Want To ‘Lose To Jet Li’
The Expendables‘ goal was to assemble the greatest action movie legends. Thus, Sylvester Stallone approached Jean-Claude Van Damme in his quest to find those individuals whose action movies had helped shape decades of popular culture. The latter, however, showed no interest.
Stallone claimed that Van Damme skipped the first film of the ensemble action-thriller series because he refused “to lose” to renowned martial artist and actor, Jet Li.
According to Stallone, who spoke to The Times, the following was what he had in mind for Van Damme’s character in the first movie:
“I wanted to set Jean-Claude against Jet Li, but he didn’t want to lose to Jet. He didn’t think that was cool. But that’s why it would be cool; to have Jean-Claude beaten by the other man. Hey, they could have a rematch. But Steven Seagal and Van Damme, they weren’t really into our gallows humor.”
Overall, we can say that Sylvester Stallone was successful in putting together the best action stars for a very ambitious project. Expend4bles, the upcoming installment in the series, is slated for release on September 22, 2023. This is helmed by Scott Waugh.
Meanwhile, you can watch the entire The Expendables trilogy on Netflix.
Source- Late Night with Conan O’Brien; The Times
