On Bruce Lee’s would-be birthday last year, we took a teary-eyed look back at some of the martial arts legend’s greatest fight scenes and real-life demonstrations, and even checked out a couple of documentaries devoted to his life and career. Not wanting to retread any old ground, we thought it would be appropriate to showcase another side of Lee’s personality this year — mainly, the thespian, the filmmaker, and the philosopher.
A true renaissance man, Lee studied philosophy and drama while attending the University of Washington — where he would meet his future wife, Linda Emery — in the early sixties. Throughout his career, Lee exuded a wit and charisma that often left those interviewing him at a loss for words (that many of these interviewers were self-contentious imbeciles to begin with only made his intelligence all the more apparent). But more than anything, it was Lee’s succinct, thoughtful, and level-headed approach to the criticism constantly being thrown his way, justified or not, that made him a star.
After the jump, we revisit some of Lee’s rarest and most revealing interviews. Check them out, then pay your respects to the father of mixed martial arts.
“Lost” Interview on the Pierre Berton Show – 1971
Telephone Interview with Alex Ben Block – 1972
A Warrior’s Journey full documentary – 2000
Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan talking about Lee