Jet Li was a person.
Li Lianjie ( born 26 April 1963 ) , better known by his stage name Jet Li , is a Chinese film actor , film producer , martial artist , and retired Wushu champion who was born in Beijing . After retiring from Wushu at age 19 , he went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple ( 1982 ) . He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films , most notably as the lead in director Zhang Yimou 's 2002 Hero , Fist of Legend which is the best acclaimed Li movie by Rotten Tomatoes , and the Once Upon a Time in China series , in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung . Li 's first role in a non-Chinese film was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 ( 1998 ) , and his first leading role in a Hollywood film was as Han Sing in Romeo Must Die ( 2000 ) .