The word veteran can be defined as one person having a great deal of experience in a particular endeavour or skill, often built up over the whole of the working life. If this is the definition, then Dan Inosanto is not only one of the best and most respected veterans in the martial arts world, he is also well experienced in television and film.

From his humble beginnings as a stuntman working on set with the legendary Bruce Lee, to his theatrical work in Hollywood and abroad, working along side others like Burt Reynolds and Steven Seagal, Dan Inosanto is one of the most sought out experts when it comes to martial arts action cinema and his knowledge in television and film reads like an theatrical encyclopedia. Dan Inosanto speaks about the small and big screen, past and present, and where he feels Action Cinema will be tomorrow?

Jade Screen: You are well known worldwide for your expertise in countless martial arts styles, but to your credit, you are also a veteran of action cinema as well. Can you tell us how and when you first ventured into television and film?

Dan Inosanto: My first job was along side Bruce Lee in the Green Hornet. The episode was called ‘The Praying Mantis.’

JS: What was that experience like for you?

DI: It was good and I learned a lot. I doubled the actor Mako who was playing a master of The Praying Mantis Style of Kung fu. The experience was eye opening for me and it was interesting to see how things were done behind the scenes of television.

JS: Coming from a reality based martial arts background, did you find it easy to adapt to the imaginary martial arts world of Hollywood?

DI: I would say I found it easy, but I did not know how to use the martial arts in a theatrical way at that time. I also feel that in the beginning stages of Bruce Lee’s career, he also did not know how to utilise what he knew as a martial artist and make it look good on camera. He had to learn how to use fighting for cinematic use. It is two very different things. I remember Bruce Lee doing a strait blast and it did not show up on screen the way he wanted it to and he was very disappointed. Then he realised that there were two things you needed to do to sell what you are doing so to speak, for the audience. You needed to make your motions really wide so it gives time in the eyes of that audience watching what you are doing on screen. The other thing was, to pause at the right moments; using dramatic pauses at the right moments help you sell the action on screen as well. Years later, Brandon, Bruce’s son would find the same to be true. Brandon trained with me for years. He was very accomplished, and I feel had he lived he would have made quite an impact not only in the film industry, but also in the martial art community.

JS: What did you find most difficult taking what you knew as a real martial artist and making it look real on screen?

DI: The other person working with you within that scene has to be able to sell to the audience what you are doing to him. He or you have to sell the hit, or it simply looks bad. If you really hit each other, that does not look good on screen either. Working with your partner in the scene, or with the main actor, you must have an understanding / relationship that helps both of you look good on camera.

JS: You were in a unique position to witness Bruce Lee revolutionise the way we looked at action cinema and have been a part of its progression since those days of old. What changes have you seen within the action martial arts genre then and now?

DI: In the beginning, I remember Bruce Lee telling me on many occasions that he did not like how the martial arts films at that time always had people flying through the air and he felt that it was not realistic at all. He felt that you had to come close to being as realistic as possible. He liked the Samurai films and felt that they had great dramatic pauses within the action scenes, which allowed the audience to feel the emotion of what as going on. Bruce Lee did a lot of that in his films. Today, we still have the wire-works / flying through the air action films and then we have the films with more realism within the fights on screen. I feel that both of those types of movies have their place and are enjoyable to watch at times, but I would say the main changes then and now would have to be in that there is more realism what we see on screen now.

JS: Can you tell us what it was like working side by side with Bruce Lee in television and film and how he differed from martial arts instructor to Action Director?

DI: Bruce Lee was a perfectionist and if he did not get what he wanted from you he would get upset at times. As a martial arts instructor, he demanded perfection and as an action director / choreographer actor, he demanded excellence from you. He was serious in what he did and made that understood in all he did.

JS: You first became famous among Bruce Lee fans for your work on the unfinished Game of Death. Can you tell us what it was like for you to work on that project that years later would become the ‘in’ martial arts mystery project that never came to be?

DI: We needed to make that footage look believable without making it look too Hollywood-ish, while at the same time adding just a little fantasy. We worked on double sticks a lot and then we worked on the nunchaku battle. Everything we did from the weapons fights to the hand-to-hand material, we first sparred and by sparring, Bruce Lee picked out those certain moves he felt would apply to the scene. We then rehearsed it all and put it on film. Sometimes what he did in rehearsal never made it to the cinematic print. We had a lot of great material that was never filmed. Bruce always had me on my toes, changing the beat and rhythm as well as the directional variations. Though I found it difficult and challenging at times, it was definitely rewarding in the end. Bruce said we had to dramatize what we did, or it would not sell, and I feel we sold what we did.

JS: What was it like for you going back to Hong Kong to complete the 1978 version of Game of Death? Did you have reservations in doing so, and was it sad at times not being side by side your close friend and Sifu Bruce Lee?

DI: Yes, and for me it was a sentimental journey of sorts. I wanted to revisit the mood I left behind with Bruce Lee at the helm. Though I had reservations in what they were trying to accomplish with the 1978 version, I still found it necessary to have some closure so to speak, so I went to Hong Kong in the hopes of honouring Bruce and what he was trying to accomplish with the Game of Death. We all know now that many things were changed and so was the outcome.

by David Tadman.

For the rest of the interview please see JADE SCREEN VOL. 4, ISSUE 2