Al Leong left an indelible impression on my childhood with his professionalism, graceful physicality and a love for Crunch chocolate bars. Whatever he’s doing, I hope he’s happy, recent photos suggest he’s remained in tip top shape. We should find out soon as the documentary Henchman: The Al Leong Story is in post production. You can read more about his life here at Dazed where he was interviewed upon the publication of his memoir The Eight Lives of Al “Ka-Bong” Leong in 2014. Health issues including beating brain cancer and enduring two strokes led to him doing less film work. The kind of decision a performer will make to give their character some personality and add some extra flavour to the film. The other is Die Hard where his henchman in tense moment comically scavenges a chocolate bar. Two come to mind, his reluctant torturer in Lethal Weapon in which he got a few lines and delivered them well. Maybe his range as an actor was limited but we may never know since there are few opportunities to see for ourselves. Unlike say Stephen Tobolowksy though Mr Leong never really got to branch out into different types of roles. In 2000 he wrote, directed and performed in the film Daddy Tell Me A Story, a small film which I don’t recall. No wonder I recognised him in his more famous film appearances which include Big Trouble in Little China, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Black Rain uncredited, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure as Genghis Khan rolling around on a skateboard, uncredited in The Last Action Hero and uncredited Big Showdown in Little Tokyo. The Greatest American Hero, The A-Team (re-cast in several episodes as different henchman or thugs), Knight Rider, Airwolf, MacGyver and Magnum fucking P.I. #Al leong henchman story tvLooking over his credits at IMDB it’s not hard to see why, he was in almost every damn TV show I watched back then. #Al leong henchman story movieAl is an actor who loves his fans more than most in the movie industry. Your help will bring this documentary to life. I never knew his name but as a child from the 80s I never failed to recognise the guy with the long flowing goatee and receding hairline. The Henchman: The Al Leong Story documentary is the ultimate tribute to the greatest henchman in film history, Al Leong, who suffered a stroke that prevents him from performing. Al Leong as a stuntman trained in martial arts with a distinct look was destined to play henchmen and whenever Hollywood went through a martial arts craze he was well placed as an Asian performer to get roles. Maybe over time they become famous for doing several of these roles or they become well known and branch out. What Happens in the Woods: The Story of Don't Fuck.Character actors are actors who get stuck playing a type in several high profile productions.The documentary is very extensive and very detailed. You may not know his name but his face is unmistakable. Overall, Henchman: The Al Leong Story is a fantastic watch for movie fans that lived through the 80s and 90s. A good portion of the indie documentaries that I get in for review are rather choppy and bounce between topics like a high school essay but Henchman flows very well and the editing works in it's favor. Finally, the documentary is edited together very smoothly. We go through Leong's life and career and learn so much about him this way. The topics move along in a chronological order which really works well for this documentary. Everyone goes into great detail about working with Leong, how he helped the production and the scenes he was in, and how wonderful he was to work with. The people interviewed in this documentary care for Al Leong and you can see it in every scene. The interviews in this one are very informative, and at times, very heartfelt. At least, that's how the movies want you to believe. Sure, looking back he does get points for shocking someone who would later spill out racist banter on more than one occasion but for the most part he was a bad guy. This documentary does a great job humanizing a figure in movie history that was generally considered to be inhumane. Sure, I've seen him in all these films but I never knew his name. I didn't know who Al Leong was before I watched this. I'll just go ahead and be honest with everyone reading this.
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