Editing Jet Li (section)

=== Asia ===
[[File:JetLiHK.jpg|thumb|Li's hand print and autograph at the [[Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong|Avenue of Stars]] in Hong Kong]]

The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in [[mainland China]] and then continuing into [[Hong Kong]]. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the [[Philippines]] when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce. They likened his career to an aircraft, which likewise "takes-off" as quickly, so they placed the name Jet Li on the movie posters.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 August 2007 |title=7 Questions For Jet Li |pages=C1 |work=The Manila Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U0xaAAAAIBAJ&dq=Li%20Lianjie%20philippines&pg=PA13 |access-date=20 June 2022 }}</ref> Soon everybody was calling him by this new name, which was also based on the nickname, "Jet", given to him as a young student, due to his speed and grace when training with the Beijing Wushu team.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

He made his film debut with the 1982 film ''[[Shaolin Temple (1982 film)|Shaolin Temple]]''. The film broke [[List of highest-grossing films in China|box office records in China]], grossing {{CNY|161,578,014}} ({{US$|{{To USD|161578014|CHN|year=1982|round=yes}}|long=yes}}) at the Chinese box office,<ref>{{cite news |title=35年过去了，82版《少林寺》6大主演现状令人吃惊 |trans-title=35 years later, the current situation of the 6 leading actors in the 82 edition of "Shaolin Temple" is surprising |url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2017-07-07/doc-ifyhwehx5347028.shtml |access-date=1 April 2022 |work=[[Sina News]] |publisher=[[Sina Corporation]] |date=7 July 2017 |language=zh}}</ref> from an estimated {{nowrap|500 million}} [[List of films by box office admissions|ticket sales]].<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":0" /> The sequel ''[[Kids From Shaolin]]'' sold an estimated {{nowrap|490 million}} tickets, making it 1984's [[List of highest-grossing films in China|highest-grossing film in China]].<ref name="Yearbook" />

Some of his more famous Chinese films include:
* The ''[[Shaolin Temple (1982 film)|Shaolin Temple]]'' series (1, 2 and 3), which are considered to be the films which sparked the rebirth of the real [[Shaolin Monastery|Shaolin Temple]] in Dengfeng, China;
* The ''[[Once Upon a Time in China]]'' series (Chinese title: ''Wong Fei Hung''), about the legendary Chinese folk hero Master [[Wong Fei Hung]].
* ''[[Fist of Legend]]'' (Chinese title: ''Jing Wu Ying Xiong''), a remake of [[Bruce Lee]]'s ''[[Fist of Fury]]'' (1972).
* The ''[[Fong Sai-yuk (film)|Fong Sai Yuk]]'' films about another [[Fong Sai-yuk|Chinese folk hero]].

Li starred in the 1995 film ''[[High Risk (1995 film)|High Risk]]'', where Li plays a Captain who becomes disillusioned after his wife is murdered by crime lords. Along the way, he pairs up with a wacky sell-out actor, Frankie (played by [[Jacky Cheung]]), and proceeds to engage in a series of violent battles in a high-rise building. The setting is similar to that of ''[[Die Hard]]'' and both their Chinese film titles. This movie is notable in that director [[Wong Jing]] had such a terrible experience working with [[Jackie Chan]] in Jing's previous film ''[[City Hunter (film)|City Hunter]]'' that he chose to make Cheung's character a biting satire of Chan. Li would later publicly apologise to Chan for taking part in it.

Li had two [[wuxia]] feature films released in 2011, ''[[The Sorcerer and the White Snake]]'' and ''[[Flying Swords of Dragon Gate]]''; the latter was helmed by [[Tsui Hark]].

To promote [[tai chi]], in 2012, Li starred in a film titled ''Tai Chi'' and co-produced the movie with Chen Kuo-Fu. Li portrayed tai chi master [[Yang Luchan]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?jet_li_to_star_in_new_tai-chi_movie_16424.aspx |title = Jet Li to star in new tai-chi movie |publisher = Asia Pacific Arts |date = 23 February 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140408213020/http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?jet_li_to_star_in_new_tai-chi_movie_16424.aspx |archive-date = 8 April 2014 |df = dmy-all |access-date = 26 February 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2011-05/20/content_22606294.htm |title = 'Tai Chi' releases concept poster |publisher = china.org.cn |access-date = 13 July 2011 |date = 20 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110527140001/http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2011-05/20/content_22606294.htm |archive-date = 27 May 2011 |df = dmy-all }}</ref>