Rare Bruce Lee Interview Before He Was Famous Unearthed

The clip, which was released by the Center for Sacramento History, shows Lee being interviewed by Harry Martin, who is considered to be America’s pioneering celebrity reporter, sometime around 1966, according to South China Morning Post.

 

The then 25-year-old up-and-coming celebrity was interviewed as he was breaking out as a star in the classic TV series “The Green Hornet” as the ass-kicking Kato.

“Who’s this strange fella riding on his bicycle? I think his name is Bruce Lee! Looks very familiar as Kato,” Martin and his fellow reporter said in their exchange as Lee rides his bicycle to meet them.

“Well, you need any help?” Lee said while laughing as he gets off his bike. “A lot of kung fu going around here,” the reporters said.

Just as he dismounted from his bike, the reporters asked him what is kung fu? To which he replies: “Well, kung fu is a Chinese form of combat. [Martial] arts like karate and jiu-jitsu derive from kung fu.”

Lee was then asked by Martin if he was originally from San Francisco, to which he replied that he was originally from Hong Kong but was born in San Francisco.

Right after that, Lee was asked by Martin if he had opened up any karate schools either in Sacramento or San Francisco, but the martial artist said he had one “in Oakland.” He then explained that he didn’t have any time in his schedule to open one up in Sacramento as he was busy with his filming schedule for “The Green Hornet.”

Ultimately, the interview shifted to Martin asking Lee about the differences between kung fu and karate. He said, “Well, the main difference I would say, in my school, it’s more offensive.”

Martin then joked, “so it offends you more?”

“I would attack and defend simultaneously,” Lee responded as the camera pans to show his bike with his name on it.

Featured image screenshot via YouTube / cooler 2015