Claim: Jet Li retired from Wushu at age 19 and he was a martial artist.

Li Lianjie -LRB- born 26 April 1963 -RRB- , 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 . He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen .   After three years of training with Wu Bin , Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team . 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 -LRB- 1982 -RRB- . 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 -LRB- 1998 -RRB- , and his first leading role in a Hollywood film was as Han Sing in Romeo Must Die -LRB- 2000 -RRB- . He has gone on to star in many action films , including in French cinema with Luc Besson Kiss of the Dragon and Unleashed . He co-starred in The One -LRB- 2001 -RRB- , The Forbidden Kingdom -LRB- 2008 -RRB- with Jackie Chan , all three of The Expendables films with Sylvester Stallone , and as the title character villain in The Mummy : Tomb of the Dragon Emperor -LRB- 2008 -RRB- .