Jet Li has looked back on the early days of his American film career, offering a rare glimpse into his relationship with his late co-star, Aaliyah. The pair shared the screen in the 2000 action film Romeo Must Die, a project that marked the first Hollywood leading role for both the Chinese martial artist and the rising American R&B performer.
Reflecting on the experience while promoting his new biographical book, Beyond Life and Death: The Way of True Freedom, Li described the young singer as an essential partner during a transitional phase of his professional life.
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Romeo Must Die, loosely modeled on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, relocated the familiar tale of feuding families to the gritty docks of Oakland, California. Li portrayed Han Sing, a former Hong Kong police officer investigating his brother’s murder, who falls into a dangerous romance with Trish O’Day, played by Aaliyah. Despite her youth—she was only twenty at the time and making her acting debut—Aaliyah assumed a protective role on set, helping Li navigate the nuances of English dialogue and Western screen performance.
“It was the first time the studio gave me a chance in my first leading role,” Li recalled. “Aaliyah worked with me, line by line. We worked together for days on how to act, how to have a relationship on the screen.”
The professional partnership extended into their domestic routines during production. Li noted that after long days of shooting, the two would regularly share dinners alongside their families, creating a warm environment that helped ease his transition into the Hollywood studio system.
A Career Transformed by Kung Fu
The film became a significant commercial success, grossing over $90 million at the box office and establishing Li as a bankable action lead in the West. He distinguished his work by maintaining a strict adherence to traditional Chinese kung fu movements, rather than the more generalised action styling common in American cinema at the time. This distinct physical presence helped him secure a steady stream of subsequent Hollywood contracts.
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Aaliyah’s trajectory seemed equally assured, with major roles booked in film adaptations and high-profile sequels. However, her career was cut short in August 2001, when she died in a plane crash in the Bahamas at the age of twenty-two.
An Enduring Legacy
As the twenty-fifth anniversary of her death approaches, Li maintains that her influence remains palpable, particularly during his visits to the United States where fans regularly bring up her name.
“While the physical part of her has left us, mentally, she is always here,” Li stated. “She is always in my heart. I always feel that she is there, living on in a lot of people’s hearts.” For Li, the memories of working alongside her, DMX, and Anthony Anderson remain a vivid chapter in a long career that eventually led him toward a deeper exploration of personal freedom and philosophy.
