Al Leong had been acting in TVs amd movies for years until one simple improvisation made him a legend.
Leong turned 74 on Wednesday, Sept. 30. He had appeared in the first Lethal Weapon as Endo, a henchman who tortures Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs with electric shocks, and he was in the cult classic Big Trouble in Little China.
But as Uli, one of the terrorists at the Nakatomi Corporation in Die Hard, he did a simple improv and became a fan favorite. As members of the LAPD S.W.A.T. unit are about to bust into the lobby of building, Uli takes position behind a candy counter. He gets his MP5 ready setting extra magazines of ammo on the glass countertop and then glances down noticing all the candy.
Then, he looks around to see if anyone is watching. It’s just him and his terrorist colleague, Eddie (Huey Lewis doppelganger Dennis Hayden). So he reaches underneath and does a little five-finger discount on a Nestlé Crunch.
The way he sheepishly acts grabbing a few candy bars as he’s about to open fire on cops while they are at the building on Christmas Eve to rob the barrier bonds, firebomb the high rise and kill all the hostages is memorable. Leong doesn’t have much dialogue. But the scene brought him more screen time as everyone like it and decided to rewrite his role as Uli is killed later in the movie by John McClane (Bruce Willis) before the explosives are detonated.
It’s just more proof of the saying, “There’s are no small roles, only small actors.”
Happy Birthday, Al!
What’s your favorite role/movie of his? Please comment.
