Obituary | Zhang Lei, China parkour expert and Donnie Yen stunt double, dead at 39 from heart attack
- Trailblazer appeared in many films and taught more than 2,000 people in China parkour skills
Trailblazing Chinese parkour practitioner Zhang Lei, who was a stunt double for Hong Kong acting star Donnie Yen Ji-dan, has died at the age of 39 following a heart attack.
Zhang died in Beijing at 11am on June 12 after treatment for his condition was unsuccessful, according to The Beijing Extreme Sports Association.
A tribute issued by the association described Zhang as “a true parkour enthusiast who dedicated his life to the sport”.
Zhang served as the stunt double for Yen in several films from 2009 to 2014.
While Yen, often hailed by Hong Kong media as “the strongest in the universe”, performed most of his own stunts, Zhang stood ready as his official stunt double in Bodyguards and Assassins, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, Swordsmen, The Monkey King, The Iceman, and Special ID.
On his Douyin account, Zhang shared film clips of himself deftly manoeuvring through crowded narrow streets, leaping and rolling across war-torn battlefields or evading pursuers on rainy night streets.