Introducing The Venom Mob: Lu Feng

Introducing the Venom Mob: Lu Feng

Lu Feng is of the five main members of the Venom Mob and often referred to as ❛The Centipede❜ or the deadliest venom. He was born in 1956 in Taiwan. His family was poor and he had three older brothers so he was sent to be in a Peking Opera School where he passed the exam to be accepted at the age of 8! He spent his childhood and grew up there for 11 years with 40 other men and women. That is where he learned about opera performances, acrobatics, weapons, martial arts, and normal things you’d study along with it. He also had to learn how to sing and his voice was loud so this gained him a lot of attention but at 15 or 16 he lost his child voice; some people do, but he was not one of them. This is what led him to focus on his martial arts.

Lu Feng has said that he has learned about weapons such as knives, guns, Fei Cha, swords, and many others. He often says that he has used or tried out almost every variety of weapons that he could think of which I am inclined to believe. Throughout his career, he is seen with a wide variety of weapons and certainly knew what to do with all of them. This is still in practice today because you can find several videos of him training students in movie techniques and weapons if you really search for them. He was asked what his best weapon was but decided that he was good at using most so he couldn’t pick (with a laugh) and loved getting to use them even though they were dangerous. Although it should be noted that he is equally as good with hand to hand combat.

He was going to continue developing his skills in professional arts but the Chinese Opera was declining since fewer people were watching and the movie industry was growing. He decided to step into the movie world with encouragement from his friends and he was a stuntman at first. Lau Kar Leung had always liked him. Director Chang Cheh promoted him to an actor so he started out playing small roles. He was also noted as a fight choreographer, student coordinator, and action director. He eventually took Lu Feng and two of his fellow venoms, Chiang Sheng and Kuo Chui, back to Hong Kong. Shaolin Temple was one of his real roles which he said had him very nervous but he did a lot better with martial arts sequences than lines. However, this evolved once he got used to it. Five Deadly Venoms was really his breakout role and what boosted their fame.

You will often see Lu Feng playing the villain and he revealed that the films did a lot better at the box office if he was in that role. He has played protagonists but he said that those films didn’t do as good but his performances are always stunning. He often jokes that he just had the face to play a bad guy and even good friends had told him this. One of the characters that he is most fond of is Kao Chin Chuen, who he played twice, in Shaolin Rescuers and Two Champions of Shaolin. This is the character that won him the award for ❛Best Supporting Actor❜ at the 25th Asian Film Festival in July of 1979. It is one of his greatest honors as an actor. Another favorite villain of his was ❝Butterfly❞ Hua Chong from House of Traps! Although his favorite protagonist that he played was Hu Yidao from Legend of the Fox.

After Shaw Brothers, Lu Feng went with his two best friends and Chang Cheh back to Taiwan where they had a film company. A notable movie from that time was Ninjas in the Deadly Trap which was directed by Kuo Chui and co-directed by Lu Feng but all of them admit that they didn’t have very good resources there so the quality of the films weren’t as good. They lacked a budget. Lu Feng stayed with Chang Cheh while his two best friends left so he worked as an assistant director. They went to Thailand to shoot Arena or Death Ring which Lu Feng directed. He used many Thai actors and Li Chung Yat to star in it. He tried to take the film to Chinese distributors but they didn’t want it so as far as he is aware, the film just played in Thailand. It was on to The Nine Demons after that.

Now, you will see him working in television or behind the scenes which meant he went between actor or director but always remained an action choreographer. He mostly works in China now. He is up to date with social media and has found the many fans that adore him, even visiting the U.S. to meet them which makes him very happy in his words. Lu Feng always says that he is honored and grateful for all the love he receives for his work. He hadn’t expected to be anyone’s favorite but I think it is safe to say that he is a favorite to many! I deeply admire him and believe that he is a sweet, talented human being.

Attack of the Joyful Goddess (1983) dir. Chang Cheh

This is an adorable photo of Kuo Chui, Lo Mang, Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng, and Chang Cheh! I’m thinking Sun Chien is the person that got cut out. I’ll have to see if I can find a full version of the photo

Lu Feng in Heaven and Hell (1980)

I wish I knew what this was from. I found it on a website that was in Chinese about Wei Pai and it’s so beautiful. Tbh my goal is to watch more films or shows he’s been in.

Lo Mang showing off some skills and scares in Two Champions of Shaolin (1980)