Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Official Trailer. /Sony Pictures Entertainment
The daughter of Bruce Lee has criticised his portrayal in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, describing it as disheartening and uncomfortable.
The ninth film from Quentin Tarantino features actor Michael Moh playing the martial arts legend in multiple scenes, but Lee's daughter Shannon Lee has slammed how her fatheris portrayed as a "caricature", reports news.com.au.
Shannon Lee told The Wrap: "[Bruce Lee] comes across as an arrogant asshole who was full of hot air, and not someone who had to fight triple as hard as any of those people did to accomplish what was naturally given to so many others."
The daughter of Bruce Lee has slammed his portrayal in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Photo / Supplied
She described her heartbreak at having to listen to audiences react to the character. "It was really uncomfortable to sit in the theatre and listen to people laugh at my father," she said.
The character of Bruce Lee features in a comedic fight scene with Brad Pitt's stuntman character Cliff Booth in the film.
Mike Moh as Bruce Lee in Once Upon A Time in America. Photo / Supplied
Shannon Lee added that Moh was "directed to be a caricature" and how her father is shown is "not how he was".
According to Shannon Lee, Bruce – who trained Hollywood figures, including Steve McQueen, Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate – avoided fighting people who were not martial arts experts.
"[But] here, he's the one with all the puffery and he's the one challenging Brad Pitt."
She said it was regrettable that Tarantino had treated Bruce Lee the way that white Hollywood did during his career.
Quentin Tarantino with cast members Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Leonardo DiCaprio at the Los Angeles premiere of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Photo / AP
"I can understand all the reasoning behind what is portrayed in the movie. I understand that the two [lead] characters are antiheroes, and this is sort of like a rage fantasy of what would happen … and they're portraying a period that clearly had a lot of racism and exclusion," she said.
"I understand they want to make the Brad Pitt character this super-badass who could beat up Bruce Lee. But they didn't need to treat him in the way that white Hollywood did when he was alive."
Shannon Lee is the daughter of Bruce Lee and Linda Cadwell. Her father died in 1973 at the age of 32. Her older brother, actor Brandon Lee, was tragically killed on the set of The Crow in 1993 aged just 28.
