Vincent Zhao (God of War, Unity of Heroes), who first burst onto the scene battling Jet Li in Fong Sai-yuk before replacing Li as Wong Fei-hong in the 4 and 5th chapters in the Once Upon a Time in China films and subsequent TV series, has long been a fan favorite but has never broken out the way he should.

Zhao has demonstrated his skills in countless film and TV projects, both traditional kung fu and modern day action, and while The Blade, Black Sheep Affair, and True Legend have been highlights, he’s often been shortchanged by many projects and at times fallen foul of politics such as his departure from Special ID.

The last year has seen him make a return to the spotlight, reprising his role as Wong Fei-hong in Unity of Heroes (and its sequel), he’ll be seen opposite Parkour legend David Belle in Invisible Tattoo, and gave a comedic turn as Wong Fei-hong in Kung Fu Big League.

Now he takes the role of Huo Yuan Jia, the role Jet Li played in Fearless, in the new 50-episode TV series also titled Fearless, which just wrapped after a lengthy 195 day shoot.

The series – directed by TV veteran Shan Bai and Feng Liu, written by Guo Jinyiu, who also serves as Exec Producer for China Internet platform Iqiyi – covers the life and times of the real-life martial arts legend, expanding upon situations seen in both Yuen Woo-ping’s Legend of a Fighter and Ronny Yu’s Fearless movie.

The series also stars Sik Seal-long (Shaolin Popey), Eddie Ko (The Mission), Mao linlin, Celine Lu and Lu Jianli, and while the finale does feature a tournament pitting Master Hua against the representatives of the foreign chamber of commerce in Shanghai, this time round they strangely didn’t ask me to reprise my role as Referee Randall!

The Fearless series will debut on Iqiyi later this year with an international release set to follow.