Fans of Jet Li are worried about the health of the Chinese film actor, producer, and martial artist as a recent photograph of the action star shows him looking frail.
Li's photo, taken at a temple in Tibet, which depicts the actor in eyeglasses and with a shaved head, was published by the South China Morning Post under the headline, “Is this the same Jet Li we all know?”
Li, who starred in such films as “Lethal Weapon 4,” “Romeo Must Die,” and “Expendables 2,” is battling health issues including hyperthyroidism and spinal problems.
“He was so active before and now he looks like an old man,” one person told the South China Morning Post.
Hyperthyroidism can result in sudden weight loss, a rapid or irregular heartbeat, sweating, and nervousness or irritability, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The once-athletic 55-year-old Bejing-born actor now appears to need assistance even to walk. Physicians warned him three years ago that he “would end up in a wheelchair” if he were to continue the physical activity demanded of him as an action film actor.
“I’m just a regular guy,” Li said at the time, the Morning Post reported. “I’m not Wong Fei-hung. I’m not Huo Yuanjia [kung fu heroes he has portrayed on film]. I’m just like you.”
Li had been a mainstay in action films from the late 1970s until the onset of the disease.
People on social media were shocked at the difference in appearance in just a few years.
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