Bruce Lee auditioned for the lead role in ABC's Martial art TV collection, yet the component went to David Carradine rather. Below's why Lee didn't get the task.   Bruce Lee tried to get the lead role in ABC's Martial art TELEVISION series, but was turned down, apparently over concerns concerning his race. The fighting styles tale, understood for his starring roles in 5 top-level kung fu flicks likewise had an occupation in tv. Prior to getting involved in flicks, Lee played Kato in The Eco-friendly Hornet as well as tried to obtain associated with other TV programs also.   Among the programs Lee had an interest in was Kung Fu, which broadcast on ABC for 3 seasons from 1972 to 1975. Set in the American Wild West, the program starred David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk born to Chinese and also American moms and dads. After being framed for murder, Caine traveled to America as well as ended up being caught up in a variety of disputes which required him to count on the martial arts abilities he learned from his training at the Shaolin Holy place. The program's ongoing appeal brought about a TELEVISION motion picture (additionally starring Carradine), and also two reboots, one of which currently being in the operate at the CW with a female lead.   Kung Fu was a distinct enhancement to the prime-time television schedule, particularly given that its main personality was Chinese-American. This, combined with the reality that it included fighting styles, caused it to get the interest of Bruce Lee, who auditioned for Kwai Chang Caine. Lee was under severe factor to consider for the function, yet in the end Warner Bros. execs selected to select David Carradine (a white star) rather, in spite of that at this point in Carradine's profession, he had no expertise of martial art, nor was he learnt any type of kind of martial arts. Tom Kuhn, that was the head of the Detector Bros. TV department, defended the decision to cast Carradine over Lee by connecting the trouble to Lee's accent. Kuhn said he had trouble understanding him [using Martial Journal] There was a problem that audiences would have this very same issue.   Kuhn has actually additionally made the argument that Lee, that generally plays hostile personalities, didn't possess the "calmness" needed for a serene Shaolin monk like Caine. David Carradine himself has actually said that Lee had yet to show that he can "dramatic performing" [using South China Early Morning Blog Post] Despite these defenses and also the fact that Kuhn claimed that they had actually worked hard to locate the best Oriental star, this didn't diminish the upset reaction from the Asian American neighborhood, that really felt that Caine must never ever have actually been played by a white star.   Sadly, Lee obtaining overlooked for the starring role in Martial art added to the problems he dealt with as a Chinese man looking for huge components in Hollywood movies. Lee had actually formerly pitched a TV program called The Warrior (really comparable in principle to Martial art) to Detector Bros., however was rejected, purportedly because of his race. This had a lot to do with why Go into the Dragon was the only American-made motion picture where Lee played the main character. Lee was constantly irritated by this, but at the same time, he claimed that he comprehended American workshops' predicament, explaining that he would certainly have the same doubt about casting a white lead in a Hong Kong manufacturing.