Yuen was a member of the Peking Opera Schools and one of the Seven Little Fortunes. As an actor, Yuen is perhaps best known as Rubber Legs' student in 1979 kung fu comedy film "Dance of the Drunk Mantis". As an action director, Yuen gained fame in American cinema beginning with 1998 film "Lethal Weapon 4", followed by the 2000 blockbuster "X-Men" and six of Jet Li's American works: "Romeo Must Die", "Kiss of the Dragon", "The One", "Cradle 2 the Grave", "War", and "The Expendables".