The Tragic Death of Bruce Lee's Son Brandon

He died from a freak on-set incident in 1993 at the age of 28.

By Brenda Alexander

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and in many Hollywood families, there's always more than one talented person. In the case of Bruce Lee and his son, Brandon, the statement applies as Brandon would follow in his father's footsteps with acting. Unfortunately, his life would be cut short while he filmed The Crow.

During filming, Brandon was accidentally shot after his co-star Michael Massee fired at him with a prop gun during filming on March 30, 1993. The incident occured on location in Wilmington, North Carolina. It was reported that the revolver was loaded with blanks, but the gunpowder in the blank cartridge ignited, causing Massee to unknowingly fire a bullet fragment at Lee, who later died in surgery. He was shot in the abdomen, and the bullet lodged in his spine. Brandon was 28 at the time of his death, which was attributed to blood loss, heart failure, and internal injuries, as reported by The Guardian. The film became a cult classic.

The filmmaker, Jeff Most, reflected on the incident 30 years later in an incident with The Guardian. "There was no blood when the bullet went in. It just cut into him, unlike a bullet wound, and spun around inside we learned later. It was a horrific night. It was beyond belief that the accident occurred in the first place. We were all unbelievably devastated," he recalled.

The following morning after the incident, Lee's co-star Sofia Shinas told Most that Lee had ignored her advice to wear a flak jacket because he thought it would be visible on camera. "She turned to him and said, you've got to wear the flak jacket and he said, no, look, I'm not worried, if it's my time to go, it's my time to go home. Of course, had he worn the jacket, it probably would have prevented the fatal wound."

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Massee did not face any criminal charges. But Lee's mother would go on to successfully sue the filmmakers for an undisclosed amount. The settlement was based on negligence claims. 

The outrage over his death was recycled after a similar freak accident killed cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, during the filming of Rust, starring Alec Baldwin, in 2021. Baldwin was holding the prop gun that accidently fired a live round. He was charged, but the charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence provided by the prosecution. Recently, the prosecution team asked a judge to reinstate the charges. The armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was found guilty in the fatal shooting.

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