BEIJING, March 11 (UPI) -- Martial arts movie star Jet Li is planning to abandon filmmaking to study Buddhism in China, according to friends in Beijing.
The China-born Hollywood star plans to study Buddhism in a monastery on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday. Li reportedly was planning to announce his decision April 26, his 41st birthday. His wife, Nina Li, the 1996 Miss Asia, is said to approve of the plan.
Li won national fame in 1982 when at 19 he played the role of a Buddhist monk at Shaolin Temple, known for its martial arts. His recent action movies Lethal Weapon 4 and Hero have also earned him a reputation in Hollywood.
Li has long been a practicing Buddhist. He recently spent 13 days at a monastery in China. However, Zhang Weiping, producer of "Hero" and a close friend of Li's, said the star only wanted to study Buddhism and would not become a monk.
Li was the highest paid entertainer last year on the Chinese mainland, earning $17 million.
