Fat (the studios top star) insisted that it be made. Chow was  also instrumental in bringing in Chu Kong. Chu had not performed in  a movie since the 1970s and the studio was hesitant to use him, but  he and Chow were good friends after having worked on some television  shows together. Chow wanted Chu to play the part of Li, but Chu  thought he was too old. Woo suggested that they bring in his friend  Danny Lee, who at one time wanted to be a cop and had already made a  name for himself playing both police officers and gangsters. Chow  had previously worked with Lee on a small film in the early 1980s  called The Executor (aka Killers Two) and Ringo Lams gangster  classic City on Fire, and agreed with Woo that he would be a perfect  fit for the part of Li.