Roy Horan, presently CEO and founder of Innovea Ltd., began his career
as a martial arts student of renowned Korean taekwondo master and
popular Hong Kong movie super-villain "lord of the super kickers"
Jeong-lee Hwang. American-born Roy had emigrated initially to
Taiwan and finally Hong Kong after graduation from the University of
Rhode Island. In 1975, with Hwang's help, he broke into Hong Kong
film acting with roles in "
Bruce Lee's Deadly Kung Fu (1977)",
"
Snuff Bottle Connection (1977)" and "
The Ring of Death (1980)".
Roy soon became best-known to kung-fu movie fans as the evil "Russian
Assassin" disguised as a Jesuit priest in
Jackie Chan's "
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978)"
and later, as "Lewis", a wealthy kung-fu fighter who befriends "Tang Lung"
(
Bruce Lee's stand-in), in "
Game of Death II (1980)".
Between 1978-1989, Roy served as executive-in-charge of distribution,
sales, marketing and international production for Seasonal Film
Corporation in Hong Kong during the era in which the company produced
Jackie Chan's first comedy kung-fu hit films. During his tenure at
Seasonal, Roy also formulated and directed an instructional video
series including, in 1980, "The Art of High Impact Kicking (1980)", based on
Hwang's legendary kicking methodology. In 1987, he wrote, produced and
appeared in "
No Retreat, No Surrender 2 (1987)",
performing on-camera as the "American Consular General". This role was
his final acting gig. He subsequently left Seasonal Films to establish
other companies for TV and video production, sales and distribution.
In 1999, Roy shifted to an academic career and became a professor at
the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's School of Design where he taught
filmmaking, helped establish the Multimedia Innovation Centre and, in
2005, conducted neuropsychological research on how to enhance creative
thinking. A longtime mediator, he has also taught meditation since
1992.
In 2011, Roy retired from the university to develop Innovea Ltd., a
company that designs and conducts innovative psychological assessments.
The company further consults for individuals and organizations in the
areas of high-performance and well-being.
Roy's daughter,
Celina Jade, joined the entertainment industry first as
a teen pop singer with the Chinese market hit songs "Good News Bad
News" and "Kwong Ying Zi Gan" and, more recently, as an action actress
portraying the "Dragon Inn Singer" in Universal Pictures release "
The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)" and "Shado" in the CW Television
Network actioner "
Arrow (2012)" starring
Stephen Amell.