A visitor looks on a Bruce Lee wax figure in the Madam Tussauds Museum in Shanghai on this file photo. [Xinhua]

The producers of "Ip Man 2" have started a talent search for two Bruce Lee-like actors for the sequel to last year's kung-fu film hit, according to a report on Sina.com.

The two selected actors will appear in "Ip Man 2", the new biopic about Bruce Lee's master. An 8-to-12 year-old is expected to play a young Bruce Lee when he first met Ip Man, and an 18-to-22 year-old will play the kung fu star as a young adult when he started studying under his master.

"Resemblance in appearance will be considered first and foremost, and then the resemblance of manners, and last martial arts and acting skills," said Wilson Yip, the film's director.

Actors can apply for an audition through Henan Satellite TV and BTV-8.

Ten finalists from each age group will vie for the roles on the martial arts television show "Wu Lin Feng" on Henan Satellite TV at the end of July.

"Ip Man 2" is scheduled to start filming in August.

Yip also said that a third installment is under preparation, which would contain more about Bruce Lee. If the actor who portrays the superstar in his early adulthood proves to be a success in the second sequel, he will probably get the role again, Yip said.

(CRI July 3, 2009)