Bruce Lee Personality Type – MBTI & Big Five

Analysing the personality type of the martial arts master and actor Bruce Lee? I will be breaking down his character traits using the MBTI, which stands for Myers Briggs Type Indicator, and the Big Five Personality Traits.

Bruce Lee was an American actor and martial artist, and he founded the martial arts system named Jeet Kune Do. Jeet Kune Do is a mixture of different fighting systems. Bruce Lee starred in many different martial arts movies. Some of the most well known include, The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Game of Death, Iron Circle, and Enter the Dragon.

Bruce Lee Personality Type – Big Five

Openness

Bruce Lee didn’t seem to like limits, which is why he saw most of the martial arts systems as flawed or limited. He went against traditions because he saw them as limiting. He wasn’t interested in conforming, but rather trying to find the best way of doing something. In this case, it was the most effective form of martial arts. All this suggests he was very high in trait openness.

He was also highly interested in aesthetics, which showed itself in film making. This is also associated with high openness.  

Conscientiousness

Bruce Lee was extremely dedicated and disciplined. He also took on many different tasks, and seemed driven to achieve them. This shows a high level of conscientiousness.

Extroversion

I think he was somewhere in the middle of the extroversion scale, perhaps slightly extroverted. He was vocal, and was often in the spotlight. However, being the centre of attention may have simply been a side effect of his success, which was largely attributable to the passion that he had for what he did.

Agreeableness

He wasn’t afraid of upsetting or offending others when he disagreed with them. He openly pointed out flaws and limitations when he saw them. This suggests that he was on the lower end of the agreeableness scale.

Neuroticism

Generally, Bruce Lee seemed stable, controlled, and had the temperament of a philosopher. Also, because he didn’t seem afraid of confrontation, I would say he was low on neuroticism.

Bruce Lee Personality Type – MBTI  

I think Bruce Lee is difficult to type with the MBTI. A good guess in my opinion of his type would be an ENTP. I think he tilts just slightly over to extroverted. He is creative, is a deep thinker, and he has a good philosophical mind, which makes me think he is an intuitive type.

He seemed like a straight talker, he was direct and blunt. He was also very analytical when talking about and breaking down martial arts techniques, so, he was a thinker. He seemed to value openness and flexibility, which is more aligned with a perceiver. However, he was highly disciplined, which may suggest he was high in some aspects of a judger type.