Everything about Jackie Chan totally explained
Jackie Chan SBS (born
Chan Kong Sang;
April 7,
1954) is a
Chinese actor,
action choreographer,
film director,
producer,
martial artist,
comedian,
screenwriter,
singer and
stunt performer.
Chan is one of the best-known names in
kung fu and
action films worldwide, known for his
acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of
improvised weapons and innovative
stunts. He has acted since the 1970s, appearing in over 100
films, and has received stars on the
Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. As a cultural icon, Chan has been referenced in various pop songs, cartoons and video games. Besides acting, Chan is a
Cantopop and
Mandopop star, having released 20 albums since 1984 and sung many of the
theme songs for the films in which he's starred.
Childhood and beginnings
Jackie Chan was born in 1954 on
Victoria Peak,
Hong Kong, as Chan Kong Sang (meaning "born in Hong Kong") to
Charles and Lee-Lee Chan, refugees from the
Chinese Civil War. He was nicknamed
Pao Pao (literally meaning "Cannonball") because he was always rolling around as an infant. Since his parents worked for the French
ambassador to Hong Kong, Chan spent his formative years within the grounds of the ambassador's residence in the Victoria Peak district.
Chan attended the Nah-Hwa Primary School on
Hong Kong Island, where he failed his first year, after which his parents withdrew him from the school. In 1960, his father emigrated to
Canberra,
Australia to work as head cook for the American embassy, and Chan was sent to the Chinese Drama Academy, a
Peking Opera School run by Master
Yu Jim Yuen.
Chan trained rigorously for the next decade, excelling in martial arts and acrobatics. He eventually joined the
Seven Little Fortunes, a performance group made up of the school's best students, gaining the stage name Yuen Lo in homage to his master. Chan became close friends with fellow group members
Sammo Hung and
Yuen Biao, the three of them later to be known as the
Three Brothers or
Three Dragons.
At the age of 8, he appeared with some of his fellow "Little Fortunes", in the film
Big and Little Wong Tin Bar (1962), with Li Li Hua playing his mother. Chan appeared with Li again the following year, in
The Love Eterne (1963) and had a small role in
King Hu's 1966 film,
Come Drink with Me. In 1971, after an appearance as an extra in another King Hu film,
A Touch of Zen, Chan began his adult career in the film industry, initially signing to Chu Mu's Great Earth Film Company. At the age of 17, he worked as a stuntman in the
Bruce Lee films
Fist of Fury and
Enter the Dragon under the stage name Chen Yuen Long. He received his first starring role later that year, in
Little Tiger of Canton, which had a limited release in Hong Kong in 1973.
Following the commercial failures in his early ventures into films and trouble finding stunt work, Chan joined his parents in Canberra in 1976, where he briefly attended
Dickson College and worked as a construction worker. A fellow builder named Jack took Chan under his wing, earning Chan the nickname of "Little Jack" which was later shortened to "Jackie" and the name Jackie Chan stuck with him ever since. In addition, Chan changed his
Chinese name to Fong Si Lung, since his father's original surname was Fong.
Chan's first major breakthrough was the 1978 film
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, shot while he was loaned to Seasonal Film Corporation under a two-picture deal. Under director
Yuen Woo Ping, Chan was allowed complete freedom over his stunt work. The film established the comedic kung fu genre, and proved to be a breath of fresh air for the Hong Kong audience. Chan then starred in
Drunken Master, which finally propelled him to mainstream success.
Upon Chan's return to Lo Wei's studio, Lo tried to replicate the comedic approach of
Drunken Master, producing
Half a Loaf of Kung Fu and
Spiritual Kung Fu.
Success of the action comedy genre: 1980–1987
Willie Chan had become Jackie's personal manager and firm friend, and has remained so for over 30 years. He was instrumental in launching Chan's international career, beginning with his first forays into the
American film industry in the 1980s.
His first Hollywood film was
Battle Creek Brawl in 1980. Chan then played a minor role in the 1981 film
The Cannonball Run, which grossed
US$100 million worldwide. Despite being largely ignored by audiences in favour of established American actors like
Burt Reynolds, Chan was impressed by the
outtakes shown at the
closing credits, inspiring him to include the same device in his future films. After the commercial failure of
The Protector in 1985, Chan temporarily abandoned his attempts to break into the US market, returning his focus to
Hong Kong films. Over the following two years, the "Three Brothers" appeared in
Wheels on Meals and the original
Lucky Stars trilogy. In 1985, Chan made the first
Police Story film, a US-influenced action comedy in which Chan performed his own stunts. It was named the "Best Movie" at the 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards.
In 1987, Chan played "Asian Hawk", an
Indiana Jones-esque character, in the film
Armour of God. The film was Chan's biggest domestic box office success to date, grossing over HK $35 million.
Acclaimed sequels and Hollywood breakthrough: 1988–1998
In 1988 Chan starred alongside Hung and Yuen for the last time to date, in the film
Dragons Forever. Hung co-directed with
Corey Yuen, and the villain in the film was
Yuen Wah, both of whom were fellow graduates of the China Drama Academy.
In the late 1980s and early 90s, Chan starred in a number of successful sequels beginning with
Police Story 2, which won the award for Best Action Choreography at the 1989
Hong Kong Film Awards. This was followed by, and
Police Story 3, for which Chan won the Best Actor Award at the 1993
Golden Horse Film Festival. In 1994, Chan reprised his role as
Wong Fei Hung in
Drunken Master II, which was listed in
Time Magazine's All-Time 100 Movies. Another sequel,, brought more awards and domestic box office success for Chan, but didn't fare as well in foreign markets.
Jackie Chan rekindled his
Hollywood ambitions in the 1990s, but refused early offers to play villains in Hollywood films to avoid being
typecast in future roles. For example,
Sylvester Stallone offered him the role of
Simon Phoenix, a criminal in the futuristic film
Demolition Man. Chan declined and the role was taken by
Wesley Snipes.
Chan finally succeeded in establishing a foothold in the
North American market in 1995 with a worldwide release of
Rumble in the Bronx, attaining a
cult following in the
United States that was rare for Hong Kong movie stars.
The success of
Rumble in the Bronx led to a 1996 release of
Police Story 3 in the United States under the title
Supercop, which grossed a total of US $16,270,600. Jackie then co-starred with
Chris Tucker in the 1998
buddy cop action comedy
Rush Hour, grossing US$130 million in the United States alone. Chan then helped create a
PlayStation game in 2000 called
Jackie Chan Stuntmaster, to which he lent his voice and performed the motion capture. Starting that year, Chan voiced a fictionalised version of himself in the
animated series Jackie Chan Adventures, which ran until 2005.
Despite further success with
Shanghai Noon in 2000,
Rush Hour 2 in 2001 and
Shanghai Knights in 2003, Chan became frustrated with Hollywood over the limited range of roles and lack of control over the film-making process. In response to Golden Harvest's withdrawal from the film industry in 2003, Chan started his own film production company,
JCE Movies Limited (Jackie Chan Emperor Movies Limited) in association with
Emperor Multimedia Group (EMG).
Chan's next release was
Rush Hour 3 in August 2007, which performed well at the U.S. box office, grossing over US$100 million. However, it performed poorly in Hong Kong, grossing only HK$3.5 million during its opening weekend. The filming of
The Forbidden Kingdom, Chan's first onscreen collaboration with fellow
Chinese actor
Jet Li, was completed on
August 24,
2007 and the film was released in April 2008. Chan will voice the character of "Master Monkey", in the
DreamWorks Animation film,
Kung Fu Panda, scheduled for a June 2008 release, alongside stars such as
Jack Black,
Dustin Hoffman and
Angelina Jolie. In addition, he's signed up to assist
Anthony Szeto in an advisory capacity for the writer-director's upcoming film
Wushu, which is currently in pre-production. The film will star
Sammo Hung and
Wang Wenjie as father and son.
In November 2007, Chan will begin filming
Shinjuku Incident with director
Derek Yee, which sees Chan take on the role of a
Chinese immigrant in
Japan. According to his
blog, Chan wishes to direct a film after completing
Shinjuku Incident, something he hasn't done for a number of years. The film is expected to be the third in the Armour of God series, and has a working title of .
Stunts
Jackie Chan performs most of his own stunts, which are choreographed by the
Jackie Chan Stunt Team. Since the team's establishment in 1983, Chan has used it in all his subsequent films to make choreographing easier, given his understanding of each member's abilities. Chan and his team undertake many of the stunts performed by other characters in his films, shooting the scenes such that their faces are obscured.
The dangerous nature of his stunts makes it difficult for Chan to get insurance, especially in the United States, where his stunt work is contractually limited. In addition, he holds an unrecognised record for the most number of takes for a single shot in a film, having shot over 2900 retakes for a complex scene involving a badminton game in
Dragon Lord.
Chan has been injured numerous times attempting stunts; many of them have been shown as outtakes or
bloopers during the closing credits of his films. He came closest to death filming
Armour of God, when he fell from a tree and fractured his skull, resulting in a permanent hole in his head. Over the years, Chan has dislocated his pelvis and broken his fingers, toes, nose, both cheekbones, hips, sternum, neck and ribs on numerous occasions.
Filmography and screen persona
Jackie Chan created his screen persona as a response to Bruce Lee, and the
numerous imitators who appeared before and after Lee's death. In contrast to Lee's characters, who were typically stern, morally upright heroes, Chan plays well-meaning, slightly foolish regular guys (often at the mercy of their friends, girlfriends or families) who always triumph in the end despite the odds.
In recent years, the aging Chan grew tired of being typecast as an action hero, prompting him to act with more emotion in his latest films. In
New Police Story, he portrayed a character suffering from alcoholism and mourning his murdered colleagues. To further shed the image of Mr. Nice Guy, Chan played an anti-hero for the first time in
Rob-B-Hood starring as Thongs, a burglar with gambling problems.
Image and celebrity status
Jackie Chan has received worldwide recognition for his acting, having won several awards including an Innovator Award from the
American Choreography Awards and a lifetime achievement award from the
Taurus World Stunt Awards. He has stars on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Hong Kong
Avenue of Stars. Despite considerable box office success in Hollywood, Chan's American films have been criticised with respect to the action choreography. Reviewers of
Rush Hour 2,
The Tuxedo, and
Shanghai Knights criticised the toning down of Chan's fighting scenes, citing less intensity compared to his earlier films. The comedic value of his films is questioned, some critics stated it can be childish at times.
Chan is a cultural icon, having been referenced in
Ash's song "
Kung Fu" as well as in "Jackie Chan" by
Frank Chickens, and television shows
Celebrity Deathmatch and
Family Guy. He has been the inspiration for
manga such as
Dragon Ball, the character
Lei Wulong in
Tekken and the fighting-type
Pokémon Hitmonchan. In addition, Jackie Chan has a sponsorship deal with
Mitsubishi Motors. As a result, Mitsubishi cars can be found in the most recent Jackie Chan films. Furthermore, Mitsubishi honoured Chan by launching Evolution, a limited series of cars which he personally customised.
A number of video games have featured Jackie Chan. Before
Stuntmaster, Chan already had a game of his own,
Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu, released in 1990 for the
PC-Engine and
NES. In 1995, Chan was featured in the arcade fighting game
Jackie Chan The Kung-Fu Master. In addition, a series of Japanese Jackie Chan games were released on the
MSX by Pony, based on several of his films (
Project A,
Project A 2,
Police Story,
The Protector and
Wheels On Meals).
Jackie Chan is a successful singer in Hong Kong and Asia, having begun producing records professionally in the 1980s. He often sings the theme songs of his films, playing them during the closing credits. In 2004, Chan launched his own line of clothing, which bears a Chinese dragon logo and the English word "Jackie".
Chan has always wanted to be a role model to children, remaining popular with them due to his good-natured acting style. He has refused to play villains and has never used the word
fuck in his films. Chan's greatest regret in life isn't having received proper education, inspiring him to fund educational institutions around the world. He funded the construction of the Jackie Chan Science Centre at the
Australian National University and the establishment of schools in poor regions of China.
Chan is a spokesperson for the
Government of Hong Kong, appearing in
public service announcements. In a
Clean Hong Kong commercial, he urged the people of Hong Kong to be more considerate with regards to
littering, a problem that has been widespread for decades. Furthermore, in an advertisement promoting nationalism, he gave a short explanation of the
March of the Volunteers, the national anthem of the
People's Republic of China. When
Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005, Chan participated in the opening ceremony. In the United States, Chan appeared alongside
Arnold Schwarzenegger in a government advert to combat
copyright infringement and made another public service announcement with
Los Angeles County Sheriff
Lee Baca to encourage people, especially
Asians, to join the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Currently airing on
China Beijing TV Station, is a
reality television series entitled
The Disciple, which is produced by, and features Jackie Chan. The aim of the program is to find a new star, skilled in acting and martial arts, to become Chan's "successor". The series champion will be given the lead role in a film scripted by Chan, whilst several other exceptional finalists will be given the opportunity to join the
Jackie Chan Stunt Team. Contestants are trained by Stunt Team members Alan Wu and He Jun and compete in various fields, including explosion scenes, high-altitude wire-suspension, gunplay, car stunts, diving, obstacles courses etc.
The regular judges on the program are
He Ping,
Wu Yue and
Cheng Pei Pei. Guest judges include
Stanley Tong,
Sammo Hung and
Yuen Biao. The "Finals" began on
April 5,
2008, with 16 contestants remaining, and will conclude on
June 7,
2008, with the series winner being announced in
Beijing.
Philanthropy
Chan is a keen
philanthropist and a
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, having worked tirelessly to champion charitable works and causes. He has campaigned for
conservation, against
animal abuse and has promoted disaster relief efforts for floods in
mainland China and the
2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. In June 2006, he announced the donation of half his assets to charity upon his death, citing his admiration of the effort made by
Warren Buffett and
Bill Gates to help those in need.
On 10th March 2008, Chan was guest of honour for the launch, by Australian Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd, of the
Jackie Chan Science Centre at the
John Curtin School of Medical Research,
Australian National University in
Canberra.
Personal life
In 1982, Jackie Chan married, a Taiwanese actress. The two had a son the same year, singer and actor
Jaycee Chan.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Jackie Chan'.
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