HE HAD AN ARMED STANDOFF WITH THE TRIAD GANG.Ĭhan’s celebrity in Hong Kong has led to considerable wealth: His stature and fortune eventually led to him crossing paths with the notorious Triad gang in China. Chris Tucker’s English, I don’t understand. “That’s a terrible movie,” he remembered telling his manager. With limited opportunity to do his own stunts and the film relying on the culture clash between his character and Tucker’s, Chan didn’t really understand the appeal.
JACKIE CHAN FILM MOVIE
Though Chan experienced some success as a cult movie figure thanks to re-releases of his earlier movies in the 1990s, his big American break came as a result of 1998’s Rush Hour, which paired him with Chris Tucker. The actor also said he has stuntmen perform stunt tests so he has an idea of what to expect when he steps in front of the camera. In 2013, Chan told Yahoo! that stunt performers are sometimes used as stand-ins for his movies when scenes require his character to walk around, drive, or perform other menial tasks so Chan can rest. While Chan is willing and able to perform his own stunts, that doesn’t mean he’s put stuntmen completely out of business. HE SOMETIMES USES STUNTMEN-FOR WALKING SCENES. Just about 10 days later, Lee would be dead of cerebral edema at age 32. Chan agreed, and the two played while Chan kept busy rebuffing autograph-seekers eager to get to Lee. Months later, Chan was headed to a bowling alley when Lee spotted him in the street and asked to join him. HE TOOK BRUCE LEE BOWLING.Įarly in Chan’s career, he made brief appearances in two Bruce Lee films: 1972’s The Chinese Connection and 1973’s Enter the Dragon. The porn movie at that time was more conservative than the current films.” 4. Even Marlon Brando used to be exposed in his movies.
“I had to do anything I could to make a living 31 years ago,” he said in 2006 of his reasons for making the film, “but I don't think it's a big deal. In 1975, Chan appeared in All in the Family, a Hong Kong softcore feature that starred a prominent adult film actress and featured Chan naked, albeit not engaged in any sexual activity.
But Chan does have one entry on his resume that probably wouldn’t qualify for family movie night. Virtually all of Chan’s films treat violence with a comedic bent, and few have any excessive gore or content that would make them unsuitable for general audiences. Instead, Chan turned his skills to martial arts films. By the time Chan graduated, however, ending up in Peking opera was unlikely. Some days, Chan said, lessons would last 19 hours. The Chinese Opera Research Institute in Hong Kong put its students through arduous training to prepare them for a career in theater, including singing, dancing, and martial arts. HIS SCHOOL EDUCATION WAS GRUELING.Įnrolled at boarding school from ages seven to 17, Chan was subjected to some of the most physically and emotionally grueling training imaginable. His father, Fang Daolang, was involved in illicit criminal activities and may have been a Nationalist spy his mother had once been arrested for smuggling opium and had connections to the Shanghai underworld. Only in more recent years did Chan discover more about his parents. Chan lived at a boarding school that emphasized performance arts. His parents left him behind in Hong Kong when Chan was just seven years old: They fled a Communist regime and settled in Australia, working for the American Embassy. HIS MOTHER WAS AN OPIUM SMUGGLER.īorn Chan Kong-sang in 1954, Chan’s early life has been the subject of much discussion. Here are a few things you might not have known about the man who seems to have the cinema DNA of both Bruce Lee and Charlie Chaplin. Films like The Legend of the Drunken Master and Police Story showcased Chan’s willingness to endure traumatic injury for his comedic ballets of violence. Long before computer effects helped keep leading actors safe during stunts, Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan achieved international acclaim by putting his body and life at risk-often for multiple takes.