Jump to content

Jackie Chan

Change links
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chan .
Jackie Chan
SBS MBE PMW
成龍
Chan at Bleeding Steel press conference at Sydney Opera House in 2016
Born
Chan Kong-sang

(1954-04-07) 7 April 1954 (age 70)
Victoria Peak, Hong Kong
NationalityChinese
Other namesBig Brother (大哥)
Fong Si-lung
Alma materPeking Opera School
Occupation(s)Actor, action choreographer, director, martial artist, producer, screenwriter, singer, stunt director and performer
Years active1962–present
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Spouse
Joan Lin
​
(m. 1982)​
Children2
Parent(s)Charles Chan (father)
Lee-Lee Chan (mother)
AwardsFull list
Musical career
GenresCantopop, Mandopop, Hong Kong English pop, J-pop
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese成龍
Simplified Chinese成龙
Literal meaningBecome the Dragon
Websitejackiechan.com

Chan Kong-Sang (Chinese: 陳港生; born 7 April 1954), better known by his stage name Jackie Chan, is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman best known for his martial arts and action films. On-screen, he is known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself. Chan is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential martial artists in the history of cinema.[2][3]

Early life

[change | change source]

Before entering the film industry, Chan was one of the Seven Little Fortunes from the China Drama Academy at the Peking Opera School, where he studied acrobatics, martial arts, and acting. Chan is skilled in Kung-fu, acrobatics, and Hapkido.[4] He has trained in other martial art forms such as Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, and Jeet Kun Do.[5]

Film career

[change | change source]

After appearing in many Hong Kong films as a stuntman, Chan's first major breakthrough was the 1978 kung fu action comedy film Snake in the Eagle's Shadow. He then starred in similar kung fu action comedy films such as 1978's Drunken Master and 1980's The Young Master.

In 1979, he made his directorial debut with The Fearless Hyena, which was a box office success. Throughout the 1980s, he was part of the "Three Dragons" along with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao; the three starred in six Hong Kong films together.[6]

1983's Project A saw the official formation of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team and established Chan's signature style of elaborate, dangerous stunts combined with martial arts and slapstick humor, a style he further developed in a more modern setting with 1984's Wheels on Meals and 1985's Police Story. Rumble in the Bronx (1995), which had a successful worldwide theatrical run, brought Chan into the North American mainstream.[7][8] He gained international fame for portraying Chief Inspector Lee in the American buddy cop action comedy film Rush Hour (1998), a role he reprised in two sequels.

Chan continued to work both in Hollywood and Hong Kong cinema, appearing in the well-received Shanghai Noon (2000) and Shanghai Knights (2003) in the Shanghai film series, New Police Story (2004), Rob-B-Hood (2006), Little Big Soldier (2010), and Shaolin (2011), among others.[9] The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) marked his first collaboration with fellow martial arts star Jet Li. He has played martial arts mentor Mr. Han in two Karate Kid films, the 2010 remake The Karate Kid and the upcoming Karate Kid: Legends (2025). For CZ12 (2012), he earned two Guinness World Records for "Most Stunts Performed by a Living Actor" and "Most Credits in One Movie".

He played against type in the well-received Shinjuku Incident (2009) and The Foreigner (2017).[10][11] He has performed several voice roles in animated films and has been the inspiration for, or participated in, various animated television series. He has an award named after him, the Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards.

Stunt work

[change | change source]

In his earlier roles, Chan did all of the dangerous stunts without safety equipment. Rumble in the Bronx, which was his ultimate breakthrough American movie. He subjected his already aging body to several leaps and falls. He had a broken ankle.[12]

His two worst injuries occurred during the making of Armour of God and Police Story. Footage was shown over the credits with a subdued and bloodied Chan in a spinal injury stretcher.[13] A tree branch in which he was to swing off had snapped just when he jumped upon and over it. Chan fell 10 meters onto the rocky ground. In Police Story, Chan was doing a stunt where he fell about 5 to 6 stories through a series of window canopies.[14] Instead of landing on his feet, Chan fell in a head-down position. His arms became caught in the material of the last canopy. He landed on his head first and his head was then forced on to the side as he could not break his fall with his arms. While the Police Story fall looked worse, Chan said that the Armour of God fall was the closest he has come to death while filming.[15]

Filmography

[change | change source]

References

[change | change source]
  1. ↑ http://www.china.org.cn/top10/chinese_celebrities_vote/2012-08/28/content_26356451.htm
  2. ↑ https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/jackie-chan-changed-action-cinema-forever/
  3. ↑ "Why Jackie Chan is the best action star of all time". 12 October 2020.
  4. ↑ https://screenrant.com/jackie-chan-fighting-style-martial-arts-explained/
  5. ↑ https://evolve-mma.com/blog/7-reasons-jackie-chan-one-biggest-martial-arts-superstars-history/
  6. ↑ "10 Best Jackie Chan Movies, Ranked". 20 September 2023.
  7. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Utah was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  8. ↑ "Rumble in the Bronx (1996)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  9. ↑ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jackie_chan
  10. ↑ Stokes, Lisa Odham; Braaten, Rachel (15 January 2020). Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-2062-0.
  11. ↑ "'The Foreigner' Review: It's Jackie Chan Vs. Pierce Brosnan in a Fine Action Thriller". Forbes.
  12. ↑ "Broken Ankle: Rumble in the Bronx". The JC Group. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  13. ↑ "Back Injuries". The JC Group. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  14. ↑ "Injuries". Jackie Chan Fan Site. Archived from the original on 2010-02-22. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  15. ↑ "Head Injury: Armour of God". The JC Group. Retrieved 2010-05-10.

Other websites

[change | change source]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jackie Chan.
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jackie_Chan&oldid=10112681"