Jackie Chan

At 70 years old, Jackie Chan has this physical status:

Chan Kong-sang (Chinese: born 7 April 1954), better known as Jackie Chan, is a Hong Kong martial artist, film director, stuntman, and singer.

He is well-known in the cinematic world for his acrobatic fighting style, comedic timing, the use of improvised weapons, and experimental stunts, which he often performs himself.

He has worked in Wushu, Kung Fu, and Hapkido, and has been acting since the 1960s, appearing in over 150 films. Chan is one of the world's most recognisable and influential cinematic personalities, with a large fan base in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres, as well as actor roles on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Hong Kong Avenue of Stars.

He has been featured in a number of pop songs, cartoons, and video games.

He's a classically trained singer and actor, as well as a Cantopop and Mandopop actor, who has released a number of albums and performed many of the theme songs for the films in which he has appeared.

He is also a nationally known philanthropist, and Forbes has ranked him as one of the top ten most charitable celebrities in the world.

Chan was "maybe" the "most well-known celebrity in the country," according to film scholar Andrew Willis.

Forbes estimated his net worth to be $350 million in 2015, and he was the second-highest paid actor in the world as of 2016.

Early life

Chan Kong-sang was born in British Hong Kong on April 7th, 1954 (Chinese: ; lit. 'Chan the Hong Kong-born') to Charles and Lee-Lee Chan, refugees from the Chinese Civil War.' His parents were so poor they had to borrow money from friends to pay the doctor. Pao-pao (Chinese: tense) was his nicknamed by his parents; lit. The enthralling child was always rolling around, 'Cannonball'. Chan spent his formative years in Hong Kong with the consul's residence in the Victoria Peak district.

Chan spent his first year at Nahwa Primary School on Hong Kong Island, where he failed his first year and parents barred him from the school. His father went to Canberra, Australia, to serve as the head cook for the American Embassy, and Chan was sent to the China Drama Academy, a Peking Opera School run by Master Yu Jim-yuen. Chan studied regularly for the next decade, excelling in martial arts and acrobatics. He joined the Seven Little Fortunes, a student performance group made up of the school's best students, and he took the stage name Yuen Lo () in honor of his master. Chan became close friends with fellow group members Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, and the three of them later became known as the Three Brothers or Three Dragons. Chan and Sammo Hung were able to train in hapkido under the guidance of grandmaster Jin Pal Kim, and Chan then earned a black belt.

Chan came from Canberra, Australia, where he briefly attended Dickson College and worked as a building worker. Chan was taken under his wing by a fellow builder, who gave Chan the nickname of "Little Jack" later shortened to "Jackie," a word that has remained with him ever since.

Chan changed his Chinese name to Fang Shilong (Cantonese: Fong Si-lung) in the late 1990s, since his father's original surname was Fang. They are the descendants of Fang Xuanling, a chancellor of the Tang dynasty.

Personal life

Chan married Joan Lin, a Taiwanese actress, in 1982. Jaycee Chan, the son of singer and comedian Jaycee Chan, was born in the same year. Chan's extra-marital affair with Elaine Ng Yi-Lei resulted in the birth of Etta Ng Chok Lam, born on January 18, 1999. Within the media, it became a scandal. Although Elaine was reportedly paid 70,000 HK dollars per month for her living expenses and 600,000 HK dollars when she moved to Shanghai, her lawyer later reported that the transactions were not present. Despite regretting the results of the investigation, Chan said he had "only committed a felony that few men in the world commit." Elaine said during the incident that Chan would handle her daughter without her mother.

Chan speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and American Sign Language, as well as German, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, and Thai. Chan is a huge football fan and supports the Hong Kong national football team, England's national football team, and Manchester City.

He is a fan of the Italian duo Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, who were both inspired for his films.

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Film career

He began his film career by appearing in small roles as a child actor at the age of five. In the film Big and Little Wong Tin Bar (1962), he appeared alongside some of his "Little Fortunes" with Li Li-Hua playing his mother at age eight. The young actor appeared in extras of The Love Eterne (1963) and appeared in a small role in King Hu's 1966 film Come Drink with Me. Chan was signed to Chu Mu's Great Earth Film Company in 1971 after an appearance as an extra in another kung fu film, A Touch of Zen.

Chan appears in Bruce Lee's film Fist of Fury (1972), both as an extra and as a stunt double for Hiroshi Suzuki, portrayed by Riki Hashimoto), particularly during Lee's final combat scene in which Lee kicks him and he flies through the air. Chan appeared in another Bruce Lee film, Enter the Dragon (1973), as a teenage henchman who is killed by Lee's character. Sammo Hung was assisting Chan in minor roles in both of Bruce Lee's films. Chan also worked as a martial arts choreographer for John Woo's The Young Dragons (1974).

Jackie Chan received a telegram from Willie Chan, a Hong Kong film producer who had been impressed with Jackie Chan's stunt choreography work in 1976. Willie Chan was offered an acting part in Lo Wei's film. Lo saw Chan's appearance in John Woo's Hand of Death (1976) and planned to model him after Bruce Lee in the film New Fist of Fury. To emphasize his similarity to Bruce Lee, whose stage name meant "Lee the Little Dragon" in Chinese, his stage name was changed to (literally "becoming the dragon). (Note that "dragon" in Lee's name refers to Lee's birth year, not the Chinese dragon) Chan was unable to cope with Lee's martial arts style, which was ineffective. Despite the film's demise, Lo Wei continued to produce films with similar themes, but with no improvement at the box office.

Chan's first major breakthrough was the 1978 film Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, which was shot while he was loaned to Seasonal Film Corporation under a two-picture contract. Chan was granted complete discretion over his stunt work by director Yuen Woo-ping. The film established the comedic kung fu style and was a hit in Hong Kong. Chan appeared in Drunken Master, which later led him to mainstream success.

Lo trying to imitate Drunken Master's comedic approach on Chan's return to Lo Wei's studio, he created and then exhibited new features at the time with Jackie as the Stunt Director Half a Loaf of Kung Fu and Spiritual Kung Fu. Chan was also given the opportunity to make his directorial debut in The Fearless Hyena. Willie Chan's departure from the company compelled Jackie to choose whether or not to remain with Lo Wei. Chan broke his deal and joined Golden Harvest, causing Lo to blackmail Chan with triads, blaming Willie for his actor's departure during the shooting of Fearless Hyena Part II. Chan was able to remain with Golden Harvest with the support of fellow actor and director Jimmy Wang Yu.

Willie Chan, Jackie's personal manager and business associate, served for more than 30 years. Chan's international career began with his first forays into the American film industry in the 1980s, which culminated in his success. In 1980, he saw The Big Brawl, his first Hollywood film. Chan then appeared in The Cannonball Run, a 1981 film that grossed over US$100 million worldwide, which took in a small amount. Despite being largely ignored by North American audiences in favour of established American actors such as Burt Reynolds, Chan was captivated by the outtakes at the closing credits, which inspired him to use the same technique in his future films.

Chan briefly renounced his attempts to break into the US market after the 1985 commercial failure of The Protector, refocusing on Hong Kong films.

Chan's films in Hong Kong began to pique a larger audience in East Asia, including Drunken Master, The Young Master (1980) and Dragon Lord (1982). The Young Master continued to smash previous box office records set by Bruce Lee and established Chan as Hong Kong's top actor. With Dragon Lord, he began experimenting with elaborate stunt action sequences, including one in which he does a back flip off a roof and plummets to the ground, including one in which he does a back flip off a balcony.

Chan produced a number of action comedy films with his opera school classmates Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. The three co-starred in Project A, which showcased a new stunt-driven martial arts style that received the Best Action Design Award at the third annual Hong Kong Film Awards in 1983. The "Three Brothers" appeared in Wheels on Meals and the original Lucky Stars trilogy for two years over the next two years. Chan made the first Police Story film in 1985, a crime thriller in which Chan performed a series of dangerous stunts. At the 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards, it was named Best Film. In the film Armour of God, Chan played "Asian Hawk," an Indiana Jones-esque role. Chan's biggest domestic box office hit to date, grossing over HK$35 million.

Chan appeared in Dragons Forever in 1988, alongside Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao for the final time to date. Hung co-directed with Corey Yuen, and Yuen Wah played the villain in the film, both of whom were fellow graduates of the China Drama Academy.

Chan appeared in a number of hit sequels beginning with Project A Part II and Police Story 2, which received the award for Best Action Choreography at the 1989 Hong Kong Film Awards. This was followed by Armour of God II: Operation Condor, and Police Story 3: Super Cop, for which Chan received the Best Actor Award at the 1993 Golden Horse Film Festival. Chan recalled his appearance in Drunken Master II, which was listed in Time Magazine's All-Time 100 Movies. Police Story 4: First Strike, Chan's second sequel, earned more accolades and domestic box office success, but it did not do as well in foreign markets.

He was Asia and Europe's most well-known action movie star by the mid-1990s. His films had grossed over HK$700 million (US$415 million) in Hong Kong and 39 billion (US$415 million) in Japan, with some having sold over 33 million box office admissions in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain up until then. Despite his international success, he was not very well-known in North America, where he had only two broad releases as a leading actor, The Big Brawl and The Protector, grossing US$9.51 million (US$32 million adjusted for inflation). Despite this, Chan's Hong Kong films' North American home video industry flourished by the mid-1990s.

Chan revived his Hollywood aspirations in the 1990s, but the actor turned down early offers to play villains in Hollywood films in order 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 resigned and Wesley Snipes assumed the role.

Chan finally succeeded in establishing a foothold in the North American market in 1995 with the introduction of Rumble in the Bronx around the world, gaining a cult following in the United States, which was unusual for Hong Kong movie stars. Rumble in the Bronx's success led to the introduction of Police Story 3: Supercop in the United States under the name Supercop, which earned the company's total of US$16,270,600. Chan's first big blockbuster success came when he co-starred with Chris Tucker in the 1998 buddy cop action comedy Rush Hour, grossing US$130 million in the United States alone. After writing his autobiography in collaboration with Jeff Yang called I Am Jackie Chan, he became a Hollywood celebrity.

Who Am I? Chan's last film for Golden Harvest was released in 1998. Since leaving Golden Harvest in 1999, he produced and appeared in Gorgeous, a romantic comedy that emphasized personal relations and featured just a few martial arts sequences. Despite Chan's leaving Golden Harvest in 1999, the company continued to produce and export for two of his films, Gorgeous (1999) and The Accidental Spy (2001). Chan also helped develop Jackie Chan Stuntmaster, which included borrowing his voice and performing motion capture. He continued his Hollywood success in 2000 when he partnered with Owen Wilson in the Western action comedy Shanghai Noon. In 2003, Shanghai Knights premiered, along with his first on-screen combat scene with Donnie Yen. He reunited with Chris Tucker for Rush Hour 2 (2001), which was even more popular than the original, grossing $347 million worldwide. In his next two Hollywood films, The Tuxedo (2002) and The Medallion (2003), Chan experimented with special effects and wirework for the fight scenes, which were not as good or commercially successful as they were. He joined Around the World in 80 Days in 2004, closely based on Jules Verne's novel of the same name. Chan was "probably" the "most well-known celebrity in the country," according to film scholar Andrew Willis.

Chan was dissatisfie with Hollywood's limited number of roles and lack of direction over the filmmaking process despite the success of the Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon films. Chan formed JCE Movies Limited (Jackie Chan Emperor Movies Limited) in reaction to Golden Harvest's withdrawal from the film business in 2003. Although continuing to do well at the box office, his films have since included an increasing number of dramatic scenes; New Police Story (2004), The Myth (2005), and Rob-B-Hood (2006).

Chan's next film release was the third instalment of Rush Hour's Rush Hour film collection Rush Hour 3 in August 2007. It earned US$255 million. However, it was a disappointment in Hong Kong, grossing only HK$3.5 million in the first weekend.

The filming of The Forbidden Kingdom, Chan's first on-screen collaboration with fellow Chinese actor Jet Li, was finished on August 24, 2007, and it was released in April 2008. The movie made heavy use of effects and wires. Chan was the voice of Master Monkey in Kung Fu Panda (launched in June 2008) and appeared with Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, and Angelina Jolie. In addition, he has served as an advisor for Anthony Szeto's film Wushu, which was released on May 1st. Sammo Hung and Wang Wenjie appear as father and son in the film.

Chan started filming the Shinjuku Incident, a dramatic role starring no martial arts scenes with director Derek Yee, which makes Chan play a Chinese immigrant in Japan. On April 2, 2009, the film was released. Chan's blog said he discussed his attempts to direct a film after completing the Shinjuku Incident, something he hasn't done for many years. Armour of God III: Chinese Zodiac, was supposed to be the third installment in the Armour of God film and had a working title. The film was released on December 12, 2012. Chan started shooting his next Hollywood film, The Spy Next Door, at the end of October in New Mexico, because the Screen Actors Guild did not go on strike. Chan plays an undercover agent whose cover is blown when he looks after his girlfriend's children. Chan appears in Little Big Soldier as a soldier in China's Warring States period. He is the lone survivor of his army's army and must bring a wounded enemy soldier, Leehom Wang, to the capital of his province.

In 2010, he appeared in The Karate Kid, a recreation of the 1984 original. This was Chan's first dramatic American film. Mr. Han is a kung fu master and maintenance man who instructs Jaden Smith's character so he can protect himself from school bullies. At the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 2011, his participation in The Karate Kid earned him the Most Favorite Buttkicker award. Rather than one of the main characters in Chan's next film, Shaolin, he plays a supporting role as a cook of a temple.

1911, his 100th film, was released on September 26, 2011. Chan was the co-director, executive producer, and lead actor of the film. Although Chan has produced more than ten films in his career, this was his first directorial effort since Who Am I? In 1998, the US Navy launched a new breed of cigarettes. On October 14, 1911, the premiere in North America premiered.

Chan revealed that he was pulling out of action films because he was getting too old for the genre at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. He later revealed that he would not be completely removed from action films, but that he'll be doing fewer stunts and taking care of his body better.

Chan starred in Police Story 2013, a Ding Sheng-directed revival of the Police Story franchise, in China, at the end of 2013, and it was released in China. In early 2015, Chan's next film Dragon Blade was announced, as well as co-starred Hollywood actors John Cusack and Adrien Brody. Chan was given the title "Datuk" by Malaysia in 2015 as he helped Malaysia boost tourism, especially in Kuala Lumpur, where he had previously shot his films. Chan's latest film, Kung Fu Yoga, a Chinese-Indian project that also stars Disha Patani, Sonu Sood, and Amyra Dastur, was released in early 2017. Chan and director Stanley Tong, who produced a number of Chan's films in the 1990s, were reunited in the film. The film, upon its release, was a huge hit at the box office and became China's fifth highest-grossing film in less than a month after its release. In 2016, he teamed up with Johnny Knoxville and appeared in his own film Skiptrace.

Chan appeared in the 2016 action-comedy railroad Tigers and The Foreigner, an Anglo-Chinese production. He also appears in Bleeding Steel, a science fiction film. In 2022, he will star alongside John Cena in Project X-Traction.

His films grossed HK$1.14 billion (US$147 million) at the Hong Kong box office between 1991 and 2010, with a total of US$72 million in South Korea between 1991 and 2010, and 48.4 billion (US$607 million) in Japan up to 2012. Between 1973 and 2010, his films in Europe collectively grossed nearly 84 million tickets between 1973 and 2010. His films have grossed over 144 billion RMB (US$2.17 billion) in China as of 2021, as well as US$1.84 billion (more than US$2.44 billion adjusted for inflation) in the United States and Canada. At the global box office, 48 of his films have grossed more than US$5 billion.

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Awards named after Jackie Chan

• The Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards, held at the Shanghai International Film Festival since 2015, is named after Jackie Chan.