JACKIE CHAN – BIOGRAPHY OF A FAMOUS ACTOR

Jackie Chan has starred in more than 100 films and does not even think about stopping there. From a builder and extras actor, he became a real star of modern cinema. Read the biography of Jackie Chan in our article!

Chan’s track record is definitely not limited to one profession, he is an actor, a producer, a screenwriter, and a businessman. He tried to realize himself in many areas and he succeeded, but the main merit of Jackie Chan is still his contribution to cinema.

Name: Fang Xing Long

Date of birth: April 7, 1954

Occupation: actor, stuntman, stunt coordinator, producer, screenwriter, businessman

Zodiac sign: Aries

Height: 174

Marital status: married

Childhood and youth

Fang Xing Loong (Chang Kong San, Chen Gangsheng (mand.) Chan Konsan (cant)) was born in Hong Kong on April 7, 1954. The family was very poor, the boy’s parents Charles and Lily Chan were refugees from China. The father of the family was an ardent supporter of the conservative party and was engaged in espionage when the civil war broke out in China – he was declared an enemy of the people. Mother – according to rumors, she was engaged in the opium trade. Because of this, Charles and Lily were forced to flee to Hong Kong.

To provide for their son, the parents went to work at the French Embassy as a cook and maids.

At the age of 5, Chan went to school, but he was kicked out due to poor academic performance. Literally, a year later, the family again became a victim of persecution. The parents were forced to move to Australia, but little Chan had to stay in Hong Kong. He was assigned to study at the Beijing Opera School at the China Institute of Opera Research. There he spent 10 years.

The school had strict rules – even physical punishment was applied to students. Chan had no choice, he could not go to his parents, so he had to study. At the school, students were prepared for a future career in the Peking Opera, they were taught dance, acting, vocals, martial arts, and other disciplines that would help them in the profession. As for general disciplines, there were practically none. Diligent training allowed Chan to get into the ensemble, which went on tour in Hong Kong.

Chan was born with a weight of 5.5 kg, so his mother lovingly called him “Pao-Pao” – translated as “cannonball”. The father wanted to instill in his son all the qualities of a real man, it was thanks to him that the boy began to practice kung fu.

The beginning of a film career

Already in adolescence, the aspiring actor managed to light up in the crowd of famous films, among them the pictures with Bruce Lee “Fist of Fury” and “Enter the Dragon”.

By the time Chan graduated from opera school, her popularity had faded and there were no jobs. Due to the lack of general education subjects at school, the young man practically could not read and write. In order to somehow provide for himself, Chan went to work as a stuntman.

In 1975, Chan was left without work and the only project in which he could participate was the Chinese film for adults “All in the Family”, where the actor was supposed to act in erotic scenes.

A year later, Chan came to his parents in Australia. There he went to study at Dixon College. While there were no acting offers, Chan worked at a construction site. The name of the young man was incomprehensible to his Australian colleagues, so he was called “little Jack” or simply Jackie, starting from the name of his older partner – Jack. And so the famous pseudonym appeared – Jackie Chan.

Jackie was already desperate, as he received a letter from Lo Wei’s assistant producer, Willie Chan. He saw Jackie in one of the films and decided to invite him to audition for the film The New Fist of Fury. The film was not very successful, they tried to try on the image of Bruce Lee on Jackie Chan, but he did not look organic in it. But Lo Wei decided to work with Jackie Chan a few more times.

On the set, Jackie Chan did his own stunts, so he was able to find his own unique style. At the same time, the actor had the idea to shoot a comedy film and show complex tricks in them.

The films “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” and “Drunken Master” became successful. The latter showcases Jackie Chan as a sassy youth who goes from bully to kung fu master. This was followed by shooting in several films of a similar genre – “Spiritual Kung Fu” and “Fearless Hyena”, by the way, Chan also acted as a director in this film. After filming Fearless Hyena 2, Jackie and Will decided to leave Lo Wei’s studio and found a more prestigious film studio.

In 1983, on the set of the film Plan A, Jackie Chan created his own stunt group, which immediately became very popular in Asia. Since 1983, Jackie Chan has been nominated at the Hong Kong Film Festival for Best Stunt Direction and Best Acting. He received this award 5 times.

A career in the USA

The Asian film industry already knew Jackie Chan as a talented and successful actor, but he wanted more. He dreamed of becoming famous all over the world and planned to start with the USA. Although films with the participation of Jackie Chan were released in the US, they did not gain much popularity. Even the hit film Armor of God failed to break even.

By the way, shooting in the film almost deprived Jackie Chan of the most important thing – life. Performing a difficult trick, the actor fell and hit his head. The injury was serious – a fracture of the bones of the skull, but Jackie still managed to recover quickly.

Jackie Chan’s desire did not fade away and he dreamed of projects in the USA. In 1995, the action-comedy Showdown in the Bronx was released – it became Jackie Chan’s first successful film at the American box office. Critics praised the work of the actor and his stunt talent.

One of the posters advertising the film “Showdown in the Bronx” even had a list of all the injuries that Jackie Chan received while performing stunts.

In the same year, Jackie Chan received the prestigious MTV Movie Awards, which the actor received for his contribution to cinema.

Jackie Chan made his first “purely American” film in 1998. Rush Hour starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker became very popular and entered the list of the highest-grossing films of the year. The brilliant duo of Tucker and Chan won the MTV Movie Awards.

The success of the first part inspired the creators to continue and soon Rush Hour 2 was released, which received the same award, only in the nomination for the best fight. But “Rush Hour – 3” critics did not appreciate it, saying that all this was already in the first two parts.

Jackie Chan did not want to look the same in all his films and become an actor in one role. Therefore, he experimented with his image and tried on different roles. So in the film “Magnificent”, the audience saw Chan in the image of an idealist and romantic.

For several more years, Jackie Chan continued to search for himself and tried to combine his tricks with modern special effects. The first such film was The Tuxedo and, despite the efforts expended, neither the audience nor the critics appreciated it. It was the same as other similar paintings.

Still, Jackie Chan did not manage to finally conquer Hollywood, so he decided to continue working in his native Hong Kong. And not in vain, there the actor was waiting for success in the film “New Police Story”. The film tells about a policeman who takes revenge on the Gang of Five for the death of his friends. Then there were two more successful films – “The Myth” and “Baby for 30 million.”

Another project between China and the United States was the film “The Forbidden Kingdom”, filmed in 2008. The film, as always, was built on complex stunts and action scenes, but the critics did not appreciate the plot itself. On the set, Jackie Chan began to communicate well with his partner Jet Li.

Jackie Chan’s first dramatic role in American cinema was in The Karate Kid. Chan’s character is a kung fu master who undertakes to teach a boy named Dre, played by Will Smith’s Son, Jaden Smith.

Jackie Chan’s 100th film was the 2011 historical drama The Fall of the Last Empire. In the film, the actor played the famous Chinese statesman Huang Xing.

In 2012, a loud statement was made – Jackie Chan is leaving the militants. Later, the actor explained that due to his age, he will have to give up difficult tricks and take care of himself, but he is not going to completely leave this genre.

Further in Jackie Chan’s career, there were several more successful films. And in November 2016, the actor was awarded the most prestigious award – the Oscar statuette for “extraordinary achievements in cinema.”

In 2017, Jackie Chan took part in two international projects. The first was the film of Britain and China “Foreigner”, filmed in the genre of the detective drama. At the same time, the Russian-Chinese film “The Secret of the Dragon Seal: Journey to China”, a continuation of the film “Viy”, was released. In addition to Jackie Chan, there were such actors as Rutger Hauer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jason Flemyng on the set.

Musical career

Even as a child, Jackie Chan noticed his musical talent and craving for singing. At school, singing was part of the compulsory program, and there the boy began to improve his vocal skills. In the 80s, Jackie Chan was quite a famous performer in Asia. He even released 20 albums of his songs in different dialects of Chinese, English, and Japanese.

For his films, Jackie Chan independently writes music and songs. But, unfortunately, American and European viewers cannot always hear it – most often the compositions are replaced.

In 2007, Jackie Chan wrote not just another track, but the official song for the preparation of the 2008 Summer Olympics – “We are ready”. The composition was also performed before the Paralympics of the same year. Together with Andy Lau, Emil Chau, and Liu Huang, Jackie Chan sang another of his musical compositions called “Hard to Say Goodbye” at the closing of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Personal life of Jackie Chan

In the press, you definitely won’t see headlines about the next Jackie Chan novel. Jackie Chan met his wife Lin Fengjiao back in 1982. The actor fell in love with Lin at first sight, and without hesitation, he proposed to her right during the filming.

However, no one really knows the details of their relationship. The couple tries not to “shine” in the press and do not advertise their family life. And at the beginning of the relationship, Jackie Chan was afraid that the fans might react sharply to his marriage and therefore that only the closest knew Lin’s wife Chan.

On December 3, 1982, a boy was born in the Chan family – he was named Chan Zooming. When the boy grew up, he decided to follow the path of his father and connect his life with cinema. He is now known as Jaycee Chan.

In 1999, it became known that Jackie Chan had a daughter, but not in marriage, but on the side. It turns out that Chan had a relationship with “Miss Asia -1990” – Elaine Wu Qili, who is 21 years younger than him. She stated that she gave birth to a girl named Etta Wu Zholin by him. The actor at first did not want to recognize his daughter, but soon agreed and accepted her officially.

Father and son could not always find a common language. Firstly, Jackie Chan worked hard, and he did not always manage to pay due attention to his son, and secondly, they have completely different outlooks on life. So in 2011, after Jackie Chan announced that he wanted to give half of his fortune to charity, Jaycee was offended and did not talk to his father.

In 2014, Jackie Chan’s son was jailed for drug possession. The father did not take the side of Jaycee, on the contrary, he said that the son himself should solve his problems. Six months later, Jaycee Chan was released. Soon father and son reconciled.

In 2017, Etta attempted suicide due to lingering depression. After that, on social networks, the girl admitted that she was a lesbian. And in November 2018, Etta and her girlfriend got married.

In addition to his acting career, Jackie Chan also teaches. At the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Jackie Chan lectures on tourism management. And at the Chinese Institute of Science and Art in Wuhan, the actor is the dean of the Jackie Chan Film and Television Academy. Jackie Chan also has several honorary teaching titles from the Baptist University of Hong Kong, the University of Cambodia, and the Savana College of Art and Design in Hong Kong.

Jackie Chan also has his own business and not a small one. The actor owns a chain of Japanese restaurants, several sports clubs, and even his own line of sweets. In 2004, Jackie Chan created his own brand Jackie Chan Design, which produces clothes and accessories.

Selected filmography of Jackie Chan

The filmography of Jackie Chan has more than 100 films, and this is not counting the voice acting and roles in the extras. We have compiled a list of the best Jackie Chan movies.

• 1972 – “Fist of Fury”
• 1973 – “Fist of Vengeance”
• 1973 – “Little Tiger from Kwantung”
• 1976 – “The New Fist of Fury”
• 1978 – “Magnificent bodyguards”
• 1978 – “Spiritual Kung Fu”
• 1979 – Fearless Hyena
• 1979 – Dragon Fist
• 1980 – “Young Master”
• 1984 – Diner on Wheels
• 1985 – Police Story
• 1987 – Armor of God
• 1988 – “Police Story 2”
• 1991 – Armor of God 2: Operation Condor
• 1992 – Police Story 3: Super Cop
• 1998, 2001, 2007 – Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, Rush Hour 3
• 2000 – “Shanghai Noon”
• 2003 – “Shanghai Knights”
• 2005 – “Myth”
• 2006 – “30 million baby”
• 2008 – Forbidden Realms
• 2009 – Incident in Shinjuku
• 2009 – “Looking for Jackie”
• 2009 – “The Founding of China”
• 2010 – The Spy Next Door
• 2010 – Karate Kid
• 2012 – Armor of God: Zodiac Mission
• 2017 – “Foreigner”
• 2018 – “Mystery of the Dragon Seal: Journey to China”