Jackie Chan, the legendary kung fu daredevil, Hollywood star and Guinness World Record holder, is ready to be a torchbearer for Wednesday’s Paralympic opening ceremony in Paris.
At 70, Chan, whose distinctive mix of comedy and martial arts has earned him a large following in France and past, continues to captivate audiences throughout language limitations.
Born in British colonial Hong Kong in 1954, Chan started his movie profession as a baby actor and labored as a stunt double in Bruce Lee’s 1972 basic Fist of Fury.
His thrilling battle scenes interspersed with slapstick humor – showcased in movies reminiscent of Drunken Master and Police Story – made him a family title in Hong Kong and throughout Asia.
Chan’s stunt work additionally led to frequent accidents, and outtakes of scenes gone flawed have been usually proven on the finish of his movies in blooper reels alongside the credit.
Guinness World Records acknowledged him in 2012 for “Most Stunts by a Living Actor.”
Chan’s Hollywood breakthrough got here with Rumble within the Bronx in 1996 and the next Rush Hour trilogy, the place he starred reverse American comic Chris Tucker.
The third installment of the Rush Hour films, filmed in France, featured a pivotal battle scene on the Eiffel Tower, with Chan somersaulting and rolling off the iron beams of the Paris icon to evade his opponent.
“I did all my stunts, even the scene full of fighting and acrobatics on top of the Eiffel Tower,” he instructed reporters in 2007 in the course of the premiere.
“I can tell my grandchildren, ‘This is your grandfather. This is me. That’s not a double flying around the Eiffel Tower in 100-mile-per-hour winds,’” Chan stated.
On Wednesday, he’s anticipated to take over the ceremonial torch within the afternoon. This won’t be his first time carrying the Olympic flame.
In 2008, he was amongst a number of different Chinese personalities – together with Zhang Ziyi of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame – to hold the Olympic torch forward of the Games in Beijing.
Oscar recognition
Despite a late begin to his worldwide movie profession, Chan has been listed a number of occasions up to now decade as one of many best-paid actors on the planet.
He has additionally starred in big-budget motion blockbusters reminiscent of Shanghai Noon, The Karate Kid and the Kung Fu Panda sequence of animated movies.
Chan was awarded the Honorary Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, saying, “After 56 years in the film industry, making more than 200 films – I broke so many bones – finally this is mine!”
Back in Hong Kong, his star has waned considerably through the years as Chan’s pro-Beijing stance has rankled some followers, and his determination to hitch China’s prime political advisory physique made headlines in 2013.
A video emerged in 2021 of him expressing a need to be a card-carrying Chinese Communist Party member.
“I’m honored to be a Chinese person. But I’m also very envious that you are a party member. I think the Communist Party is just too great… I want to be a party member!” he stated.
Chan sits on the head of a sprawling business empire encompassing a clothes line, cinemas and eating places.
His web value was estimated at $350 million in 2015, based on Forbes.
Speaking to reporters on the premiere of Rush Hour 3, the then-53-year-old stated he typically forgets his age.
“You just keep moving,” he stated. “I’ll do it until my body tells me to stop. I don’t think about retirement,” he added.
Source: www.dailysabah.com