Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan (born Chan Kong-sang, 7.4.1954)

Jackie Chan was born in Hong Kong and is an actor, comedian, martial arts expert, stunt performer and film director. He has been appearing in films since the 1970s and has been in over 100 movies. He has a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars.

Jackie Chan: Childhood & Early Career

Jackie Chan was born in Victoria Peak, to Charles and Lee-Lee Chan. After failing his first year at Nah-Hwa Primary School, his parents withdrew him from school and in 1960, his father moved to Australia, sending his son to the China Drama Academy. Whilst he was there, Jackie Chan trained extensively in acrobatics and martial arts. He eventually joined the performance group Little Fortunes, with Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung.

Aged eight, Jackie Chan appeared in the 1962 film Big and Little Wong Tin Bar. Chan continued to appear in films and at the age of 17, he was a stuntman in the Bruce Lee films Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon. Chan's premier starring role came in 1973, when he starred in Little Tiger of Canton. 1975's All in the Family was notable for including Chan's only nude sex scene.

Jackie Chan: Film Career

Having seen Chan in John Woo's Hand of Death, the Hong Kong director Willie Chan took Jackie Chan on board for the film New Fist of Fury, emphasising his similarity to Bruce Lee.

The film that propelled Jackie Chan to mainstream popularity was Drunken Master. Willie Chan was an important figure in Jackie's crossover to Hollywood success in the 1980s. His first Hollywood film was 1980s Battle Creek Brawl, followed by a small role in the cult film Cannonball Run, starring Burt Reynolds, Farrah Fawcett and Roger Moore.

Later on in the 1980s, Jackie Chan abandoned Hollywood and returned to the Hong Kong film industry, eclipsing the success of Bruce Lee with films such as The Young Master, Dragon Lord and The Young Master.

Jackie Chan made the first Police Story film in 1985, which was a huge success in Hong Kong, before returning to work with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao again in Dragons Forever.

Chan returned to Hollywood in the 1990s, initially turning down roles such as Simon Phoenix in Sylvester Stallone's Demolition Man (the role was eventually played by Wesley Snipes), for fear of being typecast. In 1995, he starred in Rumble in the Bronx.

In 1998, Jackie Chan starred with Chris Tucker in Rush Hour, a film that made a huge star of Jackie Chan. On the back of the film's release, the martial arts star released his autobiography I Am Jackie Chan.

Chan's success continued to improve with the success of 2000's Shanghai Noon, Rush Hour 2, Shanghai Knights and The Medallion.

His first collaboration with Jet Li was 2008's The Forbidden Kingdom and featured Chan's first use of wires and special effects. In the popular animation King Fu Panda, Jackie Chan voiced the character of Master Monkey. The film also featured the voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Dustin Hoffman.

The next big Hollywood blockbuster from Jackie Chan was a remake of The Karate Kid, along with Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith).