1954 was the year the world received the now famous action-movie star, film-maker and producer Jackie Chan. He who introduced comedy into the action film industry attracting a whole new batch of followers both in Hong Kong and other parts the world.
Jackie Chan hails from Hong Kong, a major city in China where he was born to Charles and Lily. They were of humble background working as a cook and housekeeper respectively. In the hunt of a better livelihood, Chan’s parents had to move to Australia but they couldn’t manage to carry their son along. So the young Chan, only seven years old, was enrolled at China Drama Academy to pursue Traditional Chinese Opera. Maybe this may seem as a punishment to many but to the upcoming acrobat this was an opportunity to explore and desire to walk the untrodden paths.
When he graduated from the school in 1971, he had already taken part in the production of a few films. However, he could not enter the industry fully being an amateur. In 1973, the prevailing star of the century; Bruce Lee, passed away and there needed to be a successor. Jackie Chan came to the scene and even superseded the expectations by introducing a new dimension in the industry and that was comedy. Even his stunts are unique with no special effect aid.
- “The ads all call me fearless, but that’s just publicity. Anyone who thinks I’m not scared out of my mind whenever I do one of my stunts is crazier than I am.” Jackie Chan
- “I do small things. I try to do good things every day.” Jackie Chan
- “When I’m in meetings until 5am and then have to get up two hours later for filming, sometimes I ask myself ‘why?'” Jackie Chan
- “Before I do a stunt, I have to make sure it is safe.” Jackie Chan
- “Anyone can be a Superman, but nobody can be Jackie Chan.” Jackie Chan.
- “Why did I become Jackie Chan? Mostly because I work very hard. When people were sleeping, I was still training.” Jackie Chan
- “I want to be in ‘Avatar’. I want somebody to hire me to be Superman, a Chinese Superman or Spider-Man.” Jackie Chan
- “Life will knock us down, but we can choose whether or not to stand back up.” Jackie Chan
- “I never wanted to be the next Bruce Lee. I just wanted to be the first Jackie Chan.” Jackie Chan
- “My wish is to bring my heroes to the big screen, and many of them have already appeared in my films.” Jackie Chan
- “Cinema reflects culture and there is no harm in adapting technology, but not at the cost of losing your originality.” Jackie Chan
- “In the past when I was in Hollywood, I was like a dog. I felt humiliated. My English was not good. People would even ask me ‘Jackie Who?’.” Jackie Chan
- “Being a stunt coordinator, I have to take care not only of myself but I have to make sure everyone is safe.” Jackie Chan
- “I’m not a god – I do bad things.” Jackie Chan
- “I allowed myself to be bullied because I was scared and didn’t know how to defend myself. I was bullied until I prevented a new student from being bullied. By standing up for him, I learned to stand up for myself.” Jackie Chan
- “I now have two different audiences. There’s the one that has been watching my action films for 20 years, and the American family audience. American jokes, less fighting.” Jackie Chan
- “I only want my work to make people happy.” Jackie Chan
- “Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” Jackie Chan
- “Money for me today does not really matter.” Jackie Chan
- “I don’t want to be an action star; action star’s life is so short. I want my life to get longer. I want my career to get longer.” Jackie Chan
- “We learn martial arts as helping weakness. You never fight for people to get hurt. You’re always helping people.” Jackie Chan
- “When I got depressed, I watched Bruce Lee movies. I learned everything from Bruce Lee.” Jackie Chan
- “I’m tired of fighting. I’ve always known that I can’t be an action star all my life.” Jackie Chan
- “Now I am older, I understand we have to accept who we are.” Jackie Chan
- “When I make a film – I direct my own film; I write my own script – that’s what I want to hear from the audience. ‘Oh, thank you, Jackie!” Jackie Chan
- “Chinese people need to be controlled; otherwise, they will do whatever they want.” Jackie Chan
- “I hate violence, yes I do. It’s kind of a dilemma, huh?.” Jackie Chan
- “I sometimes just don’t like to see the Ultimate Fighting. I just find it, as a martial artist, I just find it too violent.” Jackie Chan
- “I like to change characters and then, slowly I believe the audience treat me as, like an actor who can fight. It’s not like an action star.” Jackie Chan
- “I feel that there are a few things in the world without cultural barriers.” Jackie Chan
