Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan's career spans nearly sixty years and features him working as an actor, martial artist, film director, action director, stuntman, producer and singer.
Career summary
Chan began his career as an extra child actor in the 1962 filmBig and Little Wong Tin Bar. Ten years later, he was a stuntman opposite Bruce Lee in 1972's Fist of Fury and 1973's Enter the Dragon. He then had starring roles in several kung fu films, such as 1973's Little Tiger of Canton and 1976's New Fist of Fury. His 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 deal. He then enjoyed greater success with similar kung fu comedy films such as 1978's Drunken Master and 1980's The Young Master. In 1982, Jackie Chan began experimenting with elaborate stunt action sequences in Dragon Lord, which featured a pyramid fight scene that holds the record for the most takes required for a single scene, with 2900 takes, and the final fight scene where he performs various stunts, including one where he does a back flip off a loft and falls to the lower ground. In 1983, Project A saw the official formation of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team and added elaborate, dangerous stunts to the fights and typical slapstick humor. Police Story contained many large-scale action scenes, including an opening sequence featuring a car chase through a shanty town, Chan stopping a double-decker bus with his service revolver and a climactic fight scene in a shopping mall. This final scene earned the film the nickname "Glass Story" by the crew, due to the huge number of panes of sugar glass that were broken. During a stunt in this last scene, in which Chan slides down a pole from several stories up, the lights covering the pole had heated it considerably, resulting in Chan suffering second-degree burns, particularly to his hands, as well as a back injury and dislocation of his pelvis upon landing. Chan performed similarly elaborate stunts in numerous other films, such as several Police Story sequels, Project A Part II, the Armour of God series, Dragons Forever, Drunken Master II, Rumble in the Bronx, and the Rush Hour series, among others. In 1995, Rumble in the Bronx made Jackie Chan a mainstream celebrity in America. In 2000, Chan produced an animated seriesJackie Chan Adventures, which ran until 2005. Starring a fictionalized version of himself voiced by James Sie with Chan himself appearing in live action in the opening theme and in the "Hey Jackie" segments at the end of each episode. In July 2008, the BTVreality television series titled The Disciple concluded. The aim of the series, produced by and featured Chan, was to find a new star to become Chan's "successor" and student in film-making. The winner of the series was Jack Tu, who is now set to star in three modern Chinese action films, one of which was scripted by Chan, and all three to be co-produced by Chan's company JCE Movies Limited. In 2010, Jackie Chan appeared in his first dramatic role in an American film, a remake of 1984's The Karate Kid as Mr. Miyagi, opposite co-star Jaden Smith. Chan followed up the high-profile part with a minor role Shaolin. Jackie Chan's 100th movie,1911, which he co-directed, produced, and starred in, was released on September 26, 2011 and in North America on October 14. While Chan has directed over ten films over his career, this was his first directorial work since Who Am I? in 1998. While at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Chan announced that he was retiring from action films citing that he was getting too old for the genre. He later clarified that he would not be completely retiring from action films, but would be performing fewer stunts and taking care of his body more. Jackie Chan's first film in 2017 was Kung Fu Yoga, released on January 27, 2017. Jackie Chan plays the role as Jack, a world-renowned archaeology professor. Jack and his team are on a grand quest to locate a lost ancient Indian treasure when they are ambushed by a team of mercenaries and left for dead. Using his vast knowledge of Asian history, yoga and kung fu, Jack leads his team on a race around the world to beat the mercenaries to the treasure and save an ancient culture in this breakneck action-comedy that reunites Chan with acclaimed director Stanley Tong. In Dragon Blade, a historicalaction film, Chan plays Huo An, the commander of the Protection Squad of the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty. The film was released on February 19, 2015.
Box office
Between 1985 and 1989, ten of his films had earned nearly worldwide. His films went on to collectively gross HK$1.14billion at the Hong Kong box office between 1973 and 2010, in Japan between 1979 and 2012, and over in South Korea between 1991 and 2010,, his films have grossed in China, and in the United States and Canada, as well as selling about tickets in France and about tickets in Germany, Spain and Italy., his films have grossed more than at the worldwide box office.
