$400,000,000
Jackie Chan
Net Worth
Born in (City)
Hongkong
Born in (Country)
China
Date of Birth
07th December, 1954
Date of Death
-
Mother
Lee-Lee
Father
Charles
Children
- Jaycee Chan
- Etta Ng Chok Lam
About
Jackie Chan is a multi-faceted entertainment personality based out of Hong Kong. He is a martial artist, actor, stuntman, film director, action choreographer, screenwriter, producer, and singer. He is known in the cinematic world for his slapstick acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself. He has trained in Wushu or Kung Fu and Hapkido, and has been acting since the 1960s, performing in more than 150 films. He is one of the most popular action film stars of all-time. Chan is one of the most recognisable and influential cinematic personalities in the world, gaining a widespread following in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres, and has received stars on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has been referenced in various pop songs, cartoons, and video games. He is an operatically trained vocalist and is also a Cantopop and Mandopop star, having released a number of albums and sung many of the theme songs for the films in which he has starred.
Early Life
Chan was born on 7 April 1954 in Hong Kong as Chan Kong-sang to Charles and Lee-Lee Chan, refugees from the Chinese Civil War. His parents were so poor they had to borrow money from friends to pay the doctor. His parents nicknamed him Pao-pao because the energetic child was always rolling around. His parents worked for the French ambassador in Hong Kong, and Chan spent his formative years within the grounds of the consul's residence in the Victoria Peak district. Chan attended the Nah-Hwa Primary School on Hong Kong Island, where he failed his first year, after which his parents withdrew him from the school. In 1960, his father emigrated to Canberra, Australia to work as the head cook for the American embassy, and Chan was sent to the China Drama Academy, a Peking Opera School run by Master Yu Jim-yuen. Chan trained rigorously for the next decade, excelling in martial arts and acrobatics. He eventually became part of the Seven Little Fortunes, a performance group made up of the school's best students, gaining the stage name Yuen Lo in homage to his master. Chan became close friends with fellow group members Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, and the three of them later became known as the Three Brothers or Three Dragons. After entering the film industry, Chan along with Sammo Hung got the opportunity to train in hapkido under the grand master Jin Pal Kim, and Chan eventually attained a black belt. Jackie Chan also trained in other styles of martial arts such as Karate, Judo, Taekwondo and Jeet Kune Do.
Road to Success
He began his career as a child artist at the age of five. In 1962 he appeared in "Big and Little Wong Tin Bar", with his Seven Little fortunes friends. In 1971, he acted as an extra in A Touch of Zen. He was also signed to Chu Mu’s Great Earth Film Company the same year. Jackie acted as stunt double for the legendary Bruce Lee, when he was 17 years old for the movies Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon. Chan’s first major hit was the film "Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow" in 1978. This movie established a new genre of movies which were comic as well as focusing on stunts to Hong Kong audience and people found it new and refreshing. Drunken Master was also released in 1978. It was the first major commercial hit for Chan. His first American film was The Big Brawl in 1980. "The Protector" released in 1985 became a flop, which made him shift his base again to the Hong Kong movie market. He produced a lot of action comedy films with his opera school friends.The trio co-starred together for the first time in 1983 in Project A, it won the Best Action Design Award at the third annual Hong Kong Film Awards. In 1986 he acted in Armour of God, the highest domestic grossing movie in Hong Kong. He tried his luck in Hollywood again in the 1990’s and this time he made it big. He made it so big that he is one of the very few actors and performers who has a huge fan following all over the world.
Challenges
The small family lived in the Victoria Peak district, a prestigious area in Hong Kong. But their lifestyle was far from privileged. They lived in the servants quarters while his father worked as a cook and his mother as a housekeeper for the French Ambassador. Jackie remembers walking into the musty halls of the school, tightly clutching his father’s hand. His fear disappeared as his eyes gazed upon dozens of kids somersaulting and playing with swords and sticks. It was his idea of “Disneyland”. He quickly let go of his father’s hand and grasped the robes of his new Master, Yu Jim-Yuen. But the magic soon wore off and the true colors of the Academy began to show. It was a ruthlessly competitive place where training would last 18-19 hours a day. Jackie wasn’t a particularly good pupil, and would often get into trouble. Between his rigorous training periods, Jackie was bullied by the other kids, as he was visibly afraid of them. This was until he finally stepped in to save another student from being bullied too. His courageous act ended his own hardship, teaching young Jackie the importance of helping others.
Failures
The Medallion fell victim to the same monster that many early 2000s films did — it was wooed by the overwhelming allure of new-age CGI. Filmmakers failed to recognize who they had on board for this film. They had Jackie Chan: the king of fight choreography and stunt work. Instead, they opted to replace all his combat experience with cheesy, computer-animated superpowers. The source of those superpowers stems from a pretty lazy script as well. Adding insult to injury is the usually affable Jackie Chan. We're thinking that he felt underutilized because his normally cheerful disposition was muted. The film struggles to find an identity most of the way through, stumbling over awkward attempts at humor, missing entirely on moments of sincerity, and failing to utilize its action star. There was quite a bit of disappointment surrounding Around the World in 80 Days. The beloved Jules Verne classic was ripe for adaptation, but Disney wrapped their talons around it and took off in the wrong direction. Rather than remain true to the source material, they attempted to transform it into a Jackie Chan movie. As much as we love the clown prince of combat, you can't force what isn't there. Adding insult to injury was the hefty production price tag ($110 million) that saw little return ($72 million worldwide).
Achievements
Won the Best Actor Award at the 1993 Golden Horse Film Festival for his role in the movie 'Police Story 3: Super Cop'.|Won the Best Actor Award at the 2005 Golden Rooster Awards for the movie 'New Police Story'|Academy Honorary Award for his “extraordinary achievement in film” in 2016.
Quotes
- I’m good for some things, bad for a lot of things.
- I never wanted to be the next Bruce Lee. I just wanted to be the first Jackie Chan.
- Do not let circumstances control you. You change your circumstances.