History Creator / JackieChan

* NotSoStoic: He has said that while advertisements liked promoting him as "the man without fear", he assures that it is not the case. In the fall through the awnings from the clocktower, he wasn't able to let go of his own accord, and told the crew to keep the cameras rolling until he lost strength and could no longer hold on. When he was holding on to a helicopter while swinging over a train, it took him three days to work up the courage to do the stunt because news crews were there and the pressure was at an all time high (the stunt came about in part because Creator/MichelleYeoh jumped a motorcycle ''on to the train'' and he didn't want to get shown up). When he did pull off the stunt, he did a one-man PowerWalk for the cameras and HilariousOuttakes.
* ObviousStuntDouble: Jackie prefers working with a core team of mostly Asian stunt performers[[note]]one of the few non-Asians was Brad Allen, who had the ahtleticism and martial-arts skills to keep up[[/note]] who know his preferred styles and timing. Because of this, he'll freely swap out both stars and day performers for his stunt team during sequences without caring things like how Caucasian mooks suddenly turn into smaller, Asians swimming in much-too-large clothing for brief moments.

* DoesNotLikeGuns: Something that sets him apart from Bruce Lee, who is a gun collector. Despite using guns in many of his American-film roles (and the fact that his characters don't have a problem with it), Jackie mentioned in a special called "My Stunts" that he thinks guns are terrible and that holding a gun does not make a person a hero.

* ActionGirl: Most of the women in his movies tend to not be typical DistressedDamsel characters. Even if not as crazy as he is, they tend to throw a hard punch or save his butt when necessary. Although Jackie admitted to being intimidated by Creator/MichelleYeoh, worried that she might outshine him in the martial arts and stunts.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': He is the voice of Master Monkey (surprisingly). [[WTHCastingAgency He has roughly two lines in the first one, but more in the second and third films.]]

* ''Film/CityHunter'': Based on the Hojo Tsukasa manga, and most famous for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Psls1ngwM funny and enterprisingly well-done]] ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' parody, which is usually considered to be [[BetterThanCanon better than the movie]]! ...[[OldShame but Jackie personally dislikes it]]. During production of the movie, Jackie Chan and director Wong Jing took such a dislike to each other that Wong Jing's next movie, ''Film/HighRisk'', featured a vicious TakeThat satire of Chan. The satire was so nasty and over-the-top that the movie's star Creator/JetLi afterward issued a public apology to Chan for having taken part in it, and it is thought that residual bad blood over the incident is what kept Chan and Li from starring together until ''Film/TheForbiddenKingdom'', when both were well into their middle age.

** ''Film/KungFuYoga'' serves a a StealthSequel''.

* ''The Big Brawl'': Features Creator/{{Mako}} ([[WesternAnimation/{{TMNT}} yes]], ''[[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender that]]'' [[WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack Mako]]) as a stern instructor, with a cheeky Chan is at his mercy in one scene.

* ''Film/TheForeigner2017'', a Creator/MartinCampbell-directed project with Creator/PierceBrosnan based on the novel ''The Chinaman''.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn:
** Lo Wei, the first director who gave Jackie a chance, actively worked to prevent him from making comedic kung fu movies and forced him to work on endless Bruceploitation films. Obviously, Jackie won that argument.
** Jackie had this attitude when it came to seeing the early Creator/BruceLee movies. No wire work, bare-bones fights, long cuts that show exactly what they are doing and only [[MookChivalry fighting one guy at a time]]. He later admitted he and his stuntman friends were actually jealous, recognizing that Lee was crafting a new age of action movies that relied on the skill of the performers and not the flurry of the visuals.

Chan is best known as a stunt performer and fight choreographer, and [[JustHereForGodzilla that's pretty much the entire point of going to see any of his movies]] -- watching dumbfounded as he does all sorts of insane tricks and stunts (with little WireFu) in jaw-dropping fight scenes. He has developed a distinctive fighting style, quite comedic and usually making extensive use of props, even those at first sight [[ImprobableWeaponUser most unsuited to fighting]], such as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcvXqLrgf0k stepladder.]][[note]]Seriously, if you've somehow never seen his work before, you can spend many happy and amazed hours on Website/YouTube watching fight scenes.[[/note]] He has said that he loves action, but hates violence, so rather than setting out to make bone-crunching kung fu he takes heavy inspiration from the physical comedy of Creator/BusterKeaton and Creator/CharlieChaplin. Being that those were silent films he was able to watch them without having to worry about the language barrier, and once his Hollywood work understood that connection his popularity exploded.

And in case you don't believe it, there's usually a [[HilariousOuttakes montage of outtakes]] over the end credits showing things going wrong while filming, often involving ambulances[[note]]Again, search on Website/YouTube for Jackie Chan outtakes... and prepare to be amazed![[/note]] . It's a good thing he's been so successful, because he's gone on record in many interviews as saying that ''no insurance company in the world'' will give him coverage. As he's grown older, despite being one hell of a badass at an age most people would retire, he understandably [[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,410040,00.html has stopped doing 100%]] of his stunts, partly because he has been told that if he falls on his head ''one more time'', it '''will kill him''', and partly because in the Hollywood system, insurance for the stars is a must and, as aforementioned, he has a little trouble with that.

Chan's connections to Hong Kong and the Chinese government, and associated politics involved, has been the subject of much controversy in Asia. His political stance that Taiwan should reunite with China earns him few friends outside [[RedChina the People's Republic]], but he cannot be accused of not putting his money where his mouth is, because this devastates his box-office profits in Taiwan. He has also been accused of selling out his hometown of UsefulNotes/HongKong with his staunch pro-Beijing stance, reducing democratic freedom in Hong Kong.

Finally, in late 2016, Jackie Chan received his first ever Academy Award, an honorary Oscar for the decades of his contributions to the art of film.

Jackie Chan (成龙 ''Cheng Long''), born Chan Kong-Sang (陈港生) in UsefulNotes/HongKong on 7 April 1954, is one of the biggest names in martial arts movies. He grew up in the UsefulNotes/PekingOpera and began a career as a stuntman in the early 70's before headlining his own films in the late 70's. He hit the big time after being "discovered" by Hollywood in the mid-90s, and films such as ''Film/RushHour'', ''Film/ShanghaiNoon'', ''Film/TheTuxedo'' and ''Film/TheMedallion'' have made him an American household name.

[[caption-width-right:310:[[WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures Bad day!]] [[PreAssKickingOneLiner For you.]]]]

* ''Film/CityHunter'': Based on the Hojo Tsukasa manga, and most famous for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Psls1ngwM funny and enterprisingly well done]] ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' parody, which is usually considered to be [[BetterThanCanon better than the movie]]! [[OldShame Jackie personally dislikes it, though]]. During production of the movie, Jackie Chan and director Wong Jing took such a dislike to each other that Wong Jing's next movie, ''Film/HighRisk'', featured a vicious TakeThat satire of Chan. The satire was so nasty and over-the-top that the movie's star Creator/JetLi afterward issued a public apology to Chan for having taken part in it, and it is thought that residual bad blood over the incident is what kept Chan and Li from starring together until ''Film/TheForbiddenKingdom'', when both were well into their middle age.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': Surprisingly, given his well-known difficulties in speaking English, he's the voice of master Monkey! [[WTHCastingAgency He has roughly two lines in the first one but more in the second and third films.]]

* DoingItForTheArt: He didn't need to jump off buildings or craft intricate, fast-paced, nail-biting fight sequences that required hundreds of takes to get perfect, but he's an unmatched legend in the filming world precisely because he took the time and effort to make all these death-defying scenes.

* ObviousStuntDouble: Jackie prefers working with a core team of mostly Asian stunt performers[[note]]one of the few non-Asians was Brad Allen, who had the ahtleticism and martial-arts skills to keep up[[/note]] who know his preferred styles and timing. Because of this, he'll freely swap out both stars and day performers for his stunt team during sequences without caring things like how Caucasian mooks suddenly turn into smaller, Asian for brief moments.

* ''Dragon Lord'': not one of Jackie's more renowned films, but nonetheless important. It stands as what is arguably the transition from Jackie's straight up Kung-Fu period pieces (like Drunken Master) and the modern stunt oriented films he would gain much of his worldwide fame from. If you spot any stunt reel of his you find online featuring Jackie falling off a massive pile of men over a tower of buns, this is the film that set piece is from.

* ButIPlayOneOnTV: Has repeatedly said that while he portrays an impossibly skilled martial artist in his films, if he were to get into a real fight, he'd get his ass kicked or just run away, because he's a filmmaker and stuntman, not a professional fighter.

* SignatureMove: Among his most common involve using LeParkour to maneuver around tight spots that may include some form of WallRunning, his ImprobableWeaponUser talents which have him using a stepladder against a crew using {{Simple Staff}}s and sometimes trading weapons with opponents to [[ConfusionFu further confuse them and add to the chaos]].

Jackie Chan (成龙 ''Cheng Long''), born Chan Kong-Sang (陈港生) in UsefulNotes/HongKong on 7 April 1954, is, quite simply, made of awesome. He grew up in the UsefulNotes/PekingOpera and began a career as a stuntman in the early 70's before headlining his own films in the late 70's. He hit the big time after being "discovered" by Hollywood in the mid-90s, and films such as ''Film/RushHour'', ''Film/ShanghaiNoon'', ''Film/TheTuxedo'' and ''Film/TheMedallion'' have made him an American household name.

* ''Film/TheMedallion'': Jackie Chan attempts to diversify his catalog of films with this foray into magic fantasy genre. It's one of his ''least'' successful Hollywood film to date, second only to...

Jackie Chan (成龙 ''Cheng Long''), born Chan Kong-Sang (陈港生) in UsefulNotes/HongKong on 7 April 1954, is, quite simply, made of awesome. He hit the big time after being "discovered" by Hollywood in the mid-90s, and films such as ''Film/RushHour'', ''Film/ShanghaiNoon'', ''Film/TheTuxedo'' and ''Film/TheMedallion'' have made him an American household name.

Chan is best known as a stunt performer and fight choreographer, and [[JustHereForGodzilla that's pretty much the entire point of going to see any of his movies]] -- watching dumbfounded as he does all sorts of insane tricks and stunts (with little wire work!) in jaw-dropping fight scenes. He has developed a distinctive fighting style, quite comedic and usually making extensive use of props, even those at first sight [[ImprobableWeaponUser most unsuited to fighting]], such as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcvXqLrgf0k stepladder.]][[note]]Seriously, if you've somehow never seen his work before, you can spend many happy and amazed hours on Website/YouTube watching fight scenes.[[/note]]

He reportedly says that he loves action, but hates violence, so rather than setting out to make bone-crunching kung fu, he instead takes heavy inspiration from the physical comedy of Creator/BusterKeaton and Creator/CharlieChaplin (being that those were silent films, he was able to watch them without having to worry about the language barrier).

Traditionally, Chan [[DoingItForTheArt does all his own stunts]], and in his days of producing low-budget Hong Kong chop-socky, that was the only way it was ever done. So, if you see his character [[Film/ProjectA fall through three awnings onto the street below]]? Really him. If you see him [[Film/MrNiceGuy roll artfully over a]] [[RuleOfCool running circular saw]]? Yup, actually him.[[note]]Though the outtakes show that the saw wasn't running when he rolled over it.[[/note]] But worry not -- [[Film/RushHour Jackie always OK]].

And in case you don't believe it, there's usually a montage of outtakes over the end credits showing things going wrong while filming.[[note]]Again, search on Website/YouTube for Jackie Chan outtakes... and prepare to be amazed![[/note]] Often involving ambulances. It's a good thing he's been so successful, because he's gone on record in many interviews as saying that ''no insurance company in the world'' will give him coverage. As he's grown older, despite being one hell of a badass at the [[OlderThanTheyLook age of 68]], he understandably [[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,410040,00.html has stopped doing 100%]] of his stunts, partly because he has been told that if he falls on his head ''one more time'', it '''will kill him''', and partly because in the Hollywood system, insurance for the stars is a must and, as aforementioned, he has a little trouble with that.

[[HeAlsoDid A lesser-known aspect of his career]] (at least in America) is that he is also a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgBcQA9A3zA professional singer]], having recorded many albums and often performing the {{theme song}}s for his movies (ex. "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29nd5P_KqKg Who Am I?]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6IYt2qMj1A I'll Make a Man Out of You]]" in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}''). This is a little less surprising when you know that he originally trained for UsefulNotes/PekingOpera, which features acrobatic fight scenes. He also has his own AnimatedAdaptation, ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures.''

In the last decade, Chan has been the subject of much controversy in Asia. His political stance that Taiwan should reunite with China earns him few friends outside [[RedChina the People's Republic]], but he cannot be accused of not putting his money where his mouth is, because this devastates his box-office profits in Taiwan. He has also been accused of selling out his hometown of UsefulNotes/HongKong with his staunch pro-Beijing stance, reducing democratic freedom in Hong Kong.

In some parts of the global Asian community, he is also accused of being [[TheQuisling a sellout to his own culture, pandering to the Western market]] by repeatedly portraying caricatures of the Chinese man. Reportedly advising that the protagonist role in ''Film/TheForbiddenKingdom'', originally intended to be a Chinese-American boy rediscovering his roots, be recast as a kung-fu obsessed [[MightyWhitey white boy]] is sometimes advanced as evidence for this view. Further rubbing salt in wounds is his compliance to Sony's decision to force the [[Film/TheKarateKid2010 2010 remake]] of ''Film/TheKarateKid'' to bear its original title, rather than the proposed title of ''The Kung Fu Kid'', in spite of the fact that the film is set in China and is ''about'' the Chinese martial art of Wushu (aka kung fu). The people who accuse Chan of this are probably right, in that [[BrutalHonesty Chan has admitted he does this]]. He claims he [[MoneyDearBoy does it for the money]], so that he can finance the films he actually ''likes'' to make, as well as fund his considerable charity work.

It seems possible, however, that the strains of old age may have finally caught up with him, as is painfully evident from ''Film/RushHour3'' onwards wherein he is no longer able to perform stunts that were second-nature to him only 5 years ago without the aid of computers. As he has become more and more overshadowed by his younger and more athletic co-stars, as well as trapped by the formula of wholesomeness that the fans have come to expect from him, Chan finally announced that ''Chinese Zodiac'', the third installment in the ''Armour of God'' series, will be '''the last''' "big action movie" of his career, a dignified slam-bang of a finale. All future roles will focus less on his dangerous stunt work and more on dramatic roles and smaller action set-pieces.

And in case you don't believe it, there's usually a montage of outtakes over the end credits showing things going wrong while filming.[[note]]Again, search on Website/YouTube for Jackie Chan outtakes... and prepare to be amazed![[/note]] Often involving ambulances. It's a good thing he's been so successful, because he's gone on record in many interviews as saying that ''no insurance company in the world'' will give him coverage. As he's grown older, despite being one hell of a badass at the [[OlderThanTheyLook age of 67]], he understandably [[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,410040,00.html has stopped doing 100%]] of his stunts, partly because he has been told that if he falls on his head ''one more time'', it '''will kill him''', and partly because in the Hollywood system, insurance for the stars is a must and, as aforementioned, he has a little trouble with that.

** ''Armour of God 1'' is notable for being the closest Jackie Chan has come to death, suffering a critical head injury after a stunt misfire. The irony is that the stunt wasn't one of his usual showstoppers; even the "little" stunts can kill you. The ending credit outtakes go into great detail on this. Ever since, he has worn his hair long to cover the plastic plug in his skull.
** On an unrelated note, [[https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Jackie+Chan+Armor+of+God+Flight+of+the+Dragon+High+Upon+High end credits]] of ''Armour of God 1'' feature a good example of Jackie Chan singing.

* ''[[Film/ArmorOfGod Armor of God]]'', and its sequel ''Armour of God 2: Operation Condor'', later released in the US in reverse order as ''Operation Condor'' and ''Operation Condor 2: The Armor of the Gods''.