Jackie Chan

Name: Jackie Chan
Chinese Name: 成龙 (陈港生)
Profession: Actor, director
Country: Hong Kong, China
Blood Type: AB
Height: 174cm

Jackie Chan (born on April 7, 1954 in Hong Kong) is a martial artist, actor, director and stuntman.

Chan is one of the most recognised names in Kung Fu and action movies worldwide, known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing and use of improvised weapons. Chan has starred in over a hundred movies, and is one of the most recognizable Chinese and Asian movie stars in the world. He also has a pop music singing career which began in the 1980s.

Jackie Chan is the son of Lee-Lee and Charles Chan who migrated to Canberra, Australia in 1960 as a refugee from the Chinese civil war and who had previously worked as a maid and butler for the French ambassador to Hong Kong. His Chinese name at birth was Chan Kong-sang (meaning “Born in Hong Kong”).

Before he adopted the Westernized name, “Jackie”, he was known by a variety of other nicknames. As he was a heavy baby, (12lb at birth, having apparently spent 12 months in the womb), his mother nicknamed him “Pao Pao” (meaning “Cannonball”). Later, while studying at the Peking Opera school (alongside Sammo Hung) he was known as Yuen Lo, as a mark of respect to his master, Yu Jim-Yuen.

In his early stuntman and acting career (prior to New Fist of Fury in 1976) he was known as Chen Yueng Lung (or Chen Yuen Lung). He was thereafter known as “Jackie”, named by his Australian co-workers when living in Australia in 1976-19771. Because his father’s family name was originally Fong and was changed only when arriving in Hong Kong, Jackie Chan’s Chinese name was changed in family records years later to Fong Si Lung2. He has also been listed as “Sing Lung” (meaning “Already a Dragon” or “Becoming a Dragon”), particularly in relation to his music and it may be no coincidence that his character in the film Fearless Hyena was called “Shing Lung”.

Chan married Taiwanese actress Lin Feng-Jiao (林鳳娇) in 1983 according to his autobiography, but many Asian sources state he was married on December 1, 1982. His official website states that he was married in 1982. Jackie and Lin Feng-Jiao had a son, Jaycee Chan aka Jo-Ming, who was born on December 3, 1982, although Jackie’s autobiography lists his son’s birth year as 1984. Jackie also has a daughter, Etta Ng Chok Lam (b. 1998) with Elaine Ng Yi-Lei out of wedlock.

He was educated at Nan Hua Elementary Academy, Chinese Opera Research Institute (1961-1971) and Peking Opera School. Chan was in the Seven Little Fortunes Chinese opera troupe as a youth, along with Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and Corey Kwai.

Chan is often said to do all his own stunts. While this claim does not hold up to close scrutiny, he does insist on doing the majority of them, including stunts for other characters if they are not showing their faces, and has racked up an impressive list of injuries to prove it. (The closing credits of his movies usually show bloopers and at least one serious injury.) He is unable to get insurance anywhere in the world. He came closest to death while filming Armour of God (1985), when he fell from a tree in a relatively routine stunt and fractured his skull.

Around the time of Project A in 1983, Jackie officially formed the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, allowing him to train and work with a group of trusted martial artists and stuntmen for each of his ensuing movies.

In his biography, Chan says he created his screen persona as a reaction to that of Bruce Lee, and the numerous imitators who appeared before and after Lee’s death (see “Bruceploitation”). Where Lee’s characters were typically stern, morally upright heroes, Chan plays well-meaning, slightly foolish regular guys, often at the mercy of friends, girlfriends or families. However, his characters always triumph in the end.

Chan repeatedly attempted to break into the American movie industry, appearing in movies like Battle Creek Brawl, Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run II and The Protector. While he did attain cult popularity in the US, his break into the mainstream was Rumble in the Bronx in 1995. He has attained the box-office guarantee that has so far eluded other Hong Kong movie stars like Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh in Hollywood. He also made a successful animated series called Jackie Chan Adventures.

Chan also has the distinction of being the central subject of UK band Ash’s song Kung Fu. Chan acknowledged this by using the song for the end credits of Rumble in the Bronx.

In 1994, MTV honored Chan with a lifetime achievement award for his action-oriented movies, and a year later, he made his “official” debut in North America with a world-wide release of Rumble in the Bronx.

Jackie has a star on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong as well as the Walk of Fame. Chan is also known as a major pop star in Asia, and he released over 100 song titles in 20 albums since 1984. He sings in many different languages including English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.

Chan is one of the most well-known philanthropists in Hong Kong, and has worked tirelessly to champion many charity works and causes. As a well-respected figure of the Hong Kong entertainment industry, he is often one of the leaders in such works, speaking up for conservation, against animal abuse as well as promoting disaster relief efforts such as the recent mainland China relief flood programmes and the 2004 Tsunami donations.

Chan was also meant to star as Vin Diesel’s role in the movie The Pacifier, but due to busy arrangements, did not take the role.

Popularity: 5% [?]

If you like Jackie Chan, please: Digg him | Add him to Del.icio.us | Stumble him!