Like Lo, Clouse wanted Chan to fight like Bruce Lee - slowly, deliberately, and forcefully. And without resorting to Hollywood shortcuts like cutaways or closeup shots like in most action films, Chan made sure the audience could actually count each punch.Ĭhan first attempted to break into Hollywood with 1980's The Big Brawl, directed by Enter the Dragon’s Robert Clouse. Chan would have to throw a hundred punches in lightning-quick, expertly choreographed succession to survive whoever would gang up on him. By the time the blooper reel rolls at the end of each movie, the audience understands that Chan came out on top not just because of his mastery, but because of human virtues like perseverance and resourcefulness. There isn't a single Jackie Chan fight scene that hasn't looked or felt painful. He'd resort to using clothing, ladders, and dinner plates as self-defense, anything and everything but a gun. During his action sequences, which could be up to 20 minutes long, his face would scrunch up in agony, his body would bruise, and his four-times-broken nose would bleed. He directed his first film in 1979 ( Fearless Hyena), received his first acting award nomination in 1984 (for Project A), and broke Hong Kong box office records (with My Lucky Stars, which grossed $30 million).Ĭhan became famous for how he could really fight, but also really, really get hurt. Nice Guy, Who Am I?, and the dozen-plus sequels they spawned. If we want to be successful too, we need to be Bruce’s opposite.”įor the next two decades leading up to Rush Hour, Chan established his singular filmmaking style with Hong Kong action comedies like Drunken Master, Wheels on Meals, Police Story, Armour of God, Twin Dragons, City Hunter, Mr. “Bruce was a success because he did things that no one else was doing,” Chan once said to a Hong Kong studio exec, according to his autobiography I Am Jackie Chan. But once the film hit theaters in 1980, it became a hit in Southeast Asia. Lo called Half a Loaf “rubbish” and shelved it for two years. Aside from when he eats spinach Popeye-style and becomes a fighting machine, Chan - the film’s star, stunt coordinator, and, essentially, creative director - is helpless against his opponents.
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But after that, plus six more failed attempts to make Chan a star, Chan conspired with director Chen Chi-hwa to make Half a Loaf of Kung Fu, which spoofed other kung fu films by poking fun at the machismo usually on display in such movies. Chan played the lead, as Lee’s brother, in the 1976 Fist of Fury sequel New Fist of Fury.
He thought Chan might fit the bill and had him sign a contract with Lo Wei Productions. Lo Wei, the Hong Kong director who made The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, the films that turned Bruce Lee into a veritable action star in China, began looking for the next Bruce Lee after Lee died unexpectedly in 1975. But history tells us that for the average American moviegoer, viewing Chan as a serious actor is a tough sell, despite the decades of experience he has had as a Hong Kong director, actor, and stunt coordinator. With the release of The Foreigner, a traditional action thriller that pits him against Pierce Brosnan, and Chan's first wide-release film in seven years, he may finally have his chance to be taken seriously. And last year, when Chan received an honorary Oscar, he talked about how, despite all his global acclaim, his father continued to ask him when he would win an Academy Award. Since at least 2004, Chan has talked about “becoming a true actor” like Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, or his Kung Fu Panda co-star Dustin Hoffman. And in many of these interviews, Chan has expressed the same sentiment, usually after the host introduces him with a karate chop flourish: “I’m an actor, I want to do some drama.” He sweep-kicks bottles or somersaults over their desks.
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He lets David Letterman or Conan O’Brien feel the hole on his head from when he cracked his skull. He talks about how he gets recognized in even the most isolated places around the world. He describes the grueling training he endured from ages 7 to 17 at the China Drama Academy. Jackie Chan has given the same American talk show interview for nearly 30 years.
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