“I never wanted to be the next Bruce Lee. I just wanted to be the first Jackie Chan.”
He may be an action choreographer, fearless stunt performer, actor and martial artist in over 100 films, in addition to being a recognised ‘Cantopop’ and ‘Mandopop’ star but one thing Jackie Chan is not, it would appear, is the next Bruce Lee.

Jackie Chan is one of Asia’s most bankable stars with an impressively consistent résumé of movie credits in a career that now spans 40 years; but at 56, one may wonder just how long he will retain his ‘action man’ status. He admitted a decade ago, when he was making the second installment to the hugely popular Rush Hour series, that he was beginning to feel the strains of middle age. With his latest acting role as a surrogate ‘Mr Miyagi’, in an updated version of The Karate Kid, is Jackie beginning to embrace less physical more thinking man parts?

Jackie Chan was born Kong-Sang Chan in 1954 in Victoria Peak, Hong Kong and was nicknamed Paopao (literally translating to ‘Cannonball’ in Chinese) because of his colossal 12 pound weight. In 1960 he was sent to the China Drama Academy by his parents where he trained in music, dance and traditional martial arts. A minor film part as a stunt performer persuaded Jackie to leave the school and pursue a career in acting, which led him to more substantial roles as a stunt coordinator and director. When the sensational rising star Bruce Lee died just prior to the colossal success of Enter the Dragon, (in which Jackie had a minor part) the Hollywood hunt was on for a young actor to fill the shoes left by the promising performer.

Rather than mirroring Lee, Jackie decided to develop his own distinctive persona and style of filmmaking. A boom in martial arts cinema during the 1970s saw Jackie appear in many successful low-budget films, of which the Kung-Fu comedy Drunken Master proved to be the most successfully significant. A lifelong fan of silent stars Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, Jackie then took the world by storm with his milestone directorial debut The Young Master in 1980: an action comedy that showcased his dare-devil knack for performing his own stunts. It was shortly after this film that Robert Clouse, director and producer of Enter the Dragon, decided to lure Jackie to the US for the martial arts comedy The Big Brawl, which led to the starry car race caper The Cannonball Run.

It would be another fifteen years however before Jackie’s talents would be sufficiently utilised Stateside. Returning to his homeland, Jackie made a slew of successful action films that were laced with dynamic bone-crunching scraps, death-defying stunts and jaw-dropping chase sequences. Some of his best known films were conceived during this time and include Winners & Sinners, Project A, and the iconic Police Story, all of which spanned several successful sequels. In 1998 Jackie Chan’s Who Am I?, (an action thriller he co-directed with Benny Chan – no relation) about an militant soldier who loses his memory, proved a strong enough contestant to be nominated for several Hong Kong Film Awards including best actor and best picture.

The success of Who Am I?, the martial arts film Rumble in the Bronx and his role opposite rising comedian Chris Tucker in the buddy cop box-office smash Rush Hour confirmed Jackie as a major star in the US. Since then he has teamed up with Owen Wilson for Shanghai Noon and its sequel, played opposite British comedians Steve Coogan in the comedy adventure Around the World in 80 Days and Lee Evans in The Medallion and returned for both Rush Hour sequels.

It is these sincere, seemingly hapless and goofy characterisations – which were conceived to purposely distance him from the more pensive Bruce Lee persona - for which he is famous. However his own criticisms against his US output signal a determination to distance himself from this caricature, with more recent roles attempting to support the gravitas of a ‘real’ actor. In 2004 he made a comeback to more gritty work, transforming his renowned Inspector Chan Kwok-Wing character into a shambling alcoholic wreck for New Police Story. While an appearance in last year’s controversial propaganda film The Founding of a Republic served to strengthen his outspoken political views for a controlling Chinese government.

Although a recent light-hearted role in the Hollywood flick The Spy Next Door suggests Jackie can’t completely shake off the comedic action parts, one can’t help thinking that The Karate Kid could mark an apt opportunity for the middle-aged martial-art star to pass the torch over and leave the dangerous stunts to younger bodies.

One thing is certain, Jackie Chan (or Shing Loon ‘Successful Dragon’ as he is known to Chinese audiences), has established himself as a major star in his own right and has succeeded in banishing the ‘next Bruce Lee’ tag by nurturing his talent into something original and distinctively identifiable. Whatever direction his career takes, his ability to captivate audiences with his affable charm and charisma, will ensure he continues to be a talent worth watching.

Oliver Pfeiffer
http://sites.google.com/site/oliverpfeiffer102/