Jackie Chan, Asia's biggest box
office star for more than
20 years, has since conquered the worldwide box office with his
trademark combination of death-defying stunts and crowd-pleasing comedy. Following dozens of roles in the
Hong Kong cinema, he was introduced to
American audiences with a starring role in the action
hit Rumble in the
Bronx. The
success of that film was followed by the
blockbuster partnership of Chan with
Chris Tucker in Brett
Ratner's Rush Hour. He then starred with
Owen Wilson in the hit action comedy
Western Shanghai Noon, which Chan also executive produced, before re-teaming with
Tucker in the smash hit
sequel Rush Hour 2, also directed by Ratner.
Chan most recently reunited with Owen Wilson for Shanghai Knights, the sequel to Shanghai Noon, on which he again served as executive producer. In addition, he stars in and executive produced the upcoming film Highbinders. Chan is currently in pre-production on a remake of the classic film Around the World in 80 Days. His long list of film credits also includes Drunken Master, Supercop and First Strike," to name only a few.
Born in Hong Kong to working class parents, Chan was apprenticed at age seven to the Peking Opera School. Over the next ten years, he was trained in all aspects of traditional operatic performance, including acting, singing, and the martial arts. By the time Chan graduated, Chinese opera was declining in popularity and he gravitated into film, beginning his career as a stunt man and stunt coordinator. He was later spotted by a producer who gave him his first adult role in 1971's Little Tiger from Canton.
In 1978, the films Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master were the first to showcase Chan's genre of action comedy, which transformed the Hong Kong film industry. Two years later, Chan made his major feature film directorial debut on The Young Master, which marked the start of his long association with producer Raymond Chow, whose Golden Harvest Company made many of Chan's subsequent films.
Chan's contributions to film have been recognized with numerous honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the MTV Movie Awards, which was presented to him by Quentin Tarantino in 1995; the Actor of the Year Award at the 1999 Hollywood Film Festival; two Best Actor Awards at the Golden Horse Film Festival; three Hong Kong Film Awards; two additional MTV Movie Awards; and, most recently, a Taurus Honorary Award at the 2002 World Stunt Awards.
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