The iconic actors Jackie Chan called complete non-entities: “Anyone could have played his part”
It hasn’t been particularly good for his health, but one of the major reasons why Jackie Chan became one of the most iconic action stars in history is because he had no issues putting his life on the line to ensure his stunts were as tangible, dangerous, and jaw-dropping as possible.
Needless to say, the rewards don’t come without a certain amount of risk. Chan’s daredevil approach worked wonders for his standing after he emerged from the shadow of former co-star Bruce Lee to become cinema’s definitive international martial arts superstar who held equal appeal in his native Hong Kong and Hollywood, even if the downside was putting his body through the wringer every single time.
The list of injuries he’s suffered in the name of his art is as astonishing as it is galling: a broken ankle, a shattered cheekbone, various dislocated body parts, a cracked sternum, crushed legs, electric shocks, third-degree burns, a brain haemorrhage, missing teeth, a dislodged pelvis, and even a hole in his skull.
Chan first shot to stardom on home shores in the late 1970s, but it would be another two decades before he gained a foothold in America when Rush Hour became a massive success. Matters weren’t helped by the fact Hong Kong cinema didn’t have the overseas reach that it does today, and his competition to try and put butts in seats was the revolving door of musclebound meatheads who dominated the genre.
He was a relatively slight actor who performed all of his own stunts, whereas people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, and Steven Seagal did little more than get oiled up, mow down reams of faceless henchmen with automatic weapons, and let somebody else perform the majority of their stunts to gain a bigger fandom than Chan.
As a result, he sounded a little bitter when casting his eye over the blockbuster competition. “Even if I do a film with geniuses like George Lucas or Steven Spielberg, no way will I be famous in America,” he told Bright Lights in 1994. “Look at Jurassic Park. Few people know the names of the main actors; they remember the dinosaurs and that it was a Spielberg film.”
A touch harsh on Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Richard Attenborough, but nothing compared to what he had in store for another icon. “Take Terminator 2,” he raged. “The director’s good; the special effects are good; Schwarzenegger is nothing. Anyone could have played his part. Take First Blood. Stallone is good. But in Asia, everyone comes to see Jackie Chan in a Jackie Chan film.”
He’s got a point, even if his declaration that “it doesn’t matter what the title or what the story is about: only Jackie Chan can do it” came off as somewhat self-aggrandising when he was hardly immune from a box office bomb or two.
