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In the world of legitimate martial arts fighters and actors, Jackie Chan has become as much of a household name as the late and great action star, Bruce Lee, as well as Jet Li. He has stood the test of time in the movie industry and has garnered respect from other action stars as one of the few who willingly perform their own movie stunts, no matter how dangerous it may seem! The Wing Chun and karate fighter and actor, Jason Statham, is also known to do his own stunts and advocates for stuntmen who are often misused on movie sets. But Jackie Chan has paid the price for being his own stuntman. According to Slash Film, he has suffered from a broken nose multiple times, broken teeth, an eye injury, dislocated shoulders, and many other injuries during his career. But it's never been too bad for the multimillionaire to fix. Let's discover how Jackie Chan became a Hollywood action star with a $400 million net worth.
Little Dragon, Big Dreams
Long before his worldwide fame and admiration, Jackie Chan came in at an extremely peculiar time in China's history. He was born on April 7th, 1954 as Chan Kong-sang in the British Hong Kong dependent territory of the United Kingdom to his father, Charles Chan, and his mother, Lee-lee Chan. The first James Bond movie wasn't even written or produced yet, but Charles Chan worked as a secret agent briefly for the Lieutenant General at the time. As a result, for fear of being caught by the Communist government, Charles fled to British Hong Kong with his family in the 1940s and changed his surname from Fang to Chan.
His father then worked as a cook on the grounds of the French consul's residence, where Jackie spent a great deal of his time. Jackie also attended a primary school on Hong Kong Island but was removed after failing the first year. His father then emigrated to the exotic country of Australia to work as the head cook for the American Embassy and, simultaneously, Jackie was sent to the China Drama Academy where he excelled quickly in martial arts and acrobatics. After years of rigorous training, he formed a group of the best fighters in his division called Three Dragons, and they entered the movie industry together.
Fighting To The Top
Just as Jet Li and actor/singer Andy Lau found their footing in the local movie industry before branching out to Western audiences, Jackie Chan was no exception to the rule. Jackie's interest in movies was found at an early age, and according to Celebrity Net Worth, his biggest childhood role came at eight years old in the movie Big and Little Wong Tin Bar. A few years later, he appeared in Bruce Lee's film, Fist of Fury, as a stunt double, and the film grossed $100 million worldwide. When he appeared in Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon a year later, he was upgraded to the role of a minor henchman who gets killed by Bruce Lee's character; this film also grossed a whopping $400 million worldwide.
Chan continued working on other eastern martial arts movies such as Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978) and Drunken Master (1978) which were major successes, grossing $3 million and $16.5 million respectively. Many of these acting and directing opportunities came from a film producer in the luxurious city of Hong Kong named Willie Chan, who became Jackie's personal manager and friend for a large part of his career, and was instrumental in promoting his international acting career.
From Hong Kong To Hollywood
With years of choreography and martial arts training under his belt, this Chinese dragon was ready to pounce on the American film industry. His first film was The Big Brawl (1980) which starred Kristine DeBell and David Sheiner, grossing $21 million at the box office. The following year he starred in with the action comedy, The Cannonball Run, beside the late actor and sex symbol Burt Reynolds and the former James Bond actor Roger Moore, which grossed a whopping $160 million.
He then had a lead role in The Protector (1985), but it turned out to be a commercial failure grossing $11 million, so Jackie again set his sights on doing films in Hong Kong. His biggest domestic film earning came in 1986 with the release of Armour of God, a film which he directed, grossing $16 million worldwide.
From his hometown of Hong Kong, Chan continued to choreograph and direct movies in a prolific and productive way. He received many awards for his work and by the 1990s, was the most popular action film star in Asia and Europe. Even without the help of the North American audience, his movies were able to gross $70 million in Hong Kong by 1995, $415 million in Japan, and over 33 million box office admission in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
But his longtime friend and manager, Willie Chan, was determined to make Jackie a star in the North American market. So, in 1995, he launched into the US market with the release of Rumble in The Bronx, which grossed a booming $76 million. However, it would be in 1998 when Jackie made his first major blockbuster success with the release of the buddy cop action film Rush Hour, co-starring with comedian/actor Chris Tucker, which sold $244 million worldwide. Naturally, the success of the film made Jackie an instant Hollywood star.
Mainstream Success And Other Business Ventures
With his name now buzzing in the North American market, there was no turning back for China'a hottest action star. His next major success came in 2000 with Shanghai Noon starring the actor/comedian Owen Wilson, and grossed over $99 million at the box office. One year later, Chan and Tucker reprised their roles in Rush Hour 2, with an appearance by actor Don Cheadle, out-performing its predecessor with $347 million at the box office. Shanghai Knights was then released in 2003 with Chan and Wilson reprising their roles which was another commercial success, grossing $88 million worldwide.
Around the same time, he starred in other Hollywood films like The Tuxedo, alongside actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, which grossed $104 million at the box office, as well as The Medallion (2003), and Around The World in 80 Days. The latter two films were flops at the box office, and Chan soon became tired of Hollywood and the lack of creative control he has over his movies. As a result, he formed his own film production company called JCE Movies Limited (Jackie Chan Emperor Movies Limited) and focused instead on producing films in his native land.
The last Rush Hour installment, Rush Hour 3, was directed by Brett Ratner and released in 2007, grossing a total of $258 million worldwide. Following that, in 2010 he joined Jaden Smith and actress Taraji P. Henson for the remake of Karate Kid which earned close to $360 million. His other North American film success came in 2017 in The Foreigner, an action-thriller starring A-list actor Pierce Brosnan, which was also a success earning $145 million at the box office. This was one of Jackie Chan's last films done on American soil. Most of his other film productions took place in China and were just as successful, if not more, than those done in the United States.
One thing's for sure, Jackie Chan is not all brawn with no brains, especially when it comes to business. In addition to JCE Movies Limited, he invested his millions into a chain of cinemas throughout China and launched his own clothing line and food products. From 2000 to 2005, he lent his voice to his own cartoon television series, Jackie Chan Adventures, which aired on Disney Channel and Cartoon Network. Also, according to Asian Journal USA, in 2016 he was the second-highest-paid actor in the world behind Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, but today his net worth is much greater!
Sources: Slash Film, Celebrity Net Worth, Asian Journal USA
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