Jackie Chan, originally Chan Kong-sang, (born 7 April 1954, Hong Kong), a Hong Kong-born Chinese stuntman, actor and director, whose dangerous stunts and engaging physical humor have made him a movie star of action in Asia and have helped him to take the kung. He was in the mainstream of American cinema.
Jackie Chan was born to poor parents in Hong Kong
The family moved to Canberra, Australia, when Chan was six years old, but the following year his parents sent him back to Hong Kong to attend a rigorous boarding school that trained students in jingxi.
Between the ages of 7 and 17, he studied acrobatics, singing, martial arts and mime, skills that put him in a position with a professional group and landed him small roles as a child actor and later as a stunt man.
Independent film producer Lo Wei, hoping to find a successor to the late Bruce Lee, cast him in a series of lackluster kung fu films in 1976-78.
Instead of emulating Lee's personality, in 1978 Chan used his own brand of goofy physical comedy in his first successful films, She xing diao shou (Snake in Eagle's Shadow) and Zui quan (Drunken Master).
He went on to write and direct, as well as star in Xiao when cool zhao (1979; Fearless Hyena).
Chan maintained complete creative control of Shi di chu ma
Project (1980; The Young Master), his debut at the Golden Harvest production company, which later helped to become Hong Kong's largest film conglomerate.
In the early 1980s, when he was making an unsuccessful foray into English-language cinema, he switched from traditional martial arts films to modern action-adventure films such as "A" jihua (1983; Project A) and Jing cha gu shi (1985).
Police Story, as well as its sequels. The movies showcased his talent as a director for fight choreography and stunts.
His own stunts were often extraordinarily dangerous; he nearly died from a fall in Lung hing foo dai (1986; Armor of God), which fractured his skull and damaged his hearing.
In the 1990s, Chan finally entered the American market.
He received cable network MTV's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995, and the following year his blockbuster Hung fan kui (1995; Rumble in the Bronx) was released in the United States, along with some of his other Hong Kong classics.
Chan starred alongside American comic Chris Tucker in Rush Hour (1998), which was highly successful and spawned two sequels (2001 and 2007).
Chan continued to work both in the Hollywood system (although he disliked the limitations placed on actors) and in Hong Kong cinema.
In the United States, he has appeared in such films as Shanghai Noon (2000), The Tuxedo (2002), The Forbidden Kingdom (2008), and The Spy Next Door (2010). Chan starred in a remake of the 1984 action drama The Karate Kid (2010) and later in the revenge thriller The Foreigner (2017).
He did voice work on the computer-animated film Kung Fu Panda (2008) and its sequels (2011 and 2016); The Nut Job 2: Crazy By Nature (2017); and The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017).
In 2016, Jakie Chan became the first Chinese actor to receive an honorary Oscar.
While acknowledging his "relaxed international career", in addition to acting, Chan pursued a career in the Hong Kong music industry, releasing several original albums beginning in 1984.
He founded the Jackie Chan Charitable Organization in 1998, which, among other projects, offers scholarships for Hong Kong youth. And he worked as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.