The man with a hundred fractures: 10 incredible facts about Jackie Chan

On April 7, the famous Chinese celebrates his 70th birthday. The living legend of world cinema has a lot to be proud of. Unrivaled master of martial arts, director, singer, stuntman and philanthropist, who spends huge sums on charity.

Jackie Chan is a sea of charm. Far from being handsome, he has a rare charisma and drives women crazy. His trademark cheerful smile, disposing to himself, it would seem, gives it away in him shirt-guy. Desperate, brave to the point of madness fan of his work – and a kind, noble man, as he is seen on the screen.

But there’s no need to jump to conclusions. It turns out that he had many masks for all occasions. And sometimes “get” to the real earthly Jackie is simply impossible. We have collected the most interesting myths and facts about Chan.

Jackie Chan

Fact 1: Jackie Chan’s parents were so poor that they wanted to sell their son to another family

The myth, which in its time was propagated by the press, does not correspond to reality at all. The family of the future star and the truth was very poor. Jackie’s parents had to flee from China to Hong Kong. Father worked as a secret agent of the conservative party, opposing the Chinese government. And when the civil war broke out, the man was recognized as an enemy of the people.

Abandoning everything they had acquired, with only one suitcase, the family had to leave to avoid imprisonment. In Hong Kong, the fugitives found themselves on the brink of poverty, surviving on casual labor and somehow paying for a rented apartment. The couple did not even have the money to pay the obstetrician-doctor, and the father of the family collected the necessary amount of money from acquaintances. Hence the myth that Jackie was going to be sold.

Then the family went to Australia – here Chan spent his youth. Parents at that time risked returning to Hong Kong, and the son attached to the School of Beijing Opera at the Chinese Theater Academy, where the guy studied for 10 years.

Fact 2. Jackie Chan is denied all insurance companies

Indeed, insurance agents sharazhayutsya from the famous Chinese as the devil from the incense. The heads of companies are in no hurry to conclude contracts with Jackie and in every way to delay the process. They go to all lengths to avoid putting their signatures on the relevant documents.

Some insurers even called behind the eyes of Jackie Chan incorrigible masochist, ready to break their bones for the sake of a deadly stunt, which on the screen once again would bring the audience in wild delight.

“Fear – no, understudies – no, equal – also no,” – agree, a personal motto, which the legendary Chinese follows all conscious creative life, a little boastful and very frightening. Jackie Chan more than once was on the edge of certain death. Sometimes it seems that playing with death is an eternal pastime for him.

In his book “Never Grow Up” he jokingly admitted: “What is the best way to leave? Take Bruce Lee, for example – he died at a young age and remained a legend forever. If I fell into a volcano on the set of Armor of God 3: Mission Zodiac, that would also be a beautiful ending. Fans from all over the world would probably shed bitter tears, and everyone would say that Jackie Chan died doing what he loved. That would be the best, but, admittedly, I really don’t want to die, or just retire.”

Fact 3- Jackie Chan has no unbroken bones left in his body

“Of course I’m in pain!” – Jackie jokes. “I’ve broken my jaw three times, my nose, I’ve broken all my fingers, my knee, my ankle, my shoulder bones, my ribs, I’ve had skull surgery.” Stretches, cuts, sprains and bruises – there’s no counting it at all.

The most terrible injury, which almost cost him his life, Jackie received during the filming of the action movie “Armor of God”. Jump from the wall to the tree was unsuccessful, the actor flew down 12 meters. Fractured skull, brain hemorrhage, broken nose, knocked out teeth and loss of hearing in the right ear – then no one believed that Chan will return to stunts. But a few months later, Jackie resumed filming.

Fact 4: Jackie Chan is not afraid of anything

That’s not true. Desperate Jackie, often performing the most difficult stunts at dizzying heights, from which breathtaking, strangely enough, afraid of a man in a white coat.

In his autobiography, he frankly expressed this issue: “More than anything else in the world I am afraid to do shots. Except for this, I am not afraid of anything: snakes, cockroaches, mice – I do not care about them, but as soon as I see a syringe, and then imagine how it enters the skin, and then there and injected the liquid … As soon as I come to me with a syringe nurse or nurse, I immediately podkazyvaet legs.

On the set of the movie “Astral Kung Fu” in 1978, Jackie Chan badly injured his leg. And he had to urgently make an injection for tetanus. Already in the hospital, a young nurse arranged for him a real chase, trying to perform a simple procedure.

With the help of the staff, the girl still managed to inject him with a syringe. Unfortunately, because of this phobia, Jackie often suffers terrible pain when fractures and injuries occur.

Jackie Chan

Fact 5: Jackie Chan hates Hollywood

The Chinese star doesn’t hide his dislike for Hollywood. Although the famous dream factory in many ways contributed to the frenzied popularity of Jackie Chan. However, he himself did not hide that once dreamed of getting to Hollywood Olympus. And here it becomes unclear where the “black ingratitude” of Jackie, who did not appreciate the efforts of the most famous directors who invited him to their films.

This attitude left everyone with a double impression. On the one hand, Jackie Chan is an Oscar winner (received in 2016 for his contribution to cinema), one of the few Asian actors favored by the Hollywood public, on the other hand – a fierce opponent of its orders. He does not hide the fact that he can not stand American humor.

Once, not the least bit embarrassed by public opinion, he publicly expressed his position: “Even if I worked with geniuses such as George Lucas or Steven Spielberg, I would not have achieved popularity in Hollywood. Remember “Jurassic Park.” Now try to remember the names of the actors who starred there. All the audience remembers is the dinosaurs and the director’s name. But in Asia, everyone comes to see Jackie Chan in a Jackie Chan movie. And it doesn’t matter about the plot or the title. Only Jackie Chan can do that!”.

Fact 6: Jackie Chan is very generous and kind

The star actor considers himself a true patriot of China. And indeed, his words are not at odds with his deeds. In 1988, for example, he opened his own charitable foundation, helping the needy residents of the country and paying scholarships to students.

A little later, Jackie took 50 children under his guardianship and officially adopted 10 orphans. Thanks to his efforts in China earned “Jackie Chan Hospital”. The authorities of the country are very favorable to him. And even elevated him to the rank of national hero.

Fact 7: Jackie Chan can not write and does not read well

Jackie Chan is indeed almost illiterate and can hardly read texts. And both in his native language and in English. It is known that in school, to put it mildly, he was a naughty, skipped classes – and all the science flew past his ears.

Therefore, it is understandable that the long-awaited book “Never Grow Up”, the nominal author of which is considered Jackie Chan – not at all the fruit of creative torment actor. In fact, it was written for three years, a friend of Jackie – Ju Mo. By the way, she also planted a legendary compatriot the idea of creating an autobiographical work.

Fact 8. Jackie Chan starred in an erotic movie

It is now on the set of any movie Jackie Chan acts as a guardian of morality. Scenes of violence with plenty of blood, even with light eroticism, according to the actor, should not be present in the picture. And he proudly refuses roles in movies where this “good” in excess. True, once meticulous journalists dug up quite curious information.

It turns out that in 1975, Jackie Chan starred in one of Hong Kong sex comedies, which was full of explicit scenes. And on the screen, he flown around in whatever the hell he was wearing. With a modest but charming smile, Jackie admits, “I had to do what I could to make a living back then, but I don’t think it’s a big disaster. Even Marlon Brando gets naked in his movies.”

Fact 9. Jackie Chan has always led a healthy lifestyle

Alas, this is not true. At the peak of his fame, Jackie Chan faced stardom. The fabulous fees and popularity – all this led to the fact that the actor was heavily into alcohol and scraped money left and right. His behavior Jackie justified the poor childhood.

“I behaved so badly because of my deep insecurity. Ever since I was a kid, I was looked down on by rich kids. And any hint of snobbery or superiority made me furious. I started carrying around large amounts of cash all the time. After living in poverty, cash gives you a sense of security.”

At the same time, he spent his finances more on gifts to friends, but his wife Joan Lin, who gave birth to his son Jaycee, suspected that she married him only for money. That’s why Jackie even hid money from her for a while! But he could spend a fortune on fellow stuntmen and himself.

Jackie Chan

“For a year I spent $ 2 million, paying only for lunch. I also gave extravagant gifts: watches, cars, tailored leather jackets … When we worked as stuntmen, we realized that we risked their lives and tomorrow may not come. So we recklessly spent everything we had,” Jackie wrote in the book.

Drunkenness led to the fact that Chan began to be late for filming movies. And soon shattered two luxury sports cars – Jackie often sat behind the wheel in a drunken state. Another vicious passion for the actor was a passion for women, not shunned Chan and connections with the priestesses of love.

One of the affair with actress Elaine Wu Qili almost ended in the collapse of family life Chan. Mistress gave birth to a daughter Etta. Although the paternity of Jackie and recognized, in the upbringing of his daughter, he did not take part. The actor was still able to beg forgiveness from his wife, whom he calls the love of his life.

“I was selfish and didn’t know how to empathize with others. I was also too easily influenced. Yet Joan allowed me to go my own way. I respect her greatly and am grateful to her for sacrificing so much for me. I have not been a good father or a good husband, but I have done my duty to my son and his mother,” Chan shared.

Fact 10. Jackie is not a good father

The actor himself admitted this to himself. In his autobiography, he told of a case that almost led to tragedy. In the course of a family quarrel Jackie threw his two-year-old son Jaycee. The boy landed on the couch, not on the floor. This incident still weighs on Jackie’s heart. Chan did not do much with his son, although he later tried to help him break through in the movie.

Jaycee seemed to follow in the footsteps of his star father and even got a few roles in the movies. But once got involved with a bad company, shone in the criminal history and for six months went to prison. On the reputation of Jackie Chan was a tangible blow. The legendary Chinese did not support his son in a difficult moment.

Jackie Chan

“I hope that for many young people, this story will prove enlightening and be a warning about the dangers of drug use. I failed to teach my son and must take responsibility. Jaycee and I deeply apologize to the community,” Jackie Chan only wrote on social media.

The impression was that he never harbored warm and kindred feelings towards him. This can be judged by Jackie Chan’s statement when it came to the multimillion-dollar inheritance of the star actor.

“If he has a brain, he will be able to earn his own money. If not, he’ll just spend mine,” – in this answer to reporters’ questions, Jackie made it clear that no one in the family can claim his money. And the entire fortune earned by the legendary Chinese will go to charity.

Jackie Chan for a long time did not recognize his illegitimate daughter Etta Wu Zholin. He pretended that it does not exist at all, and persistently avoided this topic. When he suddenly awoke in him paternal feelings and Jackie took his daughter into his home, it was too late.

Etta’s difficult childhood, almost miserable life changed the character of the girl, who always blamed her parents for her troubles. She once even wanted to commit suicide. Unfortunately, Jackie Chan could not withstand the presence of his daughter in the house. Now Jackie and Etta practically do not communicate.