Jackie Chan

Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan, is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself. With a film career spanning more than sixty years, he is regarded as one of the most iconic martial artists in the history of cinema. Starting as one of the Seven Little Fortunes at the China Drama Academy, where he was trained in acrobatics, martial arts and acting, Chan entered the Hong Kong film industry as a stuntman before making the transition to acting. His breakthrough came with the martial arts action comedy Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978). He then starred in similar action comedies such as Drunken Master (1978) and The Young Master (1980). He made his directorial debut with The Fearless Hyena (1979), which was a box office success. Throughout the 1980s, he was part of the "Three Dragons" along with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao; the three starred in six Hong Kong films together. Project A (1983) saw the official formation of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team and established Chan's signature style of elaborate, dangerous stunts combined with martial arts and slapstick humor, a style he further developed in a more modern setting with Wheels on Meals (1984) and Police Story (1985). Rumble in the Bronx (1995), which had a successful worldwide theatrical run, brought Chan into the North American mainstream. He gained Hollywood success for portraying Chief Inspector Lee in the American buddy cop action comedy film Rush Hour (1998), a role he reprised in two sequels. Chan went on to work both in American and Chinese films, appearing in the well-received Shanghai film series (2000–2003), New Police Story (2004), Rob-B-Hood (2006), Little Big Soldier (2010), and Shaolin (2011), among others. The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) marked his first collaboration with fellow martial arts star Jet Li. He has played martial arts mentor Mr. Han in two Karate Kid films, the 2010 remake The Karate Kid and Karate Kid: Legends (2025). For CZ12 (2012), he earned two Guinness World Records for "Most Stunts Performed by a Living Actor" and "Most Credits in One Movie". He played against type in the well-received films Shinjuku Incident (2009) and The Foreigner (2017). One of the most recognizable and influential film personalities in the world, Chan was described by film scholar Andrew Willis in 2004 as perhaps "the most recognized star in the world." He has received fame stars on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as well as an honorary Academy Award in 2016. He has an award named after him, the Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards. He is an operatically trained vocalist who has released several pop music albums and performed theme songs for some of the films in which he starred. He is also a philanthropist and has been named one of the top 10 most charitable celebrities by Forbes magazine. In 2015, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $350 million, and as of 2016, he was the second-highest-paid actor in the world.

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