Jackie Chan

This is Jackie Chan when he was little (www.bucketmovies.com ())

A hero is brave. Thoughtful. Not deceitful. Never gives up. A hero doesn't only think about themselves but about others too. A hero is Jackie Chan.

Jackie Chan was born on April 7, 1954 into the family of Charles and Lee-Lee Chan. His nickname was Pao-Pao (Cannonball) when he was young because he was rolling around everywhere and had lots of energy. He attended Nah-Hwa primary school and failed his first year. His dad took him out of the school and sent him to China Drama Academy where he excelled in martial arts and acrobatics. His acting career began when he was very little, starting at 5. He appeared in small roles such as in Big and Little Wong Tin Bar. He began his adult acting career as a stuntman in a Bruce Lee film called Enter the Dragon which was a HUGE success. He received his first starring role later that year for a movie called Little Tiger of Canton. He went back to Canberra after the movie to rejoin his parents while attending the Dickinson College as a construction worker. One of his fellow builders called Jack took him under his wing and called him Little Jack which eventually turned into Jackie and stuck with him ever since that.

This is Jackie in the movie Rumble in the Bronx (http://hkfanatic.com/jackie/movies/ritb/ritb_info.php ())

Jackie Chan eventually got tired of only making movies in Hong Kong. He tried to get into the American movie business by starring in Battle Creek Brawl which turned out to be a huge failure due to failures of commercial airing. He then tried a second attempt in the movie Protector which was another huge failure because of the same reason. He then went back to Hong Kong to continue to produce movies there. Eventually in 1995 he starred in a movie called Rumble in the Bronx which was a HUGE success in Hong Kong. That movie made its way into US theaters and Jackie Chan finally developed his foothold in the American movie making business. He eventually earned a star in Hollywood and won 27 awards and was nominated for 33 awards.  Over the years, Jackie Chan has become very successful in the movie industry,  being in over 100 movies, producing 31, and directing 17.

Jackie Chan and Lin Fei-Jiao (http://www.sevenreflections.com/people/lin-feng-jiao-jackie-chan/5/190/ ())

Jackie wasn't completely caught up in the movie making business as he had a personal life as well. He married Lin Fei-Jiao, a Taiwanese actress, in 1982. In the same year they had a son, Jaycee Chan, who grew up to be a singer and actor. Jackie is Buddhist, often practicing his religion. He can currently speak 9 languages which include Cantonese, Mandarin, American Sign Language, English, German, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, and Thai.  Between the ages of 9 and 16, he practiced boxing with a former professional boxer who had a broken leg. Jackie received a honorary degree at the University of Cambodia. Jackie loves sports. He supports the Hong Kong National Football Team, England National Football Team, and Manchester City.

Jackie Chan preparing to preform a stunt (factsanddetails.com ())

When Jackie is performing his movies he ALWAYS does his stunts. He once said, "I personally don't like to trick people when I film my movies, so I perform all of the stunts in my movie." All of the stunts that he performs are planned by the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. Due to the dangerous nature of his stunts it is really hard for him to get insurance, specifically in the US where his stunt work is limited by a contract. In fact he holds the record for most stunts by a living actor and the most retakes for a single stunt. He had to retake one shot over 2900 times for a complicated game of Jianzi. While performing stunts he has injured his pelvis and broken his fingers, toes, nose, both cheekbones, hips, sternum, neck, ankle, and ribs on numerous occasions. He came the closest to his death when he was filming the movie Armour of the God. He was preforming a simple routine stunt, jumping from a ledge to a tree, but when he landed on the tree the branch snapped and he fractured his skull.

Jackie Chan visiting mentally disabled children (factsanddetails.com (Jackie Chan ))

Jackie Chan is not a selfish person. He donates LOTS of money every year to charities and has set up the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation and the Dragon's Heart Foundation. Some of the charities that he was supported are Action in Mental Health, The Salvation Army, UNICEF, Operation Smile, Red Cross, and many more. He has raised/donated over 75 million US dollars. He also visits many places to help and donate. In October 2012 he visited mentally disabled children in China to play and talk with them. It has been a tradition of his to spend his free time between films doing charity work, most of it centered around children.

Jackie Chan has inspired many people including me in many ways by doing heroic deeds. He performs his own stunts so he doesn't trick people, he consistently tries his stunts even when he fails over 2900 times, and he spends the majority of his free time doing charity work. He worked hard to get to where he is today and deserves the position that he is in now.