Jackie Chan

Jackie ChanGeorges Biard [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia CommonsDo you know a person who can do stunts and be very hilarious at the same time? Do you know a person who spreads smiles all around the world? Do you know a person who will donate half his money to charity? That is Jackie Chan, who is 63 years old now, and still participates in action movies, my hero.

He was born in Hong Kong, which didn't belong to China at that time. However, when he was 7, he went to the China Drama Academy by himself. As an exchange student, I understand the feeling when a child is in a foreign country by himself. He rarely saw his parents during the ten-year study in China, and he graduated from the China Drama Academy with a fearless heart. Then he made a living by doing stuntman jobs. Luckily, the first movie he was involved in was Enter the Dragon, where his hair got pulled and he was thrown to a wall by Bruce Lee, who was a superstar at that time. After his first acting movie as a stuntman was done, he was discovered and invited by lots of talent managers because of his bravery. After decades of experience and hard work, he finally became a worldwide actor. However, wealth and fame didn't stop his acting career. I was shocked because he has played so many dangerous, even superhuman scenes in his 40s, 50s, and even 60s! The movie CZ12: Chinese Zodiac really impressed me since Jackie Chan rolled all the way down from the top of a volcano, barely protected. It’s reported that he was injured too badly to move for a couple of months. In the movie The Armour of God, “He once really jumped out of a plane and landed on top of a hot air balloon.” I was amazed by his spirit: the fearless passion of doing those actions, especially when he is getting older.

Jackie ChanGeorges Biard / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)Although his age is higher, Jackie Chan keeps being mentally healthy. In front of the screen, he keeps a smiling face. He brings a nice element, a smile, when he is shooting a movie, an interview, or an advertisement. Inadvertently, his smile makes people feel more comfortable, which people look for when they are watching a movie or a show. A person grins frequently because of self-assurance, along with a faith of never giving up. Off-screen, he practices every stunt repeatedly until it’s perfect. Once when he was asked about doing his own stunts, he responded, “Do it when you are young...whatever you want to do, do it today.” It is also reported that “In one scene it took Jackie 2900 separate takes in the movie Dragon Lord because it was so complex.” His spirit of working hard has influenced lots of teenagers who nowadays procrastinate. Additionally, in order not to become the second Bruce Lee, only an action actor, he decided to put some entertaining elements in his movies. In one movie, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, he could control some scripts to act, with his talented combination of stunts and humor. That movie was a hit. Then, he realized to be a director and actor at the same time may help him to go further. His confidence helped him once more in his life.

Even though he earned both money and fame with his hard work, he still remembered the life of his early years—poverty. Therefore, he not only donated money, but also started some charities for children who have a Kung Fu dream, and built schools in Hong Kong. Besides this, he has helped people after disasters. The most impressive thing was, “Even before disinheriting his family, he pledged to donate half his wealth to charity upon his death.” Moreover, he has made lots of advertisements to protect nearly-extinct animals. “It’s crazy in this day and age that people are still eating these wild animals and threatening them with extinction...I hope we can persuade people that it’s the wrong thing to do.” Because of his fame and more and more attention on protecting pangolins, “Jackie reaches a vast audience across Asia, and there are clear signs these campaigns have had an impact and attitudes are changing. Shark fin imports to China went down 81% in three years. Ivory seizures there were down 80% last year, and ivory and rhino horn prices have fallen by more than 50%.”

Jackie Chan isn't a president, isn't a scientist, isn't an educator; however, he is an actor who is rewarded from his hard work and self-confidence, and is helping the world to be better.

Works Cited

 ChinaGate 焦梦. “Jackie Chan Donates New School.” Jackie Chan Donates New School -- China Development Gateway -- Sharing Information, Knowledge and Tools, 8 June 2012, en.chinagate.cn/2012-06/08/content_25602102.htm.

https://cityonfire.com/cz12-aka-armour-of-god-iii-chinese-zodiac-2012-review/

“45 Facts about Jackie Chan, The Chinese Actor Who Holds The World Record For Most stunts by a Living Actor.” BOOMSbeat, 9 June 2015, www.boomsbeat.com/articles/21355/20150609/45-facts-jackie-chan-chinese-actor-who-holds-world-record.htm.

“Jackie Chan joins the fight for endangered pangolins.” Conservation news, 1 Sept. 2017, news.mongabay.com/2017/09/jackie-chan-joins-the-fight-for-endangered-pangolins/.

Wolff-Mann, Ethan. “16 Things You Didn't Know About Jackie Chan.” Thrillist, Thrillist, 24 Apr. 2014, www.thrillist.com/gear/16-things-you-didn-t-know-about-jackie-chan-martial-arts-trivia-and-history.