Born on April 7, 1954, Jackie Chan has many credits to his name. He is a Chinese actor, comedian, screenwriter, action choreographer, film director, producer, martial artist, singer and stunt performer. At the age of six, he was apprenticed to the China Drama Academy and was rigorously trained in music, dance and martial arts. He was offered a tiny role as a stunt player, and his talent and enthusiasm took him to greater roles in the future.
When he was eight, Jackie Chan appeared in films such as Big and Little Wong Tin Bar in 1962, The Love Eterne in 1963 and a small role in Come Drink With Me. He was a stuntman in Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon when he was 18. Later that year, he received his first starring role in Little Tiger of Canton in 1973. Three years later, he was offered a role in a Lo Wei-directed film Hand of Death. He was patterned after Bruce Lee, but this made the film unsuccessful as Chan was not used to Bruce Lee’s martial arts.
His first major breakthrough was in 1978’s Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, where he was given complete freedom over his stunt work. He then starred in Drunken Master, which earned him mainstream success. Replicating the comedic approach of the previous film, he starred in Half a Loaf of Kung Fu and Spiritual Kung Fu. In the 1980s, he forayed into the American film industry with his first Hollywood film Battle Creek Brawl. He then had a minor role in The Cannonball Run. His films began to reach a larger audience with successes in the Japanese market with his film The Young Master and Dragon Lord. He then reprised his role in Drunken Master II and he established his position in Hollywood cinema with the 1995 Rumble in the Bronx. In 1998, he co-starred with Chris Tucker in Rush Hour, gaining him wider popularity worldwide.
In 2000, Jackie Chan lent his voice to the PlayStation game Jackie Chan Stuntmaster, as well as to an animated version of himself in the series Jackie Chan Adventures. He also had success in roles in Shanghai Noon in 2000, Rush Hour 2 in 2001 and Shanghai Knights in 2003. Chan also started his own film production company JCE Movies Limited, featuring films with an increasing number of dramatic scenes. These include New Police Story, The Myth and Rob-B-Hood. His next film, Rush Hour 3 performed well in the U.S. box office. He then collaborated with Jet Li in 2008’s The Forbidden Kingdom. He was also the voice of Monkey in the DreamWorks Animation Kung Fu Panda.