story of jackie chen

 Jackie Chan is one of the most iconic entertainers in the action genre. The Hong Kong-born actor first rose to prominence in his home country, appearing in many movies. By the late ’80s, he had broken into Hollywood. And by the early 2000s, he was one of the biggest stars in the world. 

As one of the world’s most beloved actors to this day, Chan is a Hollywood legend. The veteran superstar has few equals as a film powerhouse. But Chan once worked on a production where he feared his co-star, Michelle Yeoh, was trying to upstage him. Yeoh herself revealed this in a 2022 interview with GQ.

Michelle Yeoh performed a very impressive stunt while filming ‘Supercop’

Michelle Yeoh is a film industry veteran who also became famous in the ’90s for her work in Chinese action films. A ]talented action star, Yeoh quickly made waves. In 1992, while Yeoh was still beginning her rise to fame, she was cast in the action flick Supercop, opposite the celebrated Chan. Yeoh recently recalled the experience of making the film to GQ. She told the publication that one major stunt that required her to jump from a dirt path onto a moving train, all while riding a motorcycle, caused a bit of a rift to develop between her and Chan.

“Jackie was the one who had a bigger problem,” Yeoh said. “He actually came up to me at one stage, and he says, ‘Michelle, are you trying to kill me?’ And I’m like, ‘No, why would I do that? We’re buddies, right?’ And he goes ‘No!'” Yeoh explained, “Cause I was doing this crazy motorcycle stunt, right. When he saw me do the stunt, he was like, ‘Oh no, if you do anything more than that, where am I gonna come from?’ That’s why he did the helicopter stunt…we had to have a little bit of a balance.”

What is ‘Supercop’ about?

Yeoh clarified she and Chan are still “great friends” to this day, proof that the “balance” the two implemented while filming Supercop worked quite well. The film follows the exploits of “Kevin” Chan Ka-Kui, played by Chan. Yeoh plays Interpol Inspector “Jessica” Yang Chien-Hua, who teams up with his character to fight crime. A high-octane action film, Supercop features several incredible action sequences, including the one referenced by Yeoh, in which Chan dangles from a moving helicopter.

The third installment of the Police Story series, Supercop is a unique film as it was released just before Chan’s ascent to international stardom, according to IMDb.

Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee are two of the greatest action stars in the history of cinema, known for their unique approaches to their craft. While Lee became a cultural icon because of his discipline and advocacy of martial arts in the west, Jackie Chan carved out a space for himself by creating some of the best action comedies of all time.

Through hilarious gems such as Police Story, Jackie Chan weaved together a vision of action cinema that was not common in western culture. Bruce Lee’s signature style was to be on the offensive while Chan made millions of people laugh by combining the art of getting punched in the face with some truly remarkable stunts that people still try to rip off to this day.

In fact, the recent Tom Holland film Uncharted borrowed inspiration for its action sequences directly from Police Story. As many have pointed out (including Edgar Wright), it is impossible to copy a Jackie Chan film and retain its magic because Chan’s unique style and his approach to comedy are simply inimitable.

Although Jackie Chan is now considered to be among the most iconic stars of Asian cinema, he started out as a stunt double in many productions including Bruce Lee’s 1972 film Fist of Fury. However, they didn’t really have a proper encounter until they collaborated on Bruce Lee’s final project before his tragic demise – Enter the Dragon.

In an interview, Jackie Chan spoke about Lee’s impact on his life: “He influenced me a lot, but I knew I could never be him. He was the king of martial arts, and I just admired him. The way he talked, the way he punched, even the way he spoke was impressive. He was a really good talker! Because he was born in the US, he was more open than us.