For more than half a decade, the world has been witnessing the greatness that Hollywood star and action legend Jackie Chan has been bringing to the screen. Ranging from voice-overs for animated features to hardcore action flicks and his signature comedy films, the star has catered to every one of his fans’ interests and gained their love and admiration in the process.
In the process of entertaining people from around the world, it’s no surprise that The Karate Kid star has received much love from ladies all over the globe. But what many might not know is the absolute craze that the star was able to stir for himself, especially in the hearts of Japanese women, from whom he had to seek permission to start dating, and eventually, get married.
Jackie Chan Had To Convince Japanese Women To Let Him Get Married!
Known all over the world as one of the most entertaining and funny actors to work with, the influence of Jackie Chan over people from all generations is apparent from the amount of love he gets. Known to be the childhood hero of many, the star became larger than life itself, something that he didn’t realize until he noticed just how crazy people would get just to get a glimpse of him in person. And once he announced that he was thinking about reading his wedding vows, all of it went completely nuts.
You may also like: Jackie Chan Confessed He Failed Miserably at Box Office After Trying to Copy Bruce Lee’s Fighting Style
During the time when his film Rush Hour 2 was about to release, the star was in an interview with Blackfilm, where he talked about how he managed to appease both his loyal fanbase from The West as well as The East. Here, he also revealed just how much female attention he received after he became such a huge movie star. He said that he knew women from different countries of Asai were committing su*cide when he decided to get married to his wife Joan Lin in 1982. Just so he could stop women from hurting themselves more, he had to arrange a meeting with 3,000 Japanese fans so he could ask for their permission to get married. He said:
“I go to Japan and set up a meeting with 3,000 fans and I go look there is only one Jackie Chan. I ask can I get married, and they go, “No!” I ask can I get a girlfriend, and they go, “No!” I ask can I cut my hair and they go, “No!” The most crazy fans are Japanese fans. In Hong Kong, they treat me like the “boy next door.” Jackie is our hero, but in Korea and some other countries it is very crazy. But it has passed and now and all the fans have grown up and got married. They know what happened. The good thing is that these fans are very loyal. They get married, they tell their children to see my movies.”
While the amount of craze has died down a little for the star in recent years, Chan’s influence is still remembered by many to this day, all thanks to his contributions to cinema.
You may also like: “I’d like to get that in future”: Bob Odenkirk Claims Jackie Chan Inspired Him to Do $57.5M ‘John Wick-Esque’ Nobody After Refusing Marvel Movies
How Rush Hour Became One Of The Highlights of Jackie Chan’s Career
While we might have had a taste of a buddy-cop comedy before in the form of Will Smith’s Bad Boys, what made Rush Hour such a hit after its release in 1998 was the diversity of the main cast and just how well both Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan brought their cultural heritages together to blend perfectly into the story. While Tucker might’ve brought comic relief and classic American flair to the film, Chan brought the juicy martial arts action he was popular for, making the film a blockbuster with ease.
You may also like: “I didn’t really like it”: Jackie Chan Hated $856M Franchise For Having Too Many Jokes, Said Movies Like That Only Work in America
Rush Hour, streaming on HBO Max.
Source: Black Film
