Jackie Chan, a beloved actor with roots in Hollywood and Hong Kong, has been entertaining audiences with his remarkable martial arts skills for a long time. With a filmography of nearly 150 movies, he has captivated audiences worldwide.
Such prolific work has led to an estimated net worth of around $350 million, making him one of the highest-paid actors in the world during his prime. Surprisingly, the acclaimed star of Shanghai Noon once openly acknowledged that he had been a complete jerk in his personal life.
Jackie Chan Opens Up About His Drinking Problem In His Memoir
Within the pages of his memoir Never Grow Up, which saw its Chinese edition in 2015, and now an English version, the actor disclosed his past struggles, confessing to frequent drunk driving and even an unthinkable act of throwing his two-year-old son.
“I really was quite a nasty jerk,” Chan wrote in the book. “Going out and drinking every night did start to erode my professionalism. I went through a phase that was known as ‘one before lunch, one after lunch’.”
Jackie Chan shared how he used to engage in drunk driving regularly, recounting incidents where he crashed his Porsche and totaled a Mercedes-Benz, leaving him in a perpetual haze throughout the day.
“I drunk drove all the time. In the morning, I’d crash my Porsche, then in the evening, I’d total a Mercedes-Benz. All day long, I went around in a haze.”
Jackie Chan recalled a disturbing incident where he, in a fit of anger during a dispute with his wife, impulsively picked up his infant son Jaycee with one hand and hurled him across the room, causing him to crash into the sofa. He candidly admitted that he never repeated such actions. “Even though I made next to nothing, I spent all my wages on drinking, gambling, and girls,” he wrote.
Jackie Chan Doesn’t Like The Action Hero Tag
Jackie Chan’s rise to fame was marked by his portrayal of action-packed roles, making him an idol for fans worldwide. While renowned for his roles in hit movies like Rush Hour and Drunken Master, Chan expressed his desire to explore diverse genres beyond action. Despite his versatility, he revealed that he often receives offers mainly for action films, showcasing the discrepancy between his potential and the opportunities presented to him.
During a promotional interview for his film The Foreigner, Jackie Chan delved into his acting career and shared his thoughts. The actor expressed that despite his ability to play various characters across genres, he found himself often offered roles primarily in action films.
“I want to change, I don’t want to always do Rush Hour 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. I want to let the audience know I am the actor because action star life is very short. I want to be like Robert De Niro. Like you can do so many roles.”
Jackie Chan elaborated that there are still numerous unexplored avenues for him in the world of movies.
Source: MensXP
