Fans would immediately associate Jackie Chan with his widely recognized international film Rush Hour with Chris Tucker. Their onscreen chemistry was on point, but the actors’ first meeting was far from what fans would imagine. Even Brett Ratner, the director, was not especially charmed with the Hong Kong star the moment they first spoke with each other.
Chan’s first exposure to the Hollywood industry was in 1995’s Rumble in the Bronx. He spoke English and was surrounded by a predominantly Western cast. The movie was a massive hit being the first Hong Kong film to ever top the American box office.
Director Reveals His First Impression Of Jackie Chan Before Rush Hour
In an interview with GQ, Rush Hour director Brett Ratner shared his experience meeting the legendary Jackie Chan. At the time, the filmmaker only had one feature under his belt. He was a huge fan of the action star, and he hoped that the actor would join his project. In Rush Hour, Chan would no longer be a sidekick. When Ratner found out the actor was filming in South Africa, he immediately hopped on the next plane. He told the outlet:
“I got on a plane and flew 22 hours to have lunch with him. We get to the restaurant. It’s a Chinese restaurant in South Africa. So weird.”
That was not the only bizarre thing that happened during Ratner’s meeting with Chan. He shared that the actor seemed to be messing with him. He continued:
“He feeds me abalone. It was like a piece of rubber. And I’m chewing it and spitting it in my napkin. Then he gives me a glass of wine, and I have to pretend like I’m drinking it. Then he’s like, ‘Let’s smoke a cigar,’ and I’m like, ‘Is this guy testing me? What the hell?’ All the things I don’t do.”
Chan was probably unaware of Ratner’s dislikes and just offered everything he thought the director would enjoy out of politeness. A few days after they discussed the pitch, the action star joined in. Ratner recalled Chan and Chris Tucker’s first conversation, which is where he also realized he chose the right cast. The filmmaker said:
“They had a conversation for 30 minutes… Halfway through, Chris says, ‘Brett, can we talk outside for a minute?’ and I go, ‘Yeah.’ And we go outside, and Chris says, ‘Brett, Jackie Chan don’t speak English! How we gon’ do a movie when he don’t speak English?’ I said, ‘Oh, it’ll be fine.’ Anyway. We go back in. Chris leaves. I said, ‘Jackie, how did you like Chris?’ And Jackie says, ‘I like Chris, but I don’t understand how he talks.’ I said to myself, ‘This is going to be f—king genius.’”
Rush Hour became a massive hit among audiences, earning over $240 million at the box office and ranking as the seventh biggest movie of 1998.
Rush Hour Director Shares Honest Sentiments About Jackie Chan’s Career
In the same interview, Brett Ratner admitted what he thought about Jackie Chan’s movies prior to Rush Hour. He mentioned wanting to give the actor an equal footing with an American lead instead of being a mere sidekick. He told GQ:
“Jackie has, in my opinion, gotten exploited, in a way. He started doing these movies where they were making him look like a f—king buffoon. And he went for it, and he made some bad choices. I always said he’s a real actor. But he never got his opportunity, and I think with this new film, there’s some people who are going to be surprised.”
Fans were indeed astonished by how Jackie Chan managed to raise himself in the Hollywood and international arena.
Rush Hour is available to watch on Netflix.
Source: GQ
