Has anyone risked their life for art more than Jackie Chan? The legendary action star has been in the industry for more than six decades and has performed a variety of death-defying stunts that have entertained generations. For his contributions, Chan was awarded the Academy Honorary Award in 2016.
Jackie Chan has performed many stunts that have resulted in serious injuries for the actor. However, there was one stunt that haunted even the Drunken Master actor and the action star revealed that he tried to push the shoot date for as long as possible.
Jackie Chan’s Infamous Stunt Injuries
In his sixty-year career, Jackie Chan has faced many injuries while performing some of his most dangerous stunts. It was also during a time when protection for the stunt crew was minimal and the performers had to quite literally risk death and injury to entertain the audience.
Chan has broken his foot, and leg, fractured his skull, he has had burned his hands, and even went into a coma. The actor had a shoulder injury while filming one of his most popular films Police Story 3: Supercop. He was struck in the shoulder by the revolving blades of a helicopter in the movie.
The actor also fractured his skull when performing a risky jump in the film Armor of God. The actor also suffered second-degree burns while filming Police Story, in which he had to slide down a long pole which was covered with Christmas lights. Jackie Chan holds the Guinness world record for the Most Stunts by a Living Actor and is reportedly uninsurable.
Talking about how his stuntwork and the lack of protection affected his view of the world, he said in a speech at the Sidney Opera House in 2016,
“In the old days, our dream was, ‘Am I surviving today?’ Because [sometimes], we had to jump from the second floor [with no protection]. We might die. We see people die, we see them paralyzed. I might be coming today so I have money. So I spent it.”
The actor reportedly once spent millions on diamond watches in one day as he felt that he had the money to spend and did not find a point in saving it.
Jackie Chan’s Terrifying Stunt On Project A
One of Jackie Chan’s most iconic stunts in a film is his fall from the clock tower in the period film Project A. The film was based on pirates and he performs a stunt that is similar to the infamous stunt performed by the legendary actor Buster Keaton in the film Safety Last!. However, Chan claimed that he was not aware of Keaton’s stunt as the films were not available in-home video for the Chinese national.
Chan wrote in his memoir Never Grow Up that he was actually terrified of the stunt. The stunt sees both his hands tied with handcuffs and him trying to escape by jumping from a clock tower. As he holds on to the minute hand of the clock, he slips and falls straight to the ground.
Jackie Chan mentioned that he was so scared of falling that he delayed the shoot to as many as six days before giving in and performing it. But the actor did suffer an injury right after. He said in the memoir,
“I just went smack on the pavement and my neck twisted sharply. But I didn’t die.”
Despite the injury, Chan went for another take as it was not perfect. The fall is followed by Chan standing up quipping about the fall while being helped by his friends, which is all captured in a single shot.
