Jackie Chan reenacted his role in Bruce Lee’s “Enter the Dragon” at Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival.
Chan played a small part in the iconic film. In the past, he admitted Lee accidentally hit him with a stick during a scene – but that didn’t stop him from completing the take.
“I’m no Superman. I am scared,” he admitted. “Before a stunt, I go: ‘Am I going to die this time’?”
During a masterclass at the Swiss fest, he talked about his beginnings.
“That’s a long, long story,” he said. “I was lazy, naughty, I didn’t want to study – that’s why my father sent me to martial arts school. I liked fighting when I was young. Later, he asked: ‘Did you like the school?’ Yes, very much. I could kick the teacher, punch someone – whatever I wanted to do,” he joked.
Chan started out as a stuntman, appearing in Lee’s “Fist of Fury”, before eventually transitioning into acting following some childhood experiences on set.
“I went: ‘Movies are great – I can have my own lunch box’.”
The star delighted the audience with his animated presence, at times seeking their help to find the right words or titles. He also opened up about his absent father, who used to send him tapes with the recordings of his voice. “If I listened to them now, I think I’d cry.”
He wanted to learn filmmaking from scratch. “I’d even put on my own makeup – I wanted to show the director I’m good enough.” After a while, he decided to take over directing duties as well.
“I do everything – myself. Now, I tell filmmakers: ‘If you only learn how to direct, that’s not good enough’.”
“The audience doesn’t know about the rain or the producer, or that the budget was cut. They just want a good movie. I always remember that, so I try to make every scene perfect. Now, these big studios, they are not filmmakers – they are business guys. It’s very difficult to make a good movie these days.”
He added: “I always learn how to change.” Not afraid of singing either, he serenaded the audience, admitting he always wanted to be “an actor who can fight,” not just an action star.
“Only now they say: ‘Jackie is a good actor,’ and that’s why you gave me this award.”
Chan has received Locarno’s career achievement award, the prestigious Pardo alla Carriera, on Saturday.
“He reinvented, literally, what an action film is,” said artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, calling him a “true genius.” “There is before Jackie Chan and there’s after.”
Accepting the award, Chan recalled a conversation he had with his father, back when he asked him: “I’m 60. Can you still fight when you’re 60?” Chan replied: “I didn’t know what to say [to him]. But now I’m 71 and I still can fight.”
