For the larger general audiences of western world Jackie Chan is of course known for his own unique style in making explosive action comedy movies with a defining slap-stick touch. But apart from that subset of movies the man has a long history in the movie industry spanning six decades and even as I write this, he’s filming three more movies and three more are in post-production and a number of film projects are waiting in queue. While he has stayed most of his career in movies as an actor, he has also directed films, written scripts, choreographed action sequences, acted as a stunt coordinator and stunt man and even as a producer.

A number of his roles have been on historical epics illustrating fact and fiction from the vast and rich cultural heritage of mainland China and Hong Kong. Most of his films where he is the leading actor have a humane, even humble, aspect to life in general and Chan has made only a few films in which he’s depicted as the “bad guy”. Illustrated here is his character Keung from the Stanley Tong -directed action comedy film Rumble in the Bronx (1995). The incredibly cheesy action film is a Chan action comedy at it’s purest and was purposefully designed to fit in to target audiences both in Hong Kong and North America. And sure enough it has made back it’s budget many times over albeit it’s initial release did not predict that. A lot of legs and ankles were broken during the filming and seeing the stunts performed by Chan and his colleagues, it’s not that hard to believe either. The director Stanley Tong had worked with Chan before and they have continued to work together since the filming of Rumble in the Bronx. And while it’s incredibly awesome to see Chan performing his own stunts, it’s also equally awesome to know that the director Tong insisted on making the stunts himself before letting his actors perform them. Not many directors have the physique or courage to do that.