Jackie Chan

Actor / Filmmaker

Name at birth: Chan Kong-Sang

Jackie Chan was already the highest paid actor in Asia, with more than 60 films under his belt, when he finally made it big in Hollywood with the action-comedy Rumble in the Bronx (1995). Born into poverty, Chan spent his childhood in rigorous physical training at the China Drama Academy in Hong Kong. In the 1970s he began getting work in Hong Kong action movies as a stuntman, then in small parts as an actor. By 1980 he was a lead player responsible for his own projects, shunning the Bruce Lee model of the intense, courageous hero in favor of the comic, reluctant hero that is now Chan's trademark. He acts, produces and directs and performs his own stunts, and his well-choreographed fight scenes are almost always performed with everyday props instead of weapons. His films include Half a Loaf of Kung-Fu (1980); Drunken Master (1978); The Cannonball Run (1981); Police Story (1985); Supercop (1992, with Michelle Yeoh); Rush Hour (1998); Shanghai Noon (2000, with Owen Wilson and Lucy Liu); The Tuxedo (2002, with Jennifer Love Hewitt); and Shanghai Knights (2003, again with Wilson).

Extra credit: Chan was a stuntman in the Bruce Lee classic Enter the Dragon (1973)... Chan is also the star of the television cartoon for kids, Jackie Chan Adventures.

Other Asian movie stars on Who2 include Jet Li, Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat.