Jackie Chan is a Chinese actor, writer, film director and producer. Apart from acting and film production, Jackie also works in singing and action choreography. He is a great stunt performer. Chan was born Chan Kong Sang (meaning “born in Hong Kong”) in 1954 in Victoria Peak, a former Hong Kong Crown Colony, to Chinese Civil War refugees Charles and Lee-Li Chan. Chan attended Nah-hwa Primary School on Hong Kong Island where he failed his first year after which his parents pulled him out of that school. In 1960, his father moved to Canberra, Australia, to work as chief chef for the US Embassy, and Chan was sent to a Peking opera school called the China Drama Academy run by Master Yu Jim Yuen. Here are the most famous Jackie Chan Quotes about life, training and success to give you the inspiration you are looking for.
Jackie Chan Quotes
- “I think I’m more like my father, happy-go-lucky.”― Jackie Chan
- “Most of the time, I’m not even working; I’m just helping people because I feel that I am too lucky.”― Jackie Chan
- “Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.”― Jackie Chan
- “Now I am older, I understand we have to accept who we are.”― Jackie Chan
“I do small things. I try to do good things every day. If everyone does some good, think of what a good world this will be.”
― Jackie Chan
- “Nothing – stocks, financial speculation, real estate speculation or businesses – makes more money for me than making movies.”― Jackie Chan
- “I don’t want to be an action star, an action star’s life is so short. I want my life to get longer, I want my career to get longer.”― Jackie Chan
- “My wish is to bring my heroes to the big screen, and many of them have already appeared in my films.”― Jackie Chan
- “I am the Olympic Ambassador. I always promote Olympics.”― Jackie Chan
- “I know that eventually, I’ll have to change my life and my career, but I’ve got a lot of good years left in me yet.”― Jackie Chan
- “I want to play a fireman and a spy. I want to learn special effects.”― Jackie Chan
- “If there really is a god, then he really looks after me.”― Jackie Chan
- “I think as a celebrity, we have to teach the young generation how to speak with the old generation.”― Jackie Chan
- “I like to change characters and then, slowly I believe the audience treats me as an actor who can fight. It’s not like an action star.”― Jackie Chan
- “Nothing makes me more determined to succeed than someone telling me something’s impossible.”― Jackie Chan
- “Why did I become Jackie Chan? Mostly because I work very hard. When people were sleeping, I was still training.”― Jackie Chan
- “I want to try something different in Hollywood, to tell the audience I am not just an actor star – I am an actor, too.”― Jackie Chan
- “When I see an Olympic champion, I admire them.”― Jackie Chan
- “My dream is to continue filming until my body tells me to stop.”― Jackie Chan
- “Action stars have a shelf life. Actors go on till 70 or 80. I want people to say Jackie is a good actor who can also do action. I want to be the Robert De Niro of Asia.”― Jackie Chan
- “I’ve seen too many ups and downs in the movie industry.” ― Jackie Chan
- “I only want my work to make people happy.”― Jackie Chan
- “Do not let circumstances control you. You change your circumstances.”― Jackie Chan
- “Cinema reflects culture and there is no harm in adapting technology, but not at the cost of losing your originality.”― Jackie Chan
“Life will knock us down, but we can choose to get back up.”
― Jackie Chan
- “I was bullied until I prevented a new student from being bullied.”― Jackie Chan
- “I want to make people laugh and I want to try to encourage world peace.”― Jackie Chan
- “Being still and doing nothing are two completely different things.”― Jackie Chan
- “Besides entertainment and action, I want to educate. You know, as a producer or director, we do have a responsibility to society.”― Jackie Chan
- “In work and in life, no matter how smart, talented, and beautiful you are, you also have to be a good person.”― Jackie Chan
- “Anything I do wrong. I correct myself.”― Jackie Chan
- “Being a stunt coordinator, I have to take care not only of myself but I have to make sure everyone is safe.”― Jackie Chan
- “Sometimes I pick up the camera because I choreograph all the fighting scenes, even when I’m not fighting.”― Jackie Chan
- “I’ve been making films for 56 years. Including being a child actor, a low class stuntman, a high class stuntman, a stunt coordinator, a producer, and I’ve made over 250 movies.”― Jackie Chan
- “Sometimes I’d like to play the bad guy and sometimes I’d like to die in a movie.”― Jackie Chan
- “As the producer or director or actor, we have the responsibility for the society of the children.”― Jackie Chan
- “As an actor, I think you have to try everything. I don’t want to be an action star. Action star’s lives are very short.”― Jackie Chan
- “When I see the camera rolling, I forget who I am, or how dangerous it is. I just do it.”― Jackie Chan
- “For the last 20 years, I tried to let the audience see, I can do so many different things.”― Jackie Chan
- “Acting keeps me young! I love that the fans like this kind of action and as long as they want me I’ll continue to do it.”― Jackie Chan
- “I like to treat my crew as my family. All the crew right now still work with me. Same crew, same cameramen.”― Jackie Chan
“Martial arts is for defense. It’s not for attacking. So when people are fighting, always, always, defend.”
― Jackie Chan
- “We learn martial arts as helping weakness. You never fight for people to get hurt. You’re always helping people.”― Jackie Chan
- “Kung fu lives in everything we do. It lives in how we put on a jacket and how we take off a jacket. It lives in how we treat people. Everything is kung fu.”― Jackie Chan
- “When I was young I trained a lot. I trained my mind, I trained my eyes, trained my thinking, how to help people. And it trained me how to deal with pressure.”― Jackie Chan
- “I want to build up my philosophy… my philosophy with kung fu is to respect people.”― Jackie Chan
- “Martial arts is not for hurting people, it’s for protecting people.”― Jackie Chan
- “When you are learning about martial art, it is about respect.”― Jackie Chan
- “Every time I make an American film I just trust American directors and American writers.”― Jackie Chan
- “In the past when I was in Hollywood, I was like a dog. I felt humiliated.”― Jackie Chan
- “In Hollywood, they care more about comedy, relationship and so many things before action stunts.”― Jackie Chan
- “I really hope someday in Hollywood, some producer or director will hire me only to do drama.”― Jackie Chan
- “When I came to Hollywood, I spoke no English – except nobody bullied me.”― Jackie Chan
- “Here you always see Rush Hour 1, 2, 3, 4. All those years, the script and I ask ‘Can I have something like a La La Land? Something different?’”― Jackie Chan
- “In Hong Kong, we go straight into stunts and action, but in America sometimes that’s too much.”― Jackie Chan
- “It is totally different making films in the East than in the West. In the East, I make my own Jackie Chan films, and it’s like my family.”― Jackie Chan
- It was so nice to be hit by Bruce Lee.”― Jackie Chan
- “I didn’t want to be the next Bruce Lee… I wanted to be the first Jackie Chan.”― Jackie Chan
- “When I got depressed, I watched Bruce Lee movies. I learned everything from him.”― Jackie Chan
- “I did two movies with Bruce Lee. He was a tough guy and I was just a low-class stuntman, way behind.”― Jackie Chan
- “When I realize that I might be doing the wrong thing, I’m glad to be called out, and I change.”― Jackie Chan
- “I got into the habit of volunteering to do the most difficult or dangerous jobs, and told the directors that I wouldn’t need extra pay for it.”― Jackie Chan
- “The world isn’t that big, but it’s not that small either, and connections between two human beings are always a little mystical.”― Jackie Chan
- “Some say that connections between people are just a matter of fate, and I’m grateful that I’ve connected with so many fans in this lifetime.”― Jackie Chan
- “I was a perfectionist with sound and movement and then I’d buy everyone dimmer. You give respect, you get respect.”― Jackie Chan
- “After my first venture in Hollywood, I returned to Hong Kong with my tail between my legs.”― Jackie Chan
- “The film, ‘Young Master’, served as a marker, an endpoint. I was saying goodbye to the past and moving on to a new stage of my career.”― Jackie Chan
- “Hollywood movies are so influential, they make me anxious for the future of Chinese cinema.”― Jackie Chan
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- “Since Dragon Lord, not one insurance company has been willing to cover a Jackie Chan film.”― Jackie Chan
- “The problem with having my reputation is that I had no choice but to push my body and courage to new heights with each new movie.”― Jackie Chan
- “As an actor, I’ve been able to experience lives I’d otherwise never have. I know how lucky I am to work in this profession.”― Jackie Chan
- “Many of my stunts were a once-in-a-lifetime experience, all of them recorded for an eternity on film.”― Jackie Chan
- “Going to Hollywood has been a mystical experience.”― Jackie Chan
- “I take full responsibility for every one of my films and I take everything I do seriously.”― Jackie Chan
- “For me, it’s a question of innovation, of coming up with new, real stunts. I want to surprise the audience with each film.”― Jackie Chan
- “To make a good impression, all you have to do is talk to people, look them in the eye and show them respect and love.”― Jackie Chan
- “I give newcomers a chance and take care of them so that they have every opportunity to shine.”― Jackie Chan
- “I’ve set aside half my wealth to create a charitable foundation.”― Jackie Chan
- “Money isn’t important, but doing and leaving something behind in the world is.”― Jackie Chan
- “Having people in my corner inspires me to work harder, and gives me the energy to try to be better in every way.”― Jackie Chan.