“It Was Now or Never”: Despite Multiple Failures, Jackie Chan’s Decades-Old Friendship With Sylvester Stallone Inspired Him to Overcome a Massive Hurdle Once

Published 02/09/2023, 2:00 PM EST

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Jackie Chan is a global star, known for his incredible sets of skills such as action, martial arts, and comedy. However, the Chinese martial arts icon didn’t had a successful start to his career at the global level. In his 2015 published book, ‘Never Grow Up’, Jackie Chan revealed an incident in his life where it was a ‘now or never’ situation for himMoreover, he disclosed the role of Sylvester Stallone in his massive comeback that led him to become a global star, eventually.

Jackie Chan’s remarkable comeback at 40 

Jackie Chan became a massive star in Chinese movies in the late 70s. However, he didn’t try his hands at the global level yet. But when he did approach world cinema in the 80s, Chan got terribly failed. He almost gave up the idea of working in Hollywood, but it was then he met the Hollywood superstar Sylvester Stallone. Stallone gave him the inspiration and the proud moment of Chan’s life, which made him think about his comeback. 

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 In his book Never Grow UpChan revealed the meeting he had with Stallone on the sets of Demolition Man. It was a massive turnaround for Chan when he came to know that everyone there knew Chan; moreover, they respected him for his work. When Stallone told him he extracted a few ideas from Chan’s films, Chan wrote, “I felt very proud of myself.”

This is how Stallone inspired him. Other than that, Chan disclosed the thought he had at 40. He wrote, “My burgeoning friendship with Stallone—now twenty-five years strong—gave me the inspiration to try one more time. I was forty years old in 1994, and figured it was now or never.”After that Chan waited for the perfect script for him and appeared in ‘Rumble in the Bronx’, a Hong Kong production, which was dubbed in English. Interestingly, it made $9.8 million on its opening weekend and did pretty well at the box office. 

From being disastrous to winning an Oscar

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Even though Jackie Chan’s entry into Hollywood wasn’t a pleasant one, his existence is incredible. He is one of the most loved stars all around the world. With his work and personality, he has won everyone’s hearts. Not only Stallone, but the Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is also his best of friends. In 2016, Chan won the Academy Awards for his Lifetime achievement in Hollywood.

However, Chan didn’t expect it, his friend Schwarzenegger sure did. After Chan won the Oscar, Terminator congratulated him, and wrote, “Congratulations to my great friend Jackie Chan on his fantastic honor – after 200 movies, you certainly deserve this Oscar. You always inspire.”

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Watch This Story:  Jackie Chan’s Contradictory Stance on His 400 Million Fortune Inheritance

Which is your favorite Jackie Chan movie? And what do you think about this incredible journey of a legendary star? Let us know in the comment section. 

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Written by:

Kaivalya R Pillai

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Dr. Kaivalya R Pillai is a US Sports author working at EssentiallySports. An accomplished academician, he recently completed his doctorate degree in pharmacy.
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Edited by:

Pritam Priyedarshi