“Was Stunned and Ran Off in Tears”: Jackie Chan, in Starting Days, Got Startling Treatment Just Based on Looks

Published 03/27/2023, 6:30 PM EDT

Follow Us

We know Jackie Chan as a successful actor having worked in over 150 movies and holding a net worth of $400 million. But before becoming the fan’s favorite, he had his fair share of struggles regarding finance, language, and in fact, his looks. Evidently, the martial artist-turned-actor was frequently looked down on during his initial days shooting for movies.

As per his autobiographical narrative, the actor revealed how people would even curse him for his looks. He chanced upon a memory where the Chinese maestro was shooting for a side role and his crew judged him by his looks. In fact, a small error made his director look at him with a belittling eye.

People frowned upon Jackie Chan for his looks

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

In his memoir, Never Grow Up, Chan frequently addressed how he often failed to cope with upper-class people. While logging the nitty gritty of his life in the book, the actor capped off an incident when he lost his cool due to a certain rundown of events.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Chan used to have long hair back then. When on the set, he accidentally flicked his hair while standing near the lead actress. This enraged the director who couldn’t withstand his audacity to show ‘disrespect’ and cursed his “family back eight generations.” This had quite an impact on him and “was stunned and ran off in tears.” Other fellow members of the stunt team mocked Chan for crying in front of everyone.

“I Was Questioned by the Police”: Jackie Chan’s Looks Once Got Him Into Trouble

It was something very unpredictable for Chan as he couldn’t think someone would go this far over such a silly thing. He then chased the director with a prop knife and said, “You can scold me, but why did you have to bring my mom into this?” However, it was Sammo Hung, who later became friends with Chan, dragged him out.

But as the actor pointed out, his path from a simple Chinese boy to a global heartthrob was rocky. In fact, he had to deal with several insecurities in the process.

He had other insecurities too

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Just before becoming a Hollywood actor, the Vanguard star met the Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng. Undoubtedly, her charm and beauty mesmerized him. Chan was also becoming popular in Hong Kong for his incredible feats in stunts. However, when out on a date with Teng, the singer invited Chan over to dinner at a French restaurant.

This seemingly created discomfort in Chan as he was not very familiar with fancy restaurants back then. In fact, he had no idea how to maintain the table etiquette and gulped every course presented before him. And to add more to it, Chan ended the date abruptly informing Teresa not to call him over this type of event.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch This Story –  Bodybuilding Legend Arnold Schwarzeneggers Built Compared To Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan

While Chan amassed considerable fame and wealth, cultural differences once made Chan conscious whenever he tried to blend with upper-class society.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Soumili Chatterjee

437Articles

One take at a time

Soumili Chatterjee is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She secured her bachelor’s and master's degree in English literature from the University of Calcutta. After being a technical and blog writer for nearly three years, it was her ardent love for sports that steered her career toward the sports industry.
Show More>

Edited by:

Jahnabi Choudhury