Jackie Chan

Born: 7th April 1954
Where: Hong Kong

The amenable martial arts star has created a one man film industry forged on his ability to combine high kicks with easy gags and slapstick humour.

The hit films - The Cannonball Run, Shanghai Noon, Rush Hour - are totally formulaic...which is just what his legions of fans like.

Chan claimed his family was so poor when he was born that they offered to sell him to the British doctor who delivered him.

However, they reconsidered the sale, and moved to Australia to work at the US embassy when he was small.

At the age of seven, Chan returned to Hong Kong alone and was apprenticed to the Chinese Opera Research Institute where he was rigorously trained in music, dance, and traditional martial arts.

He made his feature acting debut in the Cantonese film Big and Little Wong Tin Bar.

In 1971, he rejoined his parents in Australia, but it wasn't long before he returned to Hong Kong and adopted the stage name Chen Yuan Long.

Chan found work as a stunt man, martial arts fighter, with his first film role as an adult in Little Tiger from Canton.

His talent soon saw him graduating first to stunt co-ordinator, and then to director, before receiving his first credit as martial arts director for The Heroine, in which he also starred.

Following the death of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, the search was on for a popular replacement so Jackie decided rather than emulating Lee he would develop his own style of filmmaking.

By 1978 he had become the most popular martial arts star in Asia since Lee, the iconic star of Enter The Dragon and the like.

His directorial debut The Young Master in 1980 was a milestone in martial arts films, being the first to effectively combine slapstic comedy with high-energy action.

In 1985, he had to form the Jackie Chan Stuntmen Association after so many stuntmen were injured during the making of Police Story that none were willing to work with him again.

He directed and starred in Armor of God and Mr Canton and Lady Rose two of Hong Kong's highest-grossing films, and formed his own production company, Golden Way.

A flood of US film roles followed, including Rumble in the Bronx, First Strike, Supercop, Operation Condor and Mr Nice Guy.

Rush Hour in 1998 proved to be a box office hit, teaming the martial artist with comic actor Chris Tucker.

As a result of this success they re-teamed again in 2001 for the sequel, Rush Hour 2.

Now geared almost exlusively to the Western market, he made the lacklustre The Tuxedo and Shanghai Knights followed up his earlier success opposite Owen Wilson in Shanghai Noon.

Recent work includes the well-below-par The Medallion which saw him mismatched with Lee Evans as an Interpol operative.

Whilst performing his own stunts, Jackie has broken his nose three times, his ankle once, most of the fingers in his hand, both cheekbones, and his skull.