- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon
- Biden-Netanyahu to talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- France vows to step up drugs fight after police vehicles torched
- Air France says jet flew over Iraq during Iran attack on Israel
- Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales
- Let 'Emily in Paris' remain in Paris, Macron says
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Record-breaking Root helps England dominate Pakistan in first Test
- German govt sees economy shrinking again in 2024
- Ex-UK soldier denies passing secrets to Iran intelligence
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Three Kosovo Serbs on trial over 'secession plot' attack
- Van Gogh museum to launch Impressionism show
- French minister ups ante in Eiffel Tower Olympic rings row
- Japan PM calls snap election to 'create a new Japan'
- German police shut pro-Palestinian camp over Thunberg invite
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- Trumpet star Marsalis says jazz creates 'balance' in divided world
- No children left on Greece's famed but emptying island
- Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
RIO | -0.68% | 66.21 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.28% | 24.64 | $ | |
NGG | -0.34% | 65.675 | $ | |
BTI | 0.55% | 35.415 | $ | |
GSK | 0.45% | 38.19 | $ | |
SCS | 2.44% | 13.1 | $ | |
BCE | -0.15% | 33.46 | $ | |
BP | -0.41% | 31.9 | $ | |
BCC | 0.45% | 142.665 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.01% | 6.9 | $ | |
JRI | 0.3% | 13.2 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.11% | 24.8248 | $ | |
RBGPF | -2.48% | 59.33 | $ | |
RELX | -0.09% | 46.6 | $ | |
AZN | 0.12% | 76.965 | $ | |
VOD | 0.46% | 9.705 | $ |
Jackie Chan: Hong Kong action star and Paris Paralympics torchbearer
Kung-fu daredevil, Hollywood star and Guinness world-record holder, and now Hong Kong-born actor Jackie Chan is set to be a torchbearer in the lead-up to Wednesday's opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Paris.
The 70-year-old commands a huge following in France and beyond, his signature blend of comedy and martial arts transcending language barriers.
Born in British colonial Hong Kong in 1954, Chan Kong-sang started his film career as a child actor and worked as a stunt double in the 1972 Bruce Lee film "Fist of Fury".
His brand of thrilling fights interjected with slapstick humour -- showcased in films such as "Drunken Master" and "Police Story" -- made him a household name in Hong Kong and across Asia.
But his stunt work also led to frequent injuries, and the outtakes of scenes gone wrong were typically shown at the end of his films in blooper reels alongside the credits.
Guinness World Records recognised him in 2012 for "Most stunts by a living actor".
Chan's Hollywood breakthrough came with "Rumble in the Bronx" in 1996 and the subsequent "Rush Hour" trilogy where he starred opposite American comedian Chris Tucker.
The third instalment of the Rush Hour movies, filmed in France, had a pivotal fight scene at the Eiffel Tower, with Chan somersaulting and rolling off the iron beams of the Paris icon to evade his opponent.
"I did all my stunts, even the scene full of fighting and acrobatics on top of the Eiffel Tower," he told reporters in 2007 during the premiere.
"I can tell my grandchildren, 'This is your grandfather. This is me. That's not a double flying around the Eiffel Tower in 100 mile-per-hour winds'," Chan said.
On Wednesday he is expected to take over the ceremonial torch in the afternoon. This will not be his first time carrying the Olympic flame.
In 2008 he was among several other Chinese personalities -- including Zhang Ziyi of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" fame -- to carry the Olympic torch ahead of the Games in Beijing.
- Oscar recognition -
Despite a late start to his international film career Chan has been listed multiple times in the past decade as being among the best-paid actors in the world.
He has also starred in big-budget action blockbusters such as "Shanghai Noon", "The Karate Kid" and the "Kung Fu Panda" series of animated films.
Chan was awarded the Honorary Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, saying, "After 56 years in the film industry, making more than 200 films -- I broke so many bones -- finally this is mine!"
Back in Hong Kong, his star has waned somewhat over the years as Chan's pro-Beijing stance rankled some fans, and his decision to join China's top political advisory body made headlines in 2013.
A video emerged in 2021 of him saying he wanted to be a card-carrying Chinese Communist Party member.
"I'm honoured to be a Chinese person. But I'm also very envious that you are a party member. I think the Communist Party is just too great... I want to be a party member!" he said.
Chan sits at the head of a sprawling business empire encompassing a clothing line, cinemas and restaurants.
His net worth was estimated at $350 million in 2015, according to Forbes.
Speaking to reporters at the premiere of Rush Hour 3, the then-53-year-old said he sometimes forgets his age.
"You just keep moving," he said. "I'll do it until my body will tell me stop. I don't think about retirement," he said.
P.Martin--AMWN