‘Foreigner’ Chan has new moves
Legendary action star getting his kicks from drama, singing
Jackie Chan still has the action moves.
The boyish action star, 63, is eager to prove it, too, pulling himself onto the narrow porch rail at the Montage Beverly Hills hotel for some breezy balancing on his butt. Chan runs through a series of cheeky moves — look-no-hands, then arms folded, even hands resting on his raised knee.
It’s only two stories up, but Chan leans out precariously enough that people on the ground start pointing and taking pictures. His manager, Philip Button, walks onto the scene murmuring, “What the (expletive) is Jackie doing now?”
Showing off aside, what Chan is actually doing now is getting away from the pure action (and comedy) that has made him a screen icon, earning him an honorary Oscar last November. The Hong Kong-born star wants to show he has acting chops — in films like The Foreigner (in theaters Friday) — as powerful as his martial-arts blows.
“In my own country, I can do so many different roles. Because I write my own script and own my own company,” says Chan, whose franchise role in America has been the Rush Hour comedies with Chris Tucker.
“In America, it’s always comedy; comedy and action comedy for me,” he says. “The studios and directors think, ‘Without Jackie fighting, the audience will not like it.’ ”
Chan gleefully points out he still “kicks some butts” in The Foreigner, adapted from Stephen Leather’s 1992 novel The Chinaman. As Quan, whose daughter is killed by an IRA bombing, Chan seeks revenge, working through a government minister with IRA ties (Pierce Brosnan) and an army of henchman.
But director Martin Campbell aged Chan for the role, demanding gray hair and slow movements. “He makes me older, older,” Chan repeats. “Every day after makeup, it’s like, ‘No, not enough. Older. Jackie, when you walk, go slow and hunch your back. You’re not Jackie Chan, you’re Quan.’ ”
Campbell wanted a more dramatic Chan and toned down the star’s flashy fighting style. “The idea was to make sure we didn’t get into the kung fu of it all. That was the deal,” says Campbell. “This is a serious drama.”
Chan wants to show that he can do even more onscreen, like his own musical. He learned to sing along with his martial-arts training at the China Drama Academy, and belts the theme songs for his Chinese movies.
“I’m actually a good singer,” says Chan. “I could do a La La Land.”
He dreams of a movie without any screen blows.
“I really hope one day I can make a drama or dancing movie without one punch,” says Chan, rolling out a career plan. “If I wasn’t an action star, I would be an actor. If nobody sees me anymore, then I’ll be a singer. And if they don’t like my voice, I can be stunt coordinator.”