Jackie Chan may be 71, but he hasn’t hung up his stunt shoes just yet. At the recent New York City premiere of Karate Kid: Legends, the martial arts icon revealed he’s still taking hits on set — literally. While fans might marvel at his ageless energy, Chan reminds everyone: even legends feel pain. Just not right away.
“So when I’m filming, I doesn’t feel pain or hurt,” Chan told PEOPLE on the red carpet. “But after cut I go home, I can cripple.”
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Sixty-Four Years in Action — and Still Going
Chan’s dedication to stunt work is no secret. Over a career that spans 64 years — “practically all my life,” as he puts it — he’s become synonymous with jaw-dropping, bone-crunching action scenes.
At the Karate Kid: Legends premiere, he didn’t just speak about stunt injuries in the abstract. He pulled up his pant leg to reveal a fresh bruise. “I just hurt myself last week,” he said, with a shrug that suggests it’s par for the course.
“Every action movie, everybody get hurt — even me. Everybody get hurt,” Chan told reporters. But at this point, he’s used to it.
Chan’s unique tolerance for pain seems rooted in pure passion and experience. In a recent Haute Living interview, he elaborated:
“When you’ve done it for 64 years straight, there’s no physical preparation anymore. Everything is in your heart and soul; it is muscle memory.”
Hollywood Never Left Him — He Just Wants Better Scripts
Although Karate Kid: Legends marks what some call his “return” to Hollywood, Chan is quick to correct that narrative.
“I’ve always been here,” he said. “There’s just not the right script for me because I want to do something different.”
That search for variety is why he signed on to play Mr. Han in 2010’s The Karate Kid and took a dramatic turn in 2017’s The Foreigner. Chan is actively steering his career away from roles that box him into action-only identities.
“I don’t want to always do the same character again,” he emphasized.
“I want the audience [to] know I’m not the action star — I’m the actor who can fight.”
He’s even got his eye on an entirely different genre.
“Please, director, invite me to do something different — not always a fight, fight, fight. Love story,” he said with a grin.
A Legacy Cemented in Bruises and Brilliance
Chan’s career has always been a balancing act — literally and metaphorically. He brought ballet-like precision to brutal brawls in classics like Rumble in the Bronx, and fused slapstick with high-risk martial arts choreography in countless others. His commitment to realism — refusing body doubles or CGI trickery — made him a global superstar and a pioneer in the action genre.
But he’s paid for that realism with more than just accolades. Broken bones, concussions, and now, age-related wear and tear are part of the price. Still, Chan isn’t complaining.
“Of course, I always do my own stunts. It’s who I am,” he told Haute Living.
“That’s not changing until the day I retire, which is never!”
Karate Kid: Legends — Bridging Generations
In the latest chapter of the Karate Kid saga, Chan reprises his role as Mr. Han — this time mentoring a new kung fu prodigy, Li Fong (played by Ben Wang), who struggles to find his place after relocating from Beijing to New York City.
The film also reunites audiences with Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso, marking a fusion of the old and new Karate Kid eras. It’s a movie that nods to the past while kicking forward into the future — much like Chan’s career.
“This is why I choose Karate Kid: Legends,” he said. “It’s not just a fighting movie. It’s about passing something on. It’s emotional. It’s real.”
Still the Actor Who Can Fight
As the industry continues to evolve with CGI-heavy action, Jackie Chan remains a powerful symbol of authenticity. But more than anything, he wants to be seen not just as an action star, but as an actor — one with depth, range, and plenty still to offer.
He’s earned that recognition — bruise by bruise.
Karate Kid: Legends hits theaters May 30.
