Jackie Chan: From Heart‑warming Hero to Hidden Hang‑up
In Rob‑B‑Hood (2006), Chan melts viewers’ hearts as the guy who swears not to let a toddler get hurt. But a few recent page‑turns from his forthcoming memoir Never Grow Up reveal a far darker side:
- During a spat with wife Lin Feng‑jiao, he flung his own son Jaycee across a room. Luckily, Jaycee landed on a sofa and came out ok.
- Years earlier, Chan bragged about a “gold chain swagger,” drinking while driving, crashing a Porsche one morning and a Mercedes the next night.
- He admitted to sneaking a chill pill off from a female co‑worker he called “No. 9” and indulging in gambling and prostitutes.
These tales stand in stark contrast to the upright characters he plays on screen. He justifies the mess with insecurities and youthful immaturity, citing a boarding‑school upbringing that pushed him into drama, not academics.
Bits & Pieces of a Rough Past
- He made a fortune in stunt jobs, yet blew it all on high‑rolling habits.
- In the late ’70s, when his career skyrocketed with hits like Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master, he still felt inferior and vied for attention with flashy gifts—watches, cars, custom leather jackets, glassy wine.
- When he met Taiwan superstar Teresa Teng, he tried to be cool by gulping soup straight from the bowl—“I had no spoon.”
- In 1981, he married Lin only after she announced she was pregnant, but spent the whole pregnancy playing “work” on a phone, missing her in California.
- He let friends convince him Lin may have intentionally gotten pregnant, so he devised ways to keep his money out of her pocket.
Despite being a paid godfather in Hollywood, with US$50 million earnings last year, Chan confesses he’s no star as a dad:
“I’ve never been a good father or husband, but I did my best to fulfill my duties to my son and his mother.”
When his affair with former Miss Asia Elaine Ng leaked, he said he had made an unforgivable mistake and wasn’t sure how to explain it—yet Lin and Jaycee eventually forgave him.
Why It Matters
- The once‑chibi action star throws his kid and wrecks cars in the past.
- He still faces new headlines: a 1999 love child, Etta Ng, never mentioned in his book.
- His memoir shows a human side: naïvely tangled in money, drama, and lost feelings.
- His story reminds us that even a self‑made hero can go wrong.
So next time you’re watching Jackie Chan save a toddler in a blockbuster, remember the world of reckless fun, drunken drives, and a tense relationship‑repair story that, despite the laughs, is nothing like the clean‑cut hero we love.
