Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan is one of my favorite action dudes. You don't get the same kind of action that he creates anywhere else. I just love that face paced, frantic, go crazy kung fu style action. One negative about the this style is the fact that it's very dangerous. Really dangerous, he's gotten into accidents left and right and his insurance has skyrocketed. I have one word for this, "dedication!" You go boy.

Jackie Chan may not have been born an action hero, but all indications are that he was destined to become one. Born in Hong Kong in 1954, Jackie entered the rigorous Chinese Opera Research School at the tender age of seven. There he studied acting, singing, dance, mime, acrobatics and martial arts 19 hours a day for 10 years. Although Chan worked as a character actor and stuntman in minor roles following his graduation at 17, it wasn't until 1974 that he took center stage in the film A Stranger in Hong Kong.

It wasn't long before Chan became the most popular kung fu star since Bruce Lee. Knowing that he must create his own star presence, Chan chose to purvey a new genre called kung fu comedy, which blended action-packed fight sequences and breath-taking stunts with a genuinely humorous sensibility. Chan signed with Lee's film company, Golden Harvest, and became the highest-paid actor in Asia. But acting and stunt-directing was never enough for the ambitious Chan, who proceeded to produce and direct movies as well.

With the success of Rumble in the Bronx, Chan took a giant first step towards making his own brand of superhero supercomedy as popular in this country as it is in his native Asia. With Supercop, First Strike, and Operation Condor, he's likely to cement his status as a true American movie star.