Jackie Chan has endured so many injuries and risky situations in his illustrious career that he admitted that his loved ones are pretty much used to it by now – but that doesn’t mean they won’t get anxious if he told them he was about to undergo a major operation.
This is why the Hong Kong actor, who was in town yesterday to promote his new film Kung Fu Yoga, kept mum about the surgery he had in London in the middle of filming for the upcoming action blockbuster. At the press conference at Equarius Hotel, Jackie shared that when he was in the English capital, he suffered from such excruciating pain that he decided to have a check-up.
What was supposed to be a 45-minute appointment turned into an urgent five-hour operation, as doctors discovered that the 62-year-old’s abdominal muscles were rotting and his intestines were out of place. Despite his horrifying physical state, Jackie resumed work the day after the surgery, and when he later arrived in Iceland, the tough-as-nails thespian dove into frigid waters after refusing to use a stunt double.
In a small group interview after the press conference, Jackie revealed that his family only found out about the operation after its success. Prior to that, “Only six people knew,” he said, rattling off a list that did not include his wife Lin Feng Jiao or son Jaycee Chan. “(After that) I called home and said,
‘Don’t be scared, but I just had surgery’. If I told them before the surgery, they would worry themselves to death. I’d rather let them know when everything is fine.”
That wasn’t the first time Jackie kept his clan in the dark about such a matter: he did the same thing when he went for brain surgery after a stunt gone wrong on the set of 1986’s Armour of God, when he plummeted to the ground headfirst, causing a piece of cracked skull to pierce his brain. “I only told my family seven days later,” he said.
Right now, the seemingly invincible superstar has four giant holes in his abdomen from the most recent procedure. Jackie light-heartedly shared an anecdote about seeing the bloody, sutured marks for the first time. “I was wondering where my belly button had gone!” he chuckled.
Because of his leading man’s injuries, Kung Fu Yoga director Stanley Tong decided to axe a fight sequence between Jackie and Aarif Rahman that was originally scheduled to take place in Iceland. However, Jackie, ever the trooper, decided that the show must go on.
“I knew Aarif and his fans would be disappointed (if the scene was cancelled),” he explained. “Plus, do you know how hard it is to travel to Iceland? It would be a waste for us to all go over and not film it.”
All the effort Aarif went through to learn some martial arts moves from scratch – from Jackie himself – would also have been for nothing. The 29-year-old Arab-Malay-Chinese actor, a long-time fan of Jackie, specially requested Stanley for a chance to spar with his idol on screen, despite his lack of experience in action films. He diligently trained for months, and soon became so good that he was able to execute a somersault effortlessly. Although Jackie joked about wondering what Aarif was trying to prove to him, he also acknowledged his junior’s tenacity and gave him some valuable advice.
Stanley also praised Zhang Yixing (also known as Lay from K-pop group EXO) for courageously jumping into a pit of hyenas to rescue Aarif’s and Indian actress Amyra Dastur’s characters. “We borrowed seven real hyenas, but their trainer was always on standby, so we had nothing to worry about,” Stanley assured us.
The men aren’t the only ones who get to kick butt on screen: Amyra, her fellow Bollywood starlet Disha Patani, and Chinese yoga instructor Mu Qimiya also get to show off some moves of their own as well. 24-year-old Disha confessed that since it was her and 23-year-old Amyra’s very first action film, “most of the scenes were difficult”, but they gave it their all nonetheless. “We were so excited to do an action film with Jackie Chan, we didn’t care about getting hurt!” she laughed.
Kung Fu Yoga opens in cinemas on January 27.
Source: Toggle