Jackie Chan is not just an actor, he is a living legend. The star made a name for himself with his excellent martial arts skills and versatile acting. After becoming a hit star in Chinese cinema, he conquered Hollywood and even made buddy cop movies mainstream with his hit franchise, Rush Hour. Though his journey seems grand and glamorous, he earned it all with a great amount of dedication to his craft, so he expects the same from those he takes under his wing.
Maggie Q, the actress known for her role in films like Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible III, when first came the acting industry, found a mentor in Jackie Chan. And it turns out that the funny man that we watch in movies and interviews, is not as chill when it comes to training his wards. Maggie Q shared her experience of the same.
Maggie Q reveals Jackie Chan is a very strict mentor
Margaret Quigley, commonly known as Maggie Q, found her way into the world of cinema when she was offered a role in House of the Dragon, a hit movie in Asia. But being new to the industry, she faced a lot of challenges and insults till she joined the legend Jackie Chan, who signed her up in his management group and trained her to become a martial arts star. She impressed him enough to become a member of his core stunts team, and later he even offered her small roles in movies like Rush Hour 2 and Around the World in 80 Days.
Talking about her time under Jackie Chan, the Mission Impossible star revealed,
“I would practice my sword work, and Jackie would come in during our training sessions and rehearsals and correct everything I was doing. This is going to sound severe, but it’s not. He’s sort of like that father you couldn’t really please because he’s not impressed with anyone. Obviously. I mean, you’d have to be at his level or better for him to be impressed by you. So he was really just encouraging us to get there, but there was really no like, ‘Oh, you’re doing a great job.’ So that created a really intense work ethic during that time.”
Though her scene was not in the theatre cut of Around the World in 80 Days, all her time training under Chan did pay off. She later went on to star in movies like Mission: Impossible III alongside Tom Cruise and Live Free and Die Hard, alongside Bruce Willis, two of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
Maggie Q shares her experience working with Tom Cruise
Maggie Q revealed that she was picked by J.J. Abrams almost immediately during her audition but at the time she did not get the chance to meet Tom Cruise as he was busy promoting War of the Worlds at the time. Later during the screen test, the actress got a chance to meet Cruise for the first time.
She revealed,
“I had my camera test and Tom shows up to the camera test. I didn’t know he’s showing up to the camera test and they’re sort of fixing the lighting, trying to figure out my face. The [cinematographer] is there, part of the crew is there. And from the darkness comes this very familiar face. And he’s so excited and he gives me a big hug and he’s like, ‘I’m so happy you’re here. J.J. told me all about [the audition] and I wish I could’ve been here for that.’ And I remember thinking like, ‘I have seen this face so many times. I’ve heard this voice, I’ve indulged in the experience of this person, but it was never directed back at me.’ So it was the oddest thing to be in a conversation with him when I grew up watching him.”
She further shared that her time filming with Cruise was a fun experience and even called him a “warm” person. The actress even revealed that the Top Gun star made her always feel special and included.
Mission: Impossible III is available for streaming on Paramount+.
Source: Yahoo Entertainment
