Jackie Chan has cemented a strong legacy all thanks to his unique stunts and comic timing that made him a legend. Having already won the Hong Kong market with his acting chops, he became a leading man in Hollywood due to his work in Rush Hour where he starred alongside Chris Tucker. Their extraordinary on-screen chemistry was an instant hit that led to two sequels.
But fans might be surprised to know that the duo was not having their best time communicating with one another especially when they were in the initial phase of the production process.
Jackie Chan Was Unable to Understand Chris Tucker’s English
Jackie Chan has made huge improvements in learning the English language to make his work feasible in Hollywood. But, the road was never easy for him which got more challenging when he met Chris Tucker for the 1998 film, Rush Hour. Back in 2001, he talked about his experience of the film, sharing that he was frustrated after being unable to decode what the American actor said at the time.
“My English is not that good, but he speaks very terrible English, too.”
He continued to share that even his manager was on the same page as him regarding that matter.
“He talk to me and I say to my manager, ‘What happened? Is my English getting worse?’ But my manager say he don’t understand him, either.”
However, the stand-up comedian’s thoughts slightly vary from Chan’s.
In the same interview, he talked about knowing who the martial artist was, even deeming himself to be his big fan. However, the other side didn’t know Tucker leading to initial miscommunication, or no communication at all!
“I knew who Jackie was – I’ve always been a big fan – so I was telling him what we could do to make the movie good and stuff, and he was looking at me like, ‘Who is this black man talking to me?’” The Friday actor shared. “I thought he didn’t know English ’cause he didn’t say one word. I said, ‘This man’s not talking – how we gonna do this movie?’”
Despite the initial misunderstands, they eventually became great friends off-screen. However, Chan’s calling out Tucker’s English ‘terrible’ was quite ironic since he has himself admitted to having a hard time learning a new language.
Jackie Chan is Not a Champ in English!
In a 1990s interview, the Fist of Fury actor talked about facing language obstacles during his early days in the United States. He went as far as to claim it ‘the most difficult language.’
“You know… English is… I think it’s the most difficult language. First time when I came to the United States I just knew Hello my name is Jackie Chan.”
Due to the language barrier, he was even struggling to have basic amenities at the time as he confessed that he had no idea how to even order food. When he was filming the 1998 film, he was in the process of learning the language which is why he often struggled to deliver dialogues perfectly. Despite the hindrance, he eventually managed to pull it off with the film becoming a commercial success that grossed over $244 million worldwide.
Source: New York Post
