How can you not smile when you see Jackie Chan? The martial artist/actor/director/producer has one of the most blindingly positive screen presences in the business, regardless of whether he’s kicking someone’s teeth out.
His ambitiously choreographed slapstick is the perfect mix of Chaplinesque comedy and Bruce Lee takedowns. Chan has thrilled audiences by breaking bones, dislocating joints, and enduring numerous lacerations. And judging from hours of behind-the-scenes footage and bloopers, Chan somehow always seems to suffer for his art with a big grin on his face.
Has Chan won any awards?
Although many of his films have been hits at the US and international box offices, he isn’t exactly known for backflipping the light fantastic on the Oscars red carpet, perhaps because martial arts films and action comedies are routinely ignored by the Academy.
Despite that, Chan has received nominations and won numerous awards throughout his 60-year career, starting in 1983 when he was nominated for the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography for his work on Dragon Lord. He was also nominated by the same folks for Best Actor in 1985 for Project A, followed by Best Director in 1986 for the iconic Hong Kong actioner Police Story.
American action fans have probably heard of the Police Story franchise. Police Story 3 was released in the US in the mid-’90s under the title Supercop, and the first three form a trilogy that many consider among Chan’s best cinematic offerings.
Chan’s first win at the Hong Kong Film Awards was in 1989 when he nabbed Best Picture for Rouge, a film he produced and for which he also acted as stunt choreographer. In total, Chan has won seven Hong Kong Film Awards, plus five Taiwanese Golden Horse Film Awards. He also won a 1999 Blockbuster Entertainment Award, along with Rush Hour co-star Chris Tucker, for Favorite Duo — Action-Adventure.
In addition, he’s won two MTV Movie Awards, a People’s Choice Award, several Kid’s Choice Awards, an American Choreography Award, and three prestigious honors from the Asian Pacific Film Festival, including Lifetime Achievement, Special Jury, and Outstanding Achievement awards. It’s truly an extensive list of accomplishments.
But what about the Oscars?
Technically, Chan hasn’t won any Oscars — because life isn’t fair or even good half the time. However, Chan does have an honorary Oscar for his decades of work in film.
According to Reuters, Chan received the Oscar in 2016, when he quipped, “After 56 years in the film industry, making more than 200 films, and after so many broken bones, finally.” Chan thanked his fans, saying they are the reason he continues to “make movies, jumping through windows, kicking and punching.”
Next up on Chan’s dance card is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, releasing in August. There you can hear him voice Master Splinter, who definitely has the requisite experience to teach his students how to fight.