Jackie Chan Is Still Doing His Own Stunts at 71

Jackie Chan wants you to know that although he’s a grownup, he can still pack a punch.

“Today, I’m 71, [and] I still can fight,” the iconic martial artist said on Aug. 9.

Chan made the declaration during his acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. His comments stem from a conversation he had with his father as a teenager.

“One day, my father was cooking a big dinner party in the American embassy,” he said. Chan’s father was a then-60-year-old professional chef who at the time worked at the American embassy in Australia. Chan went on to describe his life then: “I have nothing to do, and at that time, I was around 17. I just sit in the kitchen, watching my father, cooking the whole day.”

In a conversation about the younger Chan’s career plans, his father said that he was still able to cook at 60. Then he asked his son: “Can you still fight when you’re 60?”

In a lengthy sit-down interview at the festival, the Rush Hour actor explained that his ability to continue to perform action scenes at 71 comes from years of discipline instilled in him as a child at the China Drama Academy.

“Back then, I remember, I would get up at 5:30 a.m., go running for an hour, hang upside down for another hour, do 5,000 punches, 1,000 kicks,” Chan said. “The teachers would hit you on your head or across your face with whatever they were holding.”

Chan said that training at this pace meant that he could “take the pain [on film sets] later.”

“I broke my ankle in the morning, and I kept on working in the afternoon,” he said of making movies. “I broke my hand on the set, and the same day, I’m shooting again.”

Karate Kid: Legends, from left: Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

The winner of an honorary Academy Award did admit that he has some reservations about growing older.

“I’m scared that I’m getting old,” Chan said. “But sometimes I think about [those that came before me]. My teachers. They didn’t get old. They died very young. I was lucky. … I don’t know when I’ll die, so it doesn’t matter. Right now, I know I’m getting old, but I do my old man things. Even fighting — I do the old man fighting now.”

At the New York premiere of Karate Kid: Legends in May, Chan said he could do “triple and double kicks” decades ago, but now, as a martial arts elder statesman, “[If] I do one kick, I do one kick.”

AARP’s advocacy work includes fighting ageism in Hollywood and encouraging the entertainment industry to tap into the unique perspectives and talents that actors, writers and producers who are 50 and older bring to their work. AARP’s annual Movies for Grownups Awards, telecast on PBS, celebrates the achievements of the 50-plus community in film and television. This year’s honorees included best actress Oscar winner Demi Moore, 62 (The Substance), and best actor Oscar winner Adrien Brody, 52 (The Brutalist).