Jackie Chan: 5 things you didn't know

The 56-year-old Hong Kong native may have had the second-biggest opening of his career with the new Karate Kid, but Jackie Chan has been kicking around the big screen for decades. Here, a brief primer on the kung-fu master’s career.

1 His real name is Chan Kong-sang and he’s appeared in more than 100 films, starting with 1962’s Big and Little Wong Tin Bar (he was 8). His highest-grossing? 2001’s Rush Hour 2.

2 He worked as a stuntman on Bruce Lee’s iconic martial-arts masterpieces Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon before headlining his first megahit, 1978’s Drunken Master.

3 He holds the Guinness record for ”Most Stunts by a Living Actor” — a feat that doesn’t impress insurance companies, which won’t underwrite his dangerous productions.

4 His animated show Jackie Chan Adventures ran for five seasons on Kids WB starting in 2000. He also voiced characters in 1998’s Mulan and 2008’s Kung Fu Panda.

5 He’s released 20 albums, in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Taiwanese, and English. He studied at the Peking Opera School as a child and still often sings his movies’ theme songs.

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  By Chris Nashawaty