While taking a break from filming his latest film in Australia, international martial arts superstar Jackie Chan recalled the first time he came to the country, as well as his rise from humble beginnings.
Speaking to fans during a special event dubbed "Jackie Chan in Conversation" at the Sydney Opera House, Chan said that he first came to Australia when he was just 13 years old. The actor added that during that time, the country is still not as populous as it is now, the Global Times reported.
Chan also recalled how he struggled with trying to communicate with others, having to use hand gestures and facial expressions to "talk" with people around him, as he barely knew any English. It was his father, he said, who decided to have him enrolled at a government school to learn the language.
At the school, Chan said that his teacher found his Chinese name Chan Kong-Sang hard to pronounce and gave him the name Steven instead.
The 62-year-old actor revealed that it was a Taiwanese man he met during his time in Canberra who gave him his second, and eventually more famous, English name. The man, he narrated, had helped him to get a job at a construction site. The owner of the site asked Chan what his name was, and the man simply referred to him as Jack.
Chan said that he later added the ending -ie to make it Jackie after a Feng Shui expert said that it would bring him luck, SBS reported. From there, the actor has steadily climbed to the top, with his current net worth reaching $1.79 billion. His latest outing "Skiptrace" with American actor Johnny Knoxville proved to be a box-office success in his native country, raking in more than $60 million.
Chan is currently filming a new movie "Bleeding Steel" in Australia. The film will reportedly be his first foray into the science fiction genre and also stars Australian actress Tess Haubrich, China's Erica Xia-Hou and Show Luo, and Taiwanese actress Nana Ouyang.