Jackie Chan Retiring From Action Movies Following 'Chinese Zodiac 2012'

By Charles Poladian | November 20 2012 4:46 PM

Jackie Chan says “Chinese Zodiac 2012” will be his last action movie, but don't expect him to slow down any time soon. Chan, known for his charitable activities, has been named Social Philanthropist of the Year award by Harper's Bazaar magazine.

Reuters

Action star Jackie Chan may have made millions of dollars at the U.S. box office, but this doesn’t mean he has to like the country that helped make him an international superstar. In a recent interview on a Hong Kong television show, Chan expressed some pretty baffling anti-Americanism, calling the U.S. “the most corrupt [country] in the world.”

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Jackie Chan, now 58, began as a stuntman in martial arts movies. In the 1970s Chan became an Hong Kong action star with movies such as “Snake in the Eagle's Shadow” and “Drunken Master.” But it wasn't until the mid-1990s that Chan became big in Hollywood.

Chan has been at it for more than 40 years and has said “Chinese Zodiac 2012” will be his last action movie, according to Reuters. His style of action on screen, equal parts funny and physical, has always relied on doing his own stunts, and that physical toll surely weighed in his decision to step away from action movies.

Chan spoke about his decision following “Chinese Zodiac 2012,” which he also wrote and directed, in May to The Telegraph. “I tell you, I’m not young any more. I’m really, really tired,” he said. Chan also noted that there is plenty of violence in the world as it is without adding another action movie to the mix.

Instead Chan wants to imitate Robert De Niro, according to The Telegraph, playing dramatic roles and showing off more of his acting skills. Speaking to the British paper, Chan said, “I want the audience to know I’m not only a comedian. I can act. Day by day, year by year, I’m going to show you the real Jackie Chan.”

“Chinese Zodiac 2012,” which also stars Oliver Platt and Emilie Guillot, will premiere in China in December, according to Reuters. While Chan will continue to act, he plans on spending more time on another passion: the philanthropy he has pursued for more than 25 years. On Monday, while in Beijing for a coming documentary, he auctioned off his Bentley 666 for charity, which netted a donation of $961,837, according to Reuters.

Chan founded the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation, which provides scholarships as well as other organizational aid to Hong Kong, and the Dragon's Heart Foundation which helps children and the elderly in rural parts of China.