A list about actors who perform their own stunts wouldn't be complete without the stunt performer to end them all, the inimitable Jackie Chan. Chan started his acting career working as a stunt double and performer on films including Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, so with a background as established as that it wasn't surprising that he went on to deliver some of the most impressive action scenes in cinema history. It's difficult to know where to begin when it comes to analysing Chan's great stunts - from clinging to the side of a bus in Police Story to the clock tower fall in Project A, Chan set the bar for life-threatening stunt-work so high that few have even come close. The documentary My Stunts offers a wonderful insight into just how much time and effort Chan puts into both the stunts and the fight scenes, sometimes spending months choreographing the action so that the end result is as impressive as possible. Clearly, the time and effort more than paid off. Not surprisingly, given the number of bones Chan has broken over the course of his career, when he moved to America to star in movies the insurance companies were not about to allow him to take the same risks he could get away with in Hong Kong. Perhaps this is why his Hollywood fares have disappointed his fans - the appeal of watching Jackie Chan in action is the knowledge that he frequently puts himself in hospital for his craft, and the safety-conscious Americans took this aspect away from his performances. Nevertheless, his king of the stunts crown isn't about to be taken from him any time soon, and Chan remains in a league of his own. Like this article? Let us know in the comments section below.
