‘Ankle could break again’: Jackie Chan once admitted to toning down his martial arts stunts after suffering horrific injury

Jackie Chan is one of the most beloved actors in the world. The Hong Kong-based actor has worked in over 100 films. However, his journey as an actor turned martial artist has not been easy. One of Jackie’s biggest obstacles was her injuries. After suffering multiple mishaps, he decided to tone down his stunts.

Although the directors wanted Jackie Chan to fill the Bruce Lee void after 1973, Jackie won the love of audiences by combining comedy and martial arts in his films. Additionally, his films were peppered with iconic stunts performed by himself. However, Jackie had to pay the price.

People warned Jackie Chan to take risks

According to Jackie, there is no part of his body he hasn’t broken. Chan injured himself from head to toe doing stunts in his films.

In 2010, Chan revealed that he slowed down his stunts because he was afraid of hurting himself more. During an interview with Martial Arts Entertainment.com he said:

“Yes, a lot of injuries. After Rumble in the Bronx, every time I jump, I’m scared. The ankle might break again. Because I don’t have confidence anymore. And besides that, a lot of people told me not to take these risks anymore, we want to see more films. I use my choreography techniques with different things. I don’t want to take any more risks in my life.

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Jackie Chan started taking it slow with stunts in 2010. The 68-year-old realized his body needed it as he got older. Eventually, many of his stunts were performed by stuntmen.

The worst stunt injury of Jackie Chan’s career

Jackie Chan had a reputation for doing his stunts and he had some good and bad experiences doing the same. According to Chan, his worst stunt injury occurred while filming the 1989 film, Armor of God.

Although it was a simple stunt, Chan was unhappy with the first take. He had to jump on a tree branch. On her second attempt, the branch broke under the pressure and Jackie’s head collided with a giant boulder. His forehead was gushing with blood, knocking Jackie unconscious. He was immediately taken to hospital.

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Due to the injury, a piece of bone from his skull entered his brain. Jackie had to have brain surgery to remove the bone fragment. Although he recovered within a week and returned to set to complete filming, he still feels pain from the injury to this day. In fact, there is a hollow sport on his head which is not visible due to his hairstyle.