Stunt Team

Written by Daniel | 30 June 2008

Although Jackie is one of, if not the biggest action star in the world. This doesn't mean it does it all himself, in fact he has a huge family who help him on screen and off screen.

It all started many years ago. At the time Jackie was starring in lead roles, this was when he began to form relationships with people he was working with. Due to them working together so much, it meant the team gained a rhythm, trust and speed.

Slowly from this time, the group became the 'Jackie Chan stuntmen association'. And by the time of Project A (1983) it had grown and become a family of 6.

So what does the team do? When a film is made, it is important that the leading actors do not get hurt. There is also the case, that the leading actor might not be able to perform and action sequence or do it safely with correct timing.

This would be the role of the Stunt team.

Because Jackie trusts his team with his life, it means they can choreograph fight scenes with quicker speed, danger and flexibility. Because the stunt team have all had film experience, it means they can also come up with ideas, and perhaps help Jackie choreograph. With all this trust and skill, it means Jackie Chan is able to create some of the best and biggest stunts, fights and action sequences in the world.

And what makes them special? They are, and will always remain a close family. Who will always want to use old fashioned methods to get the result.

However.

The job may sound easy, it may seem a lot of fun! But this is not the case. In fact when the team isnt filming. They will be training and practising new things. This includes things like: Timing, Rhythm, reaction speed, flexiblity, choreograph new moves, practice camera work and One of my favourites: Learning how to fall. Being so prepared, they even have their own library of ways to fall. Which are practised and looked for improvement all the time.

Success!

With many films under their belt, some of the greatest fight sequences ever to be filmed on camera, and some of the worst injuries. The Jackie Chan Stuntmen association has grown to around 20-25 expertly trained stuntmen. Being so successful they have even inspired others to follow by creating their own stunt teams.

Andy Cheng

A Huge thankyou to Lisa Clemens for the photo.


Andy Cheng
By Lisa Clemens

Andy started with the stunt team at the same time as Brad Allen, while Mr Nice Guy was being made. I interviewed him a few years ago for Screen Power magazine. We talked about how he and Brad both doubled Ron Smoorenburg for Who Am I. He has also doubled Jackie in Shanghai Noon and Rush Hour 2. In fact he was nominated for a Taurus Stunt award on each of these and won 3 awards for Rush Hour 2, Best Fight for the massage parlor fight, Best High Work and Best Specialty Stunt, both for the escape out of the casino window.

He has since moved to Los Angeles where he has made several films as the action choreographer and has directed two films, End Game and Redline.

Andy is a very nice guy and while he has not worked with Jackie since Rush Hour 2, he and Jackie still keep in touch and get together when ever Jackie is in LA. One of the reasons they are such close friends is that Jackie actually saved his life. During the interview, he told me that while filming Rush Hour 2, Andy almost drowned when he was sucked under a boat. He and Nicky were supposed to fall off the end of the boat and when Nicky came up but Andy didn't, they stopped the boat (But in reversing the engines to stop, he got spun around and got trapped under it) Everyone was looking back several yards behind the boat, but Jackie was looking down close to it. Just as Andy passed out, Jackie saw his coat and grabbed him and pulled him out before he drowned.