Jackie Chan, the legendary martial artist and actor known for his fearless stunts and global blockbusters like Rush Hour and Police Story, has revealed that retirement isn’t on his radar—not now, not ever.
At 71 years old and with more than six decades in the film industry, Chan says he’s still doing what he loves most: performing his own stunts.
“Of course, I always do my own stunts. It’s who I am,” Chan told Haute Living in a recent interview about his upcoming film, Karate Kid: Legends. “That’s not changing until the day I retire, which is never!”
Despite fan concerns about his health and safety, the actor says his long history of stunt work makes preparation almost instinctive.
“When you’ve done it for 64 years straight, there’s no physical preparation anymore. Everything is in your heart and soul—it is muscle memory,” he explained.
Reflecting on how much the action genre has evolved since he began his career in 1962, Chan noted how technology has transformed the way stunts are done in modern filmmaking.
“In the old days, the only way was to be there and jump—that’s it,” he said. “Today, with computers, actors can do anything, but there’s always a sense of reality that you feel is missing.”
He acknowledged the rise of CGI and other technological tools as both a blessing and a challenge.
“On one hand, actors become more and more capable of doing impossible stunts with the help of technology,” Chan added. “And yet, on the other hand, the concept of danger and limit gets blurred and the audience is numb.”
As fans gear up for the release of Karate Kid: Legends, one thing is clear—Jackie Chan has no plans to slow down, and his iconic dedication to high-octane action remains unchanged.
