Jackie Chan celebrated his 70th birthday on April 7, but fans were far too consumed by recent health concerns to be too overjoyed. Thankfully, Chan has addressed the speculation and put everyone’s mind at ease.
“Not so long ago, a lot of friends saw some recent photos of me on the internet, and they were all concerned about my health,” Chan wrote via Instagram on Sunday, April 7, seemingly referring to images circulating from an event in China last month. “I want to take this opportunity to let everyone know, don’t worry! It’s just a character appearance for my latest movie. The character requires me to have white hair, white beard and look old.”
Just a Simple Misunderstanding
It is unclear which role Chan is referring to, although he is currently filming the next Karate Kid movie, where he will reprise his role as Mr. Han. He is also anticipated to appear in Rush Hour 4, among many other projects.
Chan may have been acting since the ’60s, but he assures fans that his love for acting and exploring new and old characters won’t ever fade.
“Over the years, I’ve always been willing to try new things for a movie, no matter if it’s a challenging stunt or a breakthrough appearance for a character,” the actor told US Weekly. “I’ve been in the entertainment business for 62 years and I cherish every moment because I’m lucky I’m still filming today.”
Although he did joke that his “heart would stop” every time someone mentioned his age, fans will be pleased to learn that Jackie Chan plans to stick around for the foreseeable future. Hopefully for as long as he possibly can.
“After recovering from the shock, the second thing that would come to my mind is a saying that my big brother, Sammo Hung once said: ‘Being able to grow old is a fortunate thing,’” Chan said in the post. “Especially for us stunt people, we don’t know how lucky we are to be able to grow old.”
