Jackie Chan’s Most Brutal On-Set Injuries: Unmasking Shocking Top 10!

jackie chan injuries
jackie chan injuries

Jackie Chan may be a real-life Marvel superhero with healing abilities like Wolverine. There is no other explanation for how he has endured countless bone-breaking wounds as a martial arts movie hero, many of which have been documented by fans and news organizations like The Guardian. Nowadays, many performers perform their stunts, but very few would have the guts to take on the challenges Jackie Chan has faced over the years.

Despite sustaining many blows that would undoubtedly k!ll the typical person, Chan persevered and thrived. He has continued to return for more over the years for some reason. Chan is getting up there in years, so his days of performing lethal stunts may be over, but he can look back with pride, knowing that he made it through the worst of it.

Over The Railing / Police Story (1985)

jackie chan injuries

In the original 1980s action classic Police Story, one of Jackie’s most painful stunts profoundly affected the audience. He is fighting two evil people when they throw him through a trellis and into the ground below after throwing him over a railing.

Watching is horrible because no padding or mat was used in the scene. A less-than-excited but still very much alive Jackie is seen in the closing credits turning around and completing the shot.

The Eye Injury / Drunken Master (1978)

jackie chan injuries

Chan nearly lost an eye in a fight with actor Hwang Jang-Lee in this timeless kung fu film from 1978. Chan received a high kick to the head, breaking his supraciliary ridge, effectively breaking his eye socket, and almost losing an eye.

Chan would have lost the ability to use that eye permanently without prompt intervention. On the movie’s set, there were other injuries as well. He also sustained a permanently disfiguring lacerated eyebrow.

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Broken Ankle / Rumble In The Bronx (1995)

jackie chan injuries

Jackie Chan’s breakthrough success, Rumble In The Bronx, which also marked the beginning of his highly successful American film career, allowed American viewers to get to know him better. This unique blend of witty comedy and intense action scenes in New York City became an instant smash and the iconic on-set accidents that characterized many of his foreign films.

The most infamous scene was where Chan jumped onto a hoverboard and misjudged his landing, breaking his ankle. The bungled stunt, which appears to be utterly excruciating, is shown in the end credits scene. As usual, Chan had a cast applied to it before covering it to make it appear like a sneaker so he could keep filming.

The Glass Window / Police Story 2 (1988)

jackie chan injuries

Chan also experienced some hardships in this sequel to the traumatic first Police Story. Chan dives through a glass window that his stunt team had replaced with safety glass during a sequence in which he leaps across a line of buses.

Sadly, Chan miscalculated the jump and leaped through an actual glass window. His face, hands, arms, and neck all sustained several lacerations due to the accident. As a result, Chan had to continue the movie while sporting bandages covered in the skin.

The Helicopter / Police Story 3: Supercop (1992)

jackie chan injuries

In the third and final act of the Police Story, Jackie is fighting criminals on top of a train when he is struck in the middle by a pole, which causes him to spin and nearly collides with a pair of stationary chopper blades. He grabbed onto the bar after a lousy take but couldn’t get past the helicopter perched on the train’s roof.

He suffered severe injury to his left shoulder due to the incident. He was left dangling from the pole until help arrived, and it was then that they discovered he had severed his shoulder muscle.

Broken Sternum / Armour of God 2: Operation Condor (1991)

jackie chan injuries

Operation Condor was known to American viewers by its subtitle, but it did contain one of Jackie’s most intolerable acts that went awry. Chan accidentally lost his grasp and fell below the ground while dangling from a long chain in an underground Nazi fortress.

He cracked his sternum due to the fierce hit, which must have been excruciating. The bungled stunt is graphic and entirely shown during Operation Condor’s end credits scene. Nevertheless, Chan’s work on scary movies inspired numerous mainstream movie action scenes, all of which credit the actor as a primary inspiration.

The Clock Tower Fall / Project A (1983)

jackie chan injuries

Chan had one of the most embarrassing wounds on Project A set during the fight scene in the clock tower. Chan eventually makes it outside the clock tower, where he is forced to cling to one of the clock’s hands for dear life.

He loses control and falls through two fabric rooftops before landing on the ground. Chan attempted the trick twice but was not satisfied with the outcome. He nearly broke his neck on the third attempt when he fell square on it. Thankfully, he made it through, continued to play the part, and finished the scene.

Head Injury / Hand of Deἀth (1975)

jackie chan injuries

There is no humor in head injuries. They may result in chronic conditions or even deἀth without appropriate medical care. On the set of Hand of Deἀth, Jackie Chan sustained one of his worst injuries when he leaped off a truck and struck his head as he fell. He jumped again before falling asleep for an hour, stopping the injury before it could manifest.

Director John Woo believed Chan would die due to the intense pain of the wound. The action star would repeatedly come dangerously near to passing out after being struck by a melon too hard.

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The Pole Slide / Police Story (1985)

jackie chan injuries

From the beginning of filming to the very last scene, this 1985 action classic was plagued with accidents. The most well-known incident was during the classic mall scenario when Chan leaped off a balcony and grabbed a pole before smashing through a glass roof.

Chan experienced electrical shocks, burns on his hands, a fractured finger, several scratches, and injuries to his pelvis and spine due to sliding down the pole. It’s unclear how he avoided getting hurt in this situation, but it’s almost certain that adrenaline played a significant role.

The Tree Fall / Armour of God (1987)

jackie chan injuries

The most infamously fatal injury to Jackie Chan happened when he was filming Armour of God. Chan made a spectacular leap onto a tree while filming in Yugoslavia, nailing the shot in one motion. He repeated the take a second time since he believed it wasn’t quick enough, but the results were terrible.

Chan tripped and hit his head on a boulder, which caused a piece of bone to enter his brain. He then fell straight to his back. Chan was bleeding heavily from his ear and was on the verge of passing out. The 1987 movie would not have been his last if medical help had not shown up in time.

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Since 2014, Eliza Grace has worked as a reporter covering movies and other forms of media. She is particularly well-known for the humorous way in which she analyses film. On a regular basis, she contributes articles to The Current that are movie reviews as well as articles about the newest movies, video games, and entertainment news. Words from Eliza Grace: "There's a standard formula for success in the entertainment medium and that's: Beat it to death if it succeeds."