Jackie Chan was bullied when he was a child because he was “too scared” to stand up for himself.
The 56-year-old actor has starred in dozens of martial arts movies and is famed for his combat skills. When he was younger, Jackie admits he wasn’t so brave, and was often picked on by the other children at his school because he was such an easy target.
Jackie endured years of torment, only learning to defend himself after he stood up for another child.
“I was bullied quite a lot when I was growing up in my Peking Opera School,” he explained. “I allowed myself to be bullied because I was scared and didn’t know how to defend myself. I was bullied until I prevented a new student from being bullied. By standing up for him, I learned to stand up for myself.”
Jackie is currently promoting his new film Karate Kid, a re-imagining of the 1984 classic of the same name. The movie stars Will Smith’s 11-year-old son Jaden, and Jackie was careful to impart some his wisdom on the boy during filming.
“On the set, I showed him how he could make his moves stronger and more powerful,” Jackie explained to Total Film magazine. “I shared many stories of hardship from my life with him. I constantly reminded him that he should always appreciate all that he has because so many in China have so little.”
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