Jackie Chan Wants To Be The ‘Asian Robert De Niro’

Jackie Chan is already a world-renowned action star, but the Police Story star has his sights set on an altogether different title. According to Chan, he wouldn’t mind if the world thought of him the “Asian Robert De Niro.”

Although this writer can’t remember the last time De Niro battled a seemingly endless wave of bad guys with a tall ladder or squared off against three Amazonian women in a subterranean cavern, apparently Chan’s priorities are shifting a bit as he gets older. Instead of an action star, Jackie wants to be known as a full-blown dramatic actor.

During his recent chat with China News Asia, Jackie Chan discussed his legacy and what he wants people to remember for when all is said and done. While Chan’s fans will always know him as the Drunken Master, the actor clearly wants to leave an altogether different mark on the world of cinema.

“When I travel around the world, no matter where I go – airport, shopping mall, theatre, on the street, in the car passing by, the children shout ‘Jackie Chan!’ and go like this. I want people to say ‘Jackie Chan, he’s a good actor, like Robert De Niro.”

Chan’s recent efforts have definitely put an emphasis on drama. Although Chinese Zodiac was a deliriously goofy throwback to his more comedic roles, films such as The Shinjuku Incident and Police Story 2013 have proven that Jackie Chan can hold his own when it comes to tackling meatier roles. Of course, those films still have one or two well-choreographed fights scenes to keep his old-school fans happy.

Chan’s latest endeavor, the $65 million epic Dragon Blade — the most expensive movie in Chinese film history — still relies heavily on fight sequences, though it’s obvious from the trailer that Chan is still headed in a more dramatic direction. To bring the motion picture to life, writer/director Daniel Lee also enlisted the help of John Cusack and Adrien Brody.

According to CRI English, Cusack was particularly excited about the project.

“For me I grew up loving Asian cinema, and grew up loving Mr. Jackie Chan and he sort of hates this but everybody sort of says ‘Jackie Chan is so great. Jackie Chan is so great. It such an honor to work with Jackie Chan.’ He hears that all the time but, it happens to be true.”

Are you a fan of Jackie Chan? Do you think the action hero will ultimately become the “Asian Robert De Niro”?

[Lead image via Kavenyou]