Jackie Chan Comments on Worrying Recent Pics of Him Sporting Gray Hair

Action movie icon Jackie Chan recently celebrated his 70th birthday and the Rush Hour star has now had to take to social media to assure fans that he is okay after several photos of him looking gray-haired and unhealthy emerged online. Chan has now taken to Instagram to tell fans that his ‘worse for wear’ look is just for a movie, and that there’s nothing to worry about.

“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. 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.”

While Chan does not reveal which movie he will sport the gray-and-aged look for, the smart money is on it being for the upcoming Karate Kid, which will see Chan share the screen with original star and Cobra Kai actor Ralph Macchio.

“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. I’ve been in the entertainment business for 62 years and I cherish every moment because I’m lucky I’m still filming today.”

Jackie Chan Feels ‘Lucky’ to ‘Be Able to Grow Old’

Continuing, Chan reflected on turning 70, and was reminded of some wise words once told to him by his fellow martial arts actor Sammo Hung.

“Even before today, many friends have been reminding me: “Jackie, it’s going to be your 70th birthday!” Every time I hear this number, my heart would stop for a second – l’m 70 years old already? 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.” Especially for us stunt people, we don’t know how lucky we are to be able to grow old.”

After much speculation, it has now been revealed that the upcoming Karate Kid movie will star both Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, and thus bring together the two separate franchises. Macchio will return as The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai lead Daniel LaRusso, with Chan reprising the role of Mr. Han from the 2010 Jaden Smith-led The Karate Kid. While the plot itself remains largely under wraps, earlier reports have revealed that “the latest iteration will bring the story to the East Coast and focus on a teen from China who finds strength and direction via martial arts and a tough but wise mentor.”

Starring as the titular kid with a penchant for Karate Kid is American Born Chinese star Ben Wang. The actor was chosen following an extensive search, with sources saying Wang won the role due to his “deep emotional connection to the character as well as his fluency in Mandarin” as well as his skills “across many forms of martial arts, including karate, wing chun/kung fu, gumdo, kempo and taekwondo.”