Renowned actor Jackie Chan (成龙) started his career as a stuntman before moving on to lead roles in kung-fu films like “Little Tiger Of Canton (广东小老虎)” and “Drunken Master (醉拳)”. In 1980, he worked on “The Young Master (师弟出马)”, his first film with production company Golden Harvest. The movie became an instant hit, but there were reports that Jackie got a hefty paycheck for his work.
In an interview, Jackie spoke candidly about his paycheck for the film. According to reports, Golden Harvest had long pursued him, even before “The Young Master”. He said the production house first offered him HK$1 million (approximately RM574,500) for one movie, which is 10x what the highest-paid stars received during that time. However, the actor declined the offer because he was then working with famed director Lo Wei (罗維).
Years later, Jackie would finally work with Golden Harvest for “The Young Master”, and he revealed his paycheck for the film was HK$4.7 million (approximately RM2.7 million). Understandably, Jackie splurged when he received that amount. The actor said his first purchase was seven luxury watches, all bought in one go. Funnily, he also said he would try to casually show off his new watches when eating with his peers and even wore a different watch each day.
Another thing Jackie did after getting the multi-million-dollar paycheck was shopping at a high-end boutique. He said he tried a lot of items before coolly picking out the ones he wanted. He then told the store assistants that he would pay by check, but as the then-young star had never written a check before, he made the mistake of putting a different name. In the end, Jackie bashfully admitted that the payment for the clothes didn’t go through.
While it seemed irresponsible, Jackie did have a reason for his boastful spending. He explained that HK$4.7 million was the most money he had received because the actor wasn’t considered a star back then, despite already being in a few cult classics. He added that most of his peers would only receive HK$150 (approximately RM86) a day for their work on films, so the young star wanted a taste of wealth while he could.
Decades have passed since then – and Jackie is now making more money than young him could ever imagine. While he still splurges on luxury items, he has shared his plans to donate his estate before passing, indicating he’s no longer his careless young self.
Check out the interview below:
Source: China Press, YouTube
