After his decades-long career in the film industry, Jackie Chan finally got his hands on an Oscar.
Chan, 62, was awarded an honorary Oscar at the Eighth Annual Governors Awards at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Tom Hanks, Michelle Yeoh and Chris Tucker presented Chan with the award in the final presentation of the evening.
“As you know the Governors Awards are a chance for the Academy to recognize unique achievements across an artist’s whole body of work, because [throwing his arm out demonstratively] Jackie Chan, the man that puts the ‘Chan’ in ‘Chan-Tastic,’ because he has worked mostly in martial arts films and action comedies, two genres that have been, for some reason, shall we say, historically underrepresented at the Oscars, a fact that will change if I have any pull on the board of Governors,” Hanks said, garnering laughs from the crowd.
He went on to discuss Chan’s “enormous creativity” before finishing with, “Great acting coms in many different forms, but if you are an actor you always know it when you see it. Jackie Chan’s films have ben incredibly serious, sometimes gruesomely so, as well as incredibly hilarious to the point pop delighting millions of peoples around the globe.”
Hanks then compared Chan to the likes of John Wayne and Buster Keaton.
“But Jackie does something that neither one of those great screen legends was ever able to do,” he said. “Neither one of those great artists ever, ever put the bloopers on during the closing credits.”
Chan’s Police Story 3 costar Yeoh costar then took the stage, and introduced a video montage of Chan’s work before Tucker made his entrance.
“The fact that I got to work with Jackie was amazing, a living legend,” he said, later adding, “Jackie, I love you, you are part of me, and congratulations, and I am so thrilled and honored to present to my good friend, Jackie Chan, with the honor Oscar, ladies and gentlemen give it up for Jackie Chan!”
Chan accepted his award, calling it a “dream” and reflecting on his memories growing up and watching the Oscars with his parents.
“My dad always said, ‘Son, you get so many movie awards in the world, when are you going to get one of these?’ Then I just look at my dad. ‘Ha, ha, ha. Dad, I only make comedy action movies,’ ” he shared.
The actor gave his thanks to the people and places that helped him get to his award-winning night.
“After 56 years in the film industry, making over 200 films, I’ve broken so many bones, finally this is mine,” he said. “I want to thank you, Hong Kong, such an incredible city, my hometown, my hood, who make me. China, my country, I am proud to be Chinese. Thank you, Hollywood, for all of those years teaching me so many things, and also make me a little bit famous. I’m just honored to be here.”
Chan took to Twitter to share more feelings about the night.
“So honored and happy and lost for words!” he wrote in a post.
Source : People.com
