This is a reminder that even our heroes and idols had their own heroes and idols that they looked up to at one point. For the legendary Jackie Chan that hero is Bruce Lee, and his best moment was when he was fighting the man in Enter the Dragon, the one film that is almost universally known by nearly everyone concerning Bruce Lee. Jackie Chan actually goes into great description about how he was waiting for his turn to get into the huge brawl that Lee’s character instigates in the underground chambers where Han keeps his communication equipment and his illicit activities.
Chan was, at that time, just another extra in the film. I know, it’s hard to imagine Jackie Chan ever being an extra with all the films he’s done and the great role’s he’s played. But he was just another henchman that was there to get his butt kicked and was dispatched in short order as Bruce put him down without hesitation. Once the cameras were off though it was a different story.
Jackie actually relates that he did get hit with one of Bruce’s sticks and felt it quite solidly on his skull, but was little more than a tap that he recovered from quickly. Once the cameras were off though Bruce, who knew that he’d missed his mark, went rushing to Jackie and, not knowing who he was, still attempted to see if he was alright. Jackie actually vamped it up a bit and pretended to be more hurt than he really was simply because he liked the attention. And who can blame him? Bruce Lee, a major action star, was trying to see if he was okay! That would get a lot of guys to act wounded just to be given that kind of attention.
At any rate throughout the day Bruce would keep checking on Jackie to make sure he was okay and would talk to him occasionally just to get to know him. That happens to be Jackie Chan’s most perfect day in his mind. That’s kind of impressive really with all he’s done in his career and all he’s accomplished that he would remember the day that Bruce Lee made him feel special as one of his fondest memories.
If you’ve ever watched a Jackie Chan movie you know that one way or another he gets messed up in his movies, even if it’s something minor or something really painful. He’s broken nearly every bone in his body and been laid up for months at a time due to a stunt going wrong, but he’s always come back and found a way to finish the film and keep moving forward. This is the guy that seems to be indestructible no matter how he gets hurt, but what amounted to a love tap from a fellow actor was what he decided to remember so well.
It doesn’t take much to make a person remember one thing in particular. It’s the emotions we’re feeling and the situation as it unfolds that decides whether or not that memory will hold for a long, long time, or will be forgotten the next week or so. For Jackie Chan, this memory of Bruce Lee was obviously something special, and no one can really say otherwise.
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