On April 7, 2026, Jackie Chan turns 72—and he shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. For audiences across Asia, Chan is far more than an action star: he is a cultural institution. Born in Hong Kong and forged in the gruelling discipline of Peking Opera school, he spent decades performing his own death-defying stunts, breaking bones, shattering records and rewriting the grammar of action cinema with nothing but his body, his wit and an almost reckless sense of joy.

He made audiences laugh while genuinely fearing for his life—a combination no one before or since has quite replicated. With a new family comedy in cinemas, a touching Alzheimer’s drama winning hearts and a spy-dog action film on the horizon, the global icon continues to reinvent himself with remarkable vitality. Whether you grew up watching him dodge buses in Police Story or discovered him through Rush Hour, these essential films trace the extraordinary arc of one of cinema’s greatest living legends.

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