Was Jackie Chan’s father a spy?

Legendary martial arts star Jackie Chan has unveiled a shocking family secret: his deceased father, Charles Chan, was an undercover spy. The 71-year-old actor made this incredible disclosure in a recent magazine interview, recounting how he learned the truth about his secret agent dad.

Jackie Chan unearths family’s secret spy past

Jackie said his father revealed the fact to the actor when he was in his 40s. Charles suddenly revealed to his son, while driving, “Son, I’m old. I might sleep and never wake up. I have a secret to tell you. You are not Chan. Your original name is Fang.” This revelation, which shocked Chan deeply, exposed a secret past he had been kept in the dark about all his life.

The entirety of the Jackie’s family’s fascinating background was already earlier examined in the 2003 film Traces of the Dragon: Jackie Chan and His Lost Family, for which Jackie himself commissioned the work. The movie investigated Charles Chan's service as a Chinese government spy during the Chinese Civil War of the 1940s. It also discovered another astonishing fact about Jackie’s mother Lee-lee who had at some point been engaged in opium trafficking and gambling.

In spite of these sensational family disclosures, Jackie Chan has achieved his own destiny to international stardom. Having made a name for himself in Asia, his Hollywood success began with Rumble in the Bronx in 1995 followed by global box office success for the Rush Hour series, alongside Chris Tucker.

Fans can now watch Chan again play Mr Han in Karate Kid: Legends, which brings a fresh crop of martial arts stars to the limelight.