Celebrated: Jackie Chan’s lucky stars

Veteran actor to receive honorary award at Oscars

Martial arts expert and renowned actor Jackie Chan will soon be receiving a lifetime achievement Oscar for his contributions to world cinema, reported Reuters.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the announcement recently.

The now 62-year-old Chan – a native of Hong Kong – has popularised films such as Kung Fu Panda, The Karate Kid and the Rush Hour franchise.

He will be joining documentary film-maker Frederick Wiseman, British film editor Anne V Coates and casting director Lynn Stalmaster as recipients of the 2016 Governors Award.

Each recipient will receive an honorary Oscar statuette, recognising their hard work and contribution at a gala in Los Angeles this November. Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs called the recipients “true pioneers and legends of their craft” in a recent statement.

While Chan made his film debut at the age of eight, his first major breakthrough came with 1978’s Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. Since then, he has acted in, and even written and directed more than 30 martial arts movies in Hong Kong but never won an Oscar. He has developed a reputation on account of his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, innovative stunts and improvised weapons. In August, he was ranked the second-highest paid actor in the world by Forbes magazine, with estimated 2016 earnings of $61 million, just below The Fast and the Furious star Dwayne Johnson.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2016.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.