Jackie Chan never had any interest in making The Protector, yet ended up starring in it anyway. In 1985 alone, the martial arts legend starred in several Hong Kong movies, including Heart of Dragon, My Lucky Stars, Police Story, and The Protector. The latter of these films isn’t well-liked by Jackie Chan fans or even the actor himself.
In his autobiography, Never Grow Up, Chan itted that he wasn’t fond of the plan for The Protector. While it was an action film like so many other Jackie Chan movies, it was still quite different from his usual work. As Chan noted in his book, The Protector featured plenty of violence, nudity, and profanity. Of course, this sort of content isn’t exactly unheard of for an R-rated 1980s action vehicle, but it’s still very much outside of Chan’s wheelhouse. Feeling that it was too off-brand for him, Chan wanted no part of The Protector, but because of his contract with Golden Harvest, the studio behind most of his biggest movies from the era, he had no say in the matter and had to make the film regardless of his opinions on it.
Why Golden Harvest Forced Jackie Chan To Make The Protector
According to the kung fu icon, The Protector fit into a larger plan that Golden Harvest had for Chan in the 1980s. By this point, the studio had expanded its reach into the United States and wanted Chan to become a star there as well. In 1985, Chan was strictly a Hong Kong star and was a long way away from becoming a household name in America. Golden Harvest hoped to change that with The Big Brawl and The Protector. But instead of leaning on the image he had already crafted through movies like Drunken Master and Project A, Golden Harvest decided to cast him as “a tough guy in the mold of Clint Eastwood.”
Chan noted in his book that this decision was motivated by the “demands of the market.” That makes sense, given that this particular period was partially defined by ruthless killing machines like the ones portrayed in Sylvester Stallone’s three Rambo movies, Escape from New York, Sudden Impact, The Terminator, and more. The Protector fit into this formula but ultimately didn’t inspire much interest from audiences. As a result, it bombed at the box office and Golden Harvest went back to basics with Chan, who proceeded to star in successful Hong Kong action comedies such as Police Story, Armour of God, Dragons Forever, and Project A Part II.
Why Jackie Chan Went Back To Making American Movies
What happened with The Protector culminated in a long break from American movies for Chan, but it wasn’t his last attempt to make a name for himself in Hollywood. In the 1990s, Chan developed a large degree of popularity with American viewers when he returned. The success he built in the United States during the decade stemmed from the actor being able to use his own style of action and martial arts. Abandoning the offbeat approach taken by The Protector and making movies true to his cinematic reputation in Hong Kong helped turn things around for Jackie Chan in Hollywood.
