Jackie Chan plunged into icy waters in Iceland soon after five-hour operation in hospital

Boon Chan
The Straits Times
Friday, Jan 20, 2017

Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan, who has often put his life on the line when making movies, did so once again for his new action comedy Kung Fu Yoga, which opens here on Jan 27.

While shooting the film, in which he plays an archeology professor searching for the lost treasure of the ancient Magadha Kingdom, he plunged into icy waters in Iceland for a scene, not long after he underwent a five-hour operation in London.

Chan, 62, who was in Singapore on Friday (Jan 20) to promote the movie, said he had been feeling unwell, but when he was in London the pain he felt was overwhelming.

A doctor was called to attend to Chan, who was promptly sent to the hospital.

He ended up in the operating theatre for five hours while his assistants waited outside, crying.

It turned out that his skin and muscle had rotted and his intestines were out of alignment.

He said: "I arrived at the hospital at 7pm and could have gone just like that."

Initially, he had kept mum about this incident. It was his Kung Fu Yoga co-star Aarif Rahman who let it slip while they were promoting the film in Beijing on Jan 19.

The following day, he continued his work in London before flying off to Iceland to shoot in freezing waters. "After travelling all the way there, to use a stand-in, no way, I decided to do it myself."

He added: "I could have stopped production for me to rest for a few months. But I thought of the large crew on set waiting.

"Every year, I rack my brains to think of how to give back to my fans. I can't shake hands and sign autographs for everyone, so movies are the best present I can give them."

The Straits Times

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