Jackie Chan, a veteran Chinese actor who recently turned 70, has resorted to social media to address health concerns.
Chan addressed his feelings about turning 70 in a post on his Facebook page, which has 71 million followers as of the time of publishing this article.
Speaking further, the veteran actor addressed misunderstandings about his health when a photo of him appearing quite elderly circulated online.
He said that it was only a costume and appearance for the character he was playing, since he needed to seem elderly in the film.
In his words:
“To all my dearest friends and fans from all over the world:
Even before today, many friends have been reminding me: “Jackie, it’s going to be your 70th birthday!”
Every time I hear this number, my heart would stop for a second – l’m 70 years old already? After recovering from the shock, the second thing that would come to my mind is a saying that my big brother, Sammo Hung once said: “being able to grow old is a fortunate thing.” Especially for us stunt people, we don’t know how lucky we are to be able to grow old.
Not so long ago, a lot of friends saw some recent photos of me on the internet, and they were all concerned about my health. I want to take this opportunity to let everyone know, don’t worry! It’s just a character appearance for my latest movie. The character requires me to have white hair, white beard and look old. Over the years, I’ve always been willing to try new things for a movie, no matter if it’s a challenging stunt or a breakthrough appearance for a character. I’ve been in the entertainment business for 62 years and I cherish every moment because I’m lucky I’m still filming today.
Recently my staff have been going through my photo archives and found so many memorable photos. I’ve selected a few to post with this message. Looking at these photos brings back so many fond memories. All I can say is: I love making movies and I love you all.
A big thank you to everyone for all your birthday wishes. Hope everyone stays happy and healthy!”
