Jackie Chan’s Father Was a Spy! Shocking Family Secrets Revealed

The legendary action star opens up about his father’s clandestine past, a revelation he only discovered in his forties.

June-3, 2025: In a recent interview with People magazine, martial arts icon Jackie Chan shared a stunning revelation: his father, Charles Chan, was a spy during the Chinese Civil War. Now 71, Jackie recounted how he learned this secret well into adulthood.

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Reflecting on a family photograph, Jackie admitted he had no idea about his father’s double life until he was around 40. “My father was a very handsome guy, and my father was a spy,” he shared. The revelation came during a drive, when Charles told him, “Son, I’m old. I might sleep and never wake up… You are not Chan. Your original name is Fang.”

Jackie, visibly shaken, admitted he was “very shocked” and initially unable to comprehend the weight of the secret.

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In fact, this revelation was so impactful that in 2003, Jackie commissioned a documentary titled Traces of the Dragon: Jackie Chan and His Lost Family. The film explores not only his father’s espionage work in the 1940s but also his mother’s secret past as an opium smuggler and gambler.

Jackie Chan’s Journey to Stardom
Jackie Chan’s Hollywood breakthrough came in 1995 with Rumble in the Bronx, but it was 1998’s buddy cop comedy Rush Hour with Chris Tucker that made him a global star.

Recently, Jackie returned to the Karate Kid franchise with Karate Kid: Legends, joining Ralph Macchio and newcomer Ben Wang. The trailer teases action-packed scenes set in New York, with Jackie’s voice-over: “In life, you only have one question: Is it worth fighting for or not?”

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Jackie’s revelation adds a dramatic new layer to the life of one of cinema’s most beloved action stars — a man whose real name isn’t even Chan.

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Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan father spy, Jackie Chan real name Fang, Charles Chan spy, Jackie Chan family secrets, Traces of the Dragon documentary, Chinese Civil War espionage, Jackie Chan Rush Hour, Jackie Chan Karate Kid Legends