Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are fondly remembered for their formidable partnership as law enforcement agents in the Rush Hour film series. But it appears Chan, 71, initially had communication issues with Tucker, 53, while they were on set for the first Rush Hour film.
During a Tuesday appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show with his Karate Kid: Legends co-stars Ralph Macchio and Ben Wang, Chan touched on those dialogue issues when the host asked him if he familiarized himself with fast-paced English while shooting Rush Hour, PEOPLE reported.
“The whole movie, I don’t know what Chris Tucker’s saying,” Chan revealed. “Not a clue.”
He also stated that his dialogue in “every shot” was not the same because he faced comprehension issues. “My dialogue coach sits right behind the camera,” he stated. “Every scene, every shot, different dialogue.”
Chan then answered in the affirmative when Clarkson asked him if he faced comprehension issues when he had to improvise. “I asked my dialect coach, ‘What did he say?’ He speaks so fast!” Chan said.
Chan credited country music for improving his English, stating that the songs are not fast-paced. In a previous interview with Buzzfeed, Chan was asked to rank his favorite Rush Hour films.
“I don’t know. You know what, the first one: little money, little time,” he said about the first installment. “We shot it like, ‘Go, go, go, go!’ The second one: a lot of money, a lot of time. The third one: too much money, too much time.” “Too much money is no good,” he also stated.
Rush Hour hit the theatres in 1998. The cop action comedy movie featured Chan and Tucker as police officers who teamed up to “rescue the Chinese Consul’s kidnapped daughter, while trying to arrest a dangerous crime lord along the way”, per IMDb.
The success of the debut movie paved the way for two more Rush Hour sequels to be released in 2001 and 2007 respectively. Chan in December 2022 also spoke about the likelihood of releasing a fourth Rush Hour sequel.
“We’re talking about part four right now,” Chan said at a film festival in Saudi Arabia, Deadline reported.