China’s ‘Rambo’ and Jackie Chan co-star Wu Jing returns to filming after leg injury
The 44-year-old Beijing-born actor and director of Wolf Warrior has been plagued by injuries since he was a boy
Jackie Chan’s co-star in Climbers has returned to the film set having spent two months in hospital
Unus Alladin
Published: 5:50pm, 24 Mar, 2019
Wu Jing in Wolf Warrior 2. Photo: Handout
China’s top martial arts star Wu Jing went straight from his hospital bed to the set of his next movie Climbers, having spent two months overseas recovering from his latest injury.
Wu, whose Wolf Warrior franchise broke all-time box office records on the mainland, is co-starring with Hong Kong martial arts legend, Jackie Chan, in the mountain epic, Climbers, which tells the story of the first Chinese mountaineers to conquer Mount Everest in 1960.
The 44-year-old Beijing-born Wu, who starred with American martial arts hero, Scott Adkins, in the patriotic war movie, Wolf Warrior, has rejoined his film crew in China to continue shooting his latest venture after being seen by netizens in a wheelchair at the airport on the mainland recently. His public relations team said he had been seriously injured during filming of Climbers and had emergency treatment abroad but went “straight back to his film crew after returning home”.
American martial arts hero Scott Adkins co-starred with Wu Jing in Wolf Warrior. Photo: Handout
Wu began shooting Climbers in January, experiencing extreme cold as he climbed the 5,254-metre Gangshika snow peak in Qinghui, China.
It’s not known exactly how Wu had injured his leg but the martial arts star has been pictured in crutches or in a wheelchair more frequently over the years as he struggles with a series of injuries. He even appeared in crutches at his wedding to TV presenter Xie Nan in 2014.
Wolf Warrior poster. Photo: Handout
Since he was six years old, he has been injured either while learning martial arts in Beijing or at the film set, a similar scenario to “his older brother” martial arts superstar Jet Li, who has also been plagued by injuries and is recovering from hyperthyroidism.
Wu Jing is wheeled by airport staff after having leg surgery. Photo: Sina Weibo
Wu Jing in crutches. Photo: Weibo
And recently he talked about his misfortunes in a TV interview aired on March 8, when he revealed to the host that he can obtain a “disability certificate” in China owing to his many injuries. He talked about going through pain and suffering over the years.
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He has shown absolute dedication to his craft as an actor and director, rushing back to rejoin his film crew for Climbers.
Climbers poster. Photo: Handout
“I was very determined to succeed. I grew up learning about pain and experiencing a lot of pain. If you want to continue, you need to accept [the pain] and continue,” said Wu, who also starred in the Chinese sci-fi adventure The Wandering Earth which was released last month. He said it was only through such hardship could he succeed as an actor and film director.
Wu Jing on the set of Climbers. Photo: Sina Weibo
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Nicknamed China’s Rambo by his fans, Wu’s Wolf Warrior 2 released in 2017, which he also directed, became China’s biggest-ever grossing film, earning US$850 million in China alone. Wu’s The Wandering Earth was also a smash hit, becoming the second biggest grossing movie of all time in China, grossing US$600 million. Climbers is set to be released on National Day in China this year.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: China star Wu Jing back on set after injury