Will Smith's son tackles Jackie Chan in remake of Karate Kid
The 11-year-old actor is learning martial arts for his starring role in the remake of The Karate Kid.
The 11-year-old actor is learning martial arts for his starring role in the remake of The Karate Kid.
And with Jackie Chan as his master, his kung fu skills should be up to scratch in no time.
Kung Fu Kid is currently being filmed on Wudang Mountain in Hubei, China, under the watchful eyes of Jaden's famous father Will Smith, who is a producer for the film.
Rather than learning Karate from an eccentric Japanese teacher name Mr Myagi, as in the 1984 original, Jaden stars as Dre, who moves to China and faces bullies who speak a different language and have a totally different culture.
He meets Mr Han, played by Chan, who mentors him in kung fu and teaches him that there is more to martial arts than fighting.
Chan, 55, is already impressed with Jaden's skills and wrote on his webpage about the youngster's dedication.
The veteran Hong Kong action star said Smith Junior learned the Chinese phrases for different moves, responded to orders in Mandarin, and treated his teacher, Wu Gang, according to traditional Chinese custom.
'When he was thirsty, he gave the traditional hand gesture, putting one fist into the palm of the other, bowed and asked permission to drink some water,' he said.
Chan said Jaden even learned the drunken fighter routine he made famous in his 1978 film Drunken Master.
'He put my son to shame! I provided my son with the best martial artists in the world, and he could not be persuaded to try it. In just two months, Jaden had learned so much. He is truly a talented boy,' Chan said.
