Jackie Chan & Ben Wang On Family, Fighting, And Why He’ll Never Stop Making Movies

The film speaks a lot about cultural and family traditions and why they’re important. What is a cultural or family tradition that you both hold close to your heart?

Ben: I have an irregular family situation. I have a crazy, eclectic family. I was born in China, and then I grew up in Minnesota – one thing that would happen every year is us doing Chinese Thanksgiving, so we would eat a turkey, we’d have duck. My grandma would make a duck and then my grandfather would make a biryani, and that’s how did Thanksgiving and it’s still how we do it to this day. 

I’m not going to lie, that sounds amazing, and I might do that for myself this Christmas. Jackie, what traditions to you hold close to your heart?

Jackie: My traditions are different because when I was young, my parents sent me to boarding school, they were in Australia for 10 years while I was in boarding school – so that’s our tradition, we sleep together, we’re helping each other. 

Later on, when parents would come it wasn’t easy, it didn’t feel right because it took me a couple of years to find out that my parents left me to [create a better life]. So I had to relearn how to love my father and mother because I would be like I was six and a half, and you dumped me at school, and you ran away! But later on, when I was 16, they came back and bought me a small apartment. They spent their 10-year salary, and then I realised, wow, everything they do is for me. So parents, no matter what they do, it’s the only people you believe will never hurt you, and they always love you. They left me, but they had a reason. So I always tell my students, Always be good to your parents.