TIME: You've waited a long time for a hit like this in the U.S.
Chan: Am I surprised? Yes and no. People say I should stay in Hollywood. But Rush Hour's success lets me come back to Hong Kong and make an Asian film. In America, there is no way I can make the kind of movie I like: love stories, dramas.

TIME: Are you worried that people in the industry see you as simply an action hero?
Chan: No. In the American market, people think of Jackie Chan as the new action star. I am really an old action star. In Asia, everybody knows me already. Rush Hour was 100% for the American market. I went to the premiere in Taiwan. When I say [in the movie], "What's up, nigger?" nobody smiles. There are some American VIPs there, and they laugh. The audience thinks they're crazy. Why? They just cannot catch the dialogue, especially Chris Tucker speaking: "BlaaaaaaaBluuuuuuu." Even the translators can't keep up. After 10 minutes, they just put a subtitle: "How are you?"

TIME: What were the toughest scenes for you?
Chan: The most difficult thing was the dialogue. For a start, Chris Tucker, he's crazy! The first time I meet him, I open the door, "Ah, Chris Tucker!" and he says, "Ah, Jackie Chan!" And 15 minutes later I don't even know what he's talking about. I have a dialogue coach every day to practice. So they put the camera on and say, "O.K., shooting." But the dialogue is not the same as in the script. Chris Tucker would start to ad lib, and I'd end up saying, "Hey, where's my dialogue? Does nobody follow the script?" That drove me crazy.

TIME: Do you ad-lib in the movie?
Chan: I ad-lib while I'm fighting. Chris Tucker does a lot of verbal comedy. I do a lot of action comedy. But he taught me a lot of bad jokes, black jokes, bad words.

TIME: In the past, you have turned down some scripts that contain foul language or dirty jokes. Why?
Chan: Because so many children see my movies. All my action films have lots of fighting but no blood. I often ask art directors to put no smoking signs behind me. In Rush Hour I pick up a newspaper off the floor and put it in the trash can. I want to educate children.

TIME: Some people have complained that Rush Hour merely reinforces standard Chinese stereotypes.
Chan: For us--Chow Yun-fat, Jet Li, me--it's either Hong Kong Cop or Killer from China, because our English isn't strong. I want to be something else, like a fighter pilot in Top Gun, but no audience would believe it.

TIME: Were the stunts in Rush Hour good enough for you?
Chan: For the Americans, yes. For me, no. In Chinese films we fight half an hour, but American productions have their own formula. I'd want to continue fighting, but after two minutes the director would say, "Enough, finish, cut." Anyway, the box office rules, and it seems they were right and I was wrong.

TIME: Do Americans appreciate your fighting style?
Chan: They used to like only John Wayne's type: boom, out, one punch. They'd say, "Jackie your punch has no power. You fight this guy for 10 minutes: double kick, turning kick, five punches, still standing there." I said: "That's art, not fighting." But later on, everybody begins to imitate my style.

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R E L A T E D   S T O R I E S :

MR. CHAN GOES TO HOLLYWOOD Action idol Jackie Chan finally makes it big in Tinseltown with his new box-office smash, Rush Hour
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