Andy Cheng 鄭繼宗 on Jackie Chan’s Stunt Team and Moving to Hollywood (Action Talks #31)

Andy Cheng (鄭繼宗) is a stuntman, stunt coordinator, and 2nd unit director known for his work with the Jackie Chan Stunt Team on Who Am I?, the Rush Hour series, and many more, as well as films like The Rundown and Shang-Chi. We talk all about the Jackie Chan brand of action and how he transitioned to being one of the biggest action directors in the world. You can see his IMDB here: and his HKMDB here: Edited by Patrick Nan Action Talks on YouTube: Action Talks on Spotify: Action Talks on iTunes: Telegram: My studio SuperAlloy: Blog: Timestamps: 0:06:04 Andy Cheng’s First Movie 0:07:38 Andy resigning from TVB and joining Mr. Nice Guy 0:09:25 Andy wished he could’ve worked with Lau Kar-Leung on stunts 0:10:23 Networking with Cho Wing and getting onto Mr. Nice Guy 0:11:34 How good was kicking in HK back then? 0:13:47 How did Jackie, Yuen Biao and Sammo learn how to kick? 0:15:19 Why Andy chose Taekwondo 0:19:05 HK Film vs TV Movies 0:20:47 Experience with Wong Jing 0:24:17 Takeaways from Dion Lam 0:28:12 Mr. Nice Guy - Joining Jackie Chan Stunt Team 0:30:28 Friendly competition between Jackie and Sammo Stunt Teams? 0:35:13 How to learn HK style action filmmaking 0:38:46 How Jackie treated his stunt team\Jackie’s style changing in the 90s 0:42:17 Jackie’s Non-violent Style of Action in Mr. Nice Guy 0:48:22 Who Am I? action design similar to Mr. Nice Guy? 0:49:22 Car stunts in Who am I? and Mr Nice Guy 0:56:38 How to gain Jackie’s trust 0:58:32 Working on the Who Am I? rooftop fight 1:03:46 What skills did Brad Allen and Paul Andreovski have to get on the JC team? 1:07:11 Staying in touch with Brad Allen 1:11:56 Alternative means to get opportunities in the action business 1:20:03 How did Jackie plan the Who Am I? action scenes? 1:22:22 Issues with Pre-vizzing action without access to location 1:26:42 Jackie’s filming style vs Sammo’s filming style 1:31:01 What Jackie prioritizes when filming 1:32:43 The myth of the ’My Stunts’ action gym 1:37:48 Stunts vs Insurance 1:45:38 Andy Cheng transition to US filmmaking 1:56:00 Is editing an issue in American fights? 1:59:53 Was there more flexibility on Rush Hour 2? 2:01:47 Who did the wire wrap stunt in Rush Hour 2? 2:05:58 Working on US Seals 2 2:11:27 Origin of the Hong Kong spin 2:14:38 Andy’s action style in Scorpion King 2:18:41 Andy combining both the US and HK action style in The Rundown (2003) 2:20:52 Why does hollywood cut fights short? 2:25:07 Working with The Rock 2:28:51 Similar aspects between Beijing Opera and WWE 2:31:08 The Rundown hill stunt 2:35:36 Involvement with Red Trousers 2:36:39 Andy introducing the US stunt pay system to HK 2:38:44 Being a stuntman vs being a stunt double in HK 2:40:20 Difference between Seung Ba and Ha Ba (high stuntman vs low stuntman) 2:42:56 Doing stunts in US vs. HK TV 2:44:36 Does Andy like the coverage shooting style? 2:48:13 Why do US fight scenes cut to the ultra wide shot? 2:52:48 When did the fights shift to having less wide-coverage? 2:56:20 What was the difference between action in the 80s and late 90s in America? 3:00:30 Was it just prestige of HK or was the US audience particularly ready? 3:04:22 Did Korean and Thai films apply pressure on American film producers? 3:09:39 When did you feel the Second Wave take off? 3:11:37 How did you mix in the indie stunt guys like Joseph Le and Martial Club? 3:13:52 Actors and Stuntmen in USA vs. Stunt-Actors in HK? 3:22:18 Current situation in HK or China for creating action stars? 3:27:22 Were Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung going toward being action stars? 3:28:26 Andy’s thoughts about Mackenyu Arata 3:31:30 What personality do you need to be an action star? 3:35:36 What are you watching lately for action? 3:38:42 Aside from production value, what do you look for when you watch action? 3:39:59 Does Andy watch any animation? 3:47:07 Takeaways from Michael Bay 3:53:10 Did Jackie ever talk about where he got his determination from? 3:55:32 Where do you want to go as a director?