Hong Kong actor on kicking Jackie Chan where it hurts – three times – and his awkward conversations with Steven Seagal
- British-born actor Jai Day blames tight-fitting pants for having kicked Jackie Chan three times in the testicles during the filming of Skiptrace
- The ‘go-to gweilo’ in Hong Kong’s film industry, Day has dozens of credits in both Hollywood and local productions
The first time Jai Day met Jackie Chan, he kicked the action star in the genitals – three times. Each blow was an accident.
Day, a Hong Kong-based actor of British descent, was thrilled by the chance to work with Chan on the movie Skiptrace – an international 2016 buddy comedy pairing the martial arts maestro and American actor Johnny Knoxville. Unfortunately, when Day’s first meeting with the local legend turned out to be a fight scene, things did not exactly go to plan.
“I was terrified. You don’t kick one of your idols in the nuts the first time you meet them,” he says.
The problem, Day claims, was a pair of uncomfortably tight trousers the wardrobe team had supplied for his first day on set. Renny Harlin (director of Die Hard 2: Die Harder) had asked Day to kick the lead star in his well-padded stomach – but the restrictive fabric meant Day’s heel kept falling shy of the target.
“When I kicked him in the d*** for the third time, he was like: we need a stunt double,” Day recalls, “And I’m like: I’m going to get fired. On my first day. But they did not have anyone, so he just turns around, swears, and we go again for the last time. This time I lift my leg, rip the pants, get him in the chest, and it’s all good. He’s Jackie Chan, right? I mean, he’s a Terminator. He’s broken every bone in his body.”
A British national raised in Hong Kong and trained in Hollywood, Day has enjoyed all the benefits that come with being a Caucasian actor in an Asian film hub.