But the stars’ most memorable work together is undoubtedly the classic action-comedy Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), which features Yeoh as Inspector Jessica Yang and Chan as the bumbling but lovable Detective Chan Ka-kui.

The film, directed by Stanley Tong, was a massive commercial success, grossing over US$34 million at the box office globally and receiving critical acclaim for its thrilling action sequences and the chemistry between the two leads.

Afterwards, both Yeoh and Chan continued to make a name for themselves as solo stars, each delivering memorable performances in a wide range of film genres, capturing the hearts of audiences around the world.

The Malaysian actress’ recent Oscar win for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) was long overdue recognition of her immense talent and contribution to the film industry, and became a historic moment for Asian representation in Hollywood. But did you know that Yeoh’s career-defining role was first offered to Jackie Chan?

We examine the pair’s decade-long friendship, how they met, and how Yeoh ended up playing the lead in Everything Everywhere All at Once instead of Chan:

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The first time they worked together

Yeoh’s journey to becoming a prominent actress began after she won the Miss Malaysia contest in 1983 and placed 18th at the Miss World pageant.

In the ad, Chan and Yeoh played a couple of youngsters who happened to pass by each other on the road. “My first working job was a commercial, and of all things, with Jackie Chan,” Yeoh told an interviewer last year.

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Their competitive relationship

Despite their strong bond, Yeoh and Chan have a competitive friendship, as reported by The Guardian. While filming Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), Chan apparently felt outshone by Yeoh, who performed all her own stunts, including the iconic motorcycle jump onto a moving train.

As a result, Chan reportedly requested more daring action scenes, including one involving a helicopter, to even the playing field. Their competitive dynamic speaks to their mutual respect and admiration for each other’s talents as martial arts and action stars.

She told The Guardian in 2022 about the death-defying stunts. “If you jumped off something, you were lucky if you had mattresses and some cardboard boxes [to break your fall]. And then all the wire work was done on wires that were thin enough that you couldn’t see with the naked eye, because we didn’t have CGI; we couldn’t erase them after,” she added: “I don’t miss the danger or the risk of it. But it gave us such an incredible way of creativity.”

She once called him a “chauvinistic pig”

Despite their long-standing friendship, the Ipoh-born star has been known to speak her mind when it comes to her colleague and friend.

During an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman in 1997 to promote her James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, Yeoh was asked if her foray into action films was inspired by Chan. Her response was nothing but gutsy and memorable.

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The reason Jackie Chan almost got her EEAAO part

On February 3, Yeoh appeared on British talk show The Graham Norton Show and confirmed that her career-defining role as Evelyn Wang was first offered to her friend Jackie Chan and she was originally set to play his wife in the film.

“They did go to China to meet with Jackie and you know he [Jackie] texted me and said congratulations for your movie but did you know your boys came to see me first? And I’m like ‘your loss, bro’”

The Crazy Rich Asian star confirmed that she and Chan are great friends and she didn’t feel sad about it. “To be fair to The Daniels (the film’s directors), you know when you start out to write a movie … it is show business right, this is about a business sense, and constantly it’s the guys that go out to save the world.”

The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) have publicly acknowledged that they made the decision to rewrite the lead role for the wife after Chan turned down the part due to his packed schedule.

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With the revised script in hand, they approached Yeoh, hoping she would accept the lead role. They told The Hollywood Reporter, “It felt like a bit of a pipe dream, really thrilling and really scary, because we were like, ‘No one else in the world can play this role. If she says no, maybe the movie dies.’”

While it’s interesting to imagine how Everything Everywhere All at Once might have turned out if Chan had accepted the lead role, we can’t help but feel grateful that it was Yeoh who took on the challenge and left an indelible mark on cinematic history.