However, the fact that Chan didn’t have a clue who Tucker was when they first met on the set of “Rush Hour” did cause some initial problems. I’m a kind of loner, so whether people recognize me or not doesn’t really matter to me.” I kind of liked it it’s good to be anonymous. “They kept saying, ‘Who are you?'” says Tucker, who starred in ’97’s “Money Talks.” Tucker – whose screeching, rapid-fire delivery and elastic-limbed mania were introduced to a wide audience in a supporting role in 1997’s “The Fifth Element” – actually enjoyed being incognito. “I was Tito,” he adds, referring to a line from “Rush Hour 2.” “They love him there! He’s like Michael Jackson over there.” “Jackie took me shopping, to his restaurant, to his clothing stores – it was fun to see how different the culture is in Hong Kong,” he says. Tucker says he was blown away by just how beloved the 47-year-old Chan is in Asia. It was so funny, and we really put those things in this movie.” “I remember we do, three years ago, a promotional tour and Chris got really lost in Hong Kong. “Chris was always saying, ‘Oh Jackie, you’re the king, you’re the king!’ “I was so happy doing a film in Hong Kong,” he says. In the sequel, Carter becomes the fish out of water, arriving for a vacation in Hong Kong armed with his Chinese-English dictionary, only to be reluctantly caught up in Lee’s investigation into a money-smuggling ring.Ĭhan, the leading box-office draw in Asia, with more than 100 films to his credit, delighted in introducing Tucker to his hometown. “Rush Hour 2,” out Friday, continues the culture-clash hijinks of the first film, in which Chan’s Hong Kong detective Chief Inspector Lee traveled to Los Angeles and was paired with Tucker’s LAPD officer James Carter. He was getting $5 million for a picture, and I would say, ‘Wow, $5 million! I’m a big star in Asia and I only get half a million!'” “I remember, 15 years ago, Burt Reynolds was the highest-paid actor in the world. “I make movies for 40 years and he’s been scratching along himself for so many years,” he says. It all just came into place.”Ĭhan – who recalls being paid $220 for his first movie – stresses that neither he nor Tucker is an overnight success. I almost dreamed it already, so when this stuff happened, I wasn’t surprised. “I think it’s part of what the business is. “The talk about money doesn’t bother me, not really,” Tucker says. I like to do a little gambling – it makes me do the film better.”Īll this focus on salaries may seem a little crass, but the number of zeroes on an actor’s paycheck has become the gauge of success in Hollywood. “So I chose $15 million plus rather than $20 million. “I trust that part two will make at least as much as the first one,” Chan says. But while Tucker chose to take $20 million up front, Chan gambled. “‘Rush Hour’ was a big success, so you benefit from that success.”Ĭhan, the other half of filmdom’s most hyperkinetic duo, was also paid handsomely for this fresh installment of what looks to become a killer franchise. “ made $250 million around the world, so $20 million isn’t that much when you look at it like that,” he told The Post. The whopping paycheck he’s pocketed for reteaming with Jackie Chan represents a mind-boggling $17 million raise from his starring role in the original “Rush Hour” in 1998. comedy clubs.įast-forward through a few bit parts and one hit buddy-cop movie, and suddenly the 28-year-old motormouth co-star of “Rush Hour 2” is a $20 million man, joining idol Eddie Murphy as the only other black actor in Hollywood’s super-elite club of top earners. Less than 10 years ago, Chris Tucker was an unknown comic honing his manic shtick at L.A.
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