A resurfaced video of Chris Tucker surprising Jackie Chan went viral on May 22, and fans can’t get enough of Chan’s reaction.
The Toronto International Film Festival reposted the clip on their Instagram page, reminding fans of the heartfelt moment that the “Rush Hour” co-stars reunited at one of their festivals.
Chan was on stage in front of TIFF’s audience for their 2012 event titled “In Conversation With . . . Jackie Chan” as the guest speaker.
During his talk with Cameron Bailey, who is currently the CEO of TIFF, Chan was discussing his life and career when suddenly Bailey revealed that there was someone backstage who wanted to greet Chan.
“We have a special guest who’s coming to say hello to you. Kind of a surprise for us all, but backstage we have Mr. Chris Tucker, Jackie’s co-star in ‘Rush Hour,’” Bailey said. The crowd roared as Bailey said Tucker’s name, but the icing on the cake was the gleeful response from Chan.
After turning to see Tucker, the “Kung Fu Panda” voice actor screamed “what” while sinking down in his chair. With a beaming smile on his face, Chan threw his arms and legs up and waved them back and forth before standing up to embrace his former co-star.
Chan then brings Tucker to the edge of the stage and screams his name to the audience before they turn to take their seats next to Bailey.
The host asked Tucker if he had any stories from working with Chan on their three-part franchise from 1998 to 2007.
The “Friday” star revealed that he initially had concerns about whether Chan could speak English. “He didn’t say nothing the whole time and we was meeting about the movie ‘Rush Hour’ and the director was there. And the whole meeting Jackie didn’t say nothing. He was just shaking his head,” he said in a nodding motion.
Tucker explained that while he was throwing out some ideas for the film Chan continued silently nodding his head. So when the meeting was over, he asked the director, Brett Ratner, “Do Jackie speak English, man? How we going to do this movie? He didn’t say one word to me. Do he like me? Do he want Wesley Snipes? What he want, Eddie Murphy? Well, does he know who I am?”
Tucker said Ratner reassured him that Chan knew English and told him not to worry. And they used that moment from their first meeting, to come up with the infamous scene in the movie where Tucker’s character asks Chan’s, “Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?”
Fans reacted in the comments of the Neighborhood Talk’s repost of the video.
One person said, “The way he kicked his legs.”
Another wrote, “Jackie’s reaction is pure Brotherly Love.”
A third said, “he was so excited… this was so wholesome.”
TIFF shared the video as one of their Rewind posts where they upload videos of different celebrities from the past, at one of their former events. According to their website, they are a nonprofit organization that “offers screenings, lectures, discussions, festivals, workshops, events, professional development and opportunities to meet, hear and learn from filmmakers from Canada and around the world.”
This year they are having their 50th film festival, which will run from Sept. 4 through Sept. 14.
As for Chan, he’s gearing up for the release of his new film “Karate Kid: Legends” which drops May 30. In the last film of the Karate Kid franchise, which happened to be the fifth installment, Chan’s co-star was Jaden Smith. Now, the original star of “The Karate Kid,” Ralph Macchio, is joining Chan in this new film, which is about a kung fu prodigy entering to win an ultimate karate competition with the help of Chan and Macchio’s characters.
