The accomplished martial artist met Chan first as a fan, became one of the greatest stunt performers and fight choreographers in the industry
On Saturday, August 7th, Jackie Chan took to his blog to communicate to friends and fans about the loss of two members of his stunt team. Yang Sheng, a member of the team since 1984, had passed away from illness. Chan had also just received word that Brad Allan, 48, had also passed away from an illness.
An Australian, Allan began studying boxing and karate at age 10, then picked up wushu and gymnastics, eventually competing at the 4th World Wushu Championships in Rome. He was also a part of the Beijing Wushu Team, along with Liang Chang-xing and Tang Lai-wei, associates of Jet Li. From there, he went to Shanghai Institute of Sport, learning Mandarin, and getting a chance to perform in Drunken Master III.
By the time Jackie Chan came to Australia to shoot Mr. Nice Guy, Brad Allan was well on his way to fulfilling his dream of becoming a full time professional stunt performer. However, his biggest dream at the time, to become a part of Chan’s stunt team, ‘sing ga ban,’ seemed unlikely as no non-Asian had ever been brought into the group. Allan met Chan on the Melbourne set as a fan. Not long after, he was brought on board. Sometimes called Bai-Hu (White Tiger), Allan steadily rose up through the ranks of sing ga ban, becoming team leader.
Ultimately, Allan not only became a remarkable stunt performer, but stunt coordinator, fight choreographer, action designer, and second unit director for some of the largest productions in Hollywood. In addition to his work on Jackie Chan’s films, he took on such large scale projects as Wonder Woman (2017) and Pacific Rim (2013).
On his blog, Chan wrote, “Within the space of a few days, the JC Stunt team lost 2 family members. It’s hard to find words to describe how I feel….to my two brothers, there are no illnesses in heaven. Rest In Peace. Will always be missing you!”
Brad Allan was the second unit director and stunt supervisor of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which will be released September 3rd. Due at the end of December The King’s Man, starring Ralph Fiennes, will be Allan’s final film credit.