Vale: Brad Allan

Australian stuntman Brad Allan, best known for his work on Jackie Chan films, has died, aged 48.

A representative confirmed his passing on Saturday. Although a cause of death has not been released a post from Chan’s official website says that an “illness” was to blame.

“I never imagined that just a few days later, today, I received another unbelievable and heartbreaking news,” Jackie Chan wrote in a blog post in which he also mourned the recent passing of another team member, Yang Sheng. “A fourth generation JC Stunt team member, Bradley James Allan, also passed away from illness.”

“Many years ago while I was filming Mr. Nice Guy, he was just a fan and I remember him coming to visit the set,” Chan continued. “At that time, he was crazy about Chinese Kung Fu and had practiced it for many years. It was because of his amazing skills and talent, he transformed from being a fan to a stuntman, and eventually joined my JC Stunt Team. He even fought with me in Gorgeous, and I think a lot of people remember this skillful boxer in the movie. He has also contributed to many of my movies.”

Melbourne-born Allan began boxing and karate training around age 10 and studied Wushu and gymnastics from age 14, spending two years learning under Beijing Wushu Team members Liang Chang-xing and Tang Lai-wei, compatriots of actor Jet Li.

In 1993, he made his first film appearance Drunken Master III, after which, he returned to Australia.

After filming Mr. Nice Guy and Who Am I? he was invited to join Chan’s stunt team, ‘Sing ga ban’, as their first non-Asian member and ultimately became team leader.

His films included The Chronicles of Riddick, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Shanghai Noon, Rush Hour 2, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Wonder Woman, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Cuban Fury The World’s End, and Ant-Man.

His TV credits included Raw FM, Good Guys / Bad Guys, Noah’s Ark, Thunderstone, Saturday Night Live, and Mutant X.

Source: The Wrap