Rising Chinese star Zhang Jingchu makes Hollywood debut in ‘Rush Hour 3Â’

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This article was published 06/11/2006 (7225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HONG KONG (AP) – Rising Chinese film star Zhang Jingchu will make her Hollywood debut in “Rush Hour 3,” following in the footsteps of fellow star Zhang Ziyi, a publicist for the film said Monday.

In her 20s, Zhang Jingchu will play Soo Yung, the daughter of the Chinese ambassador who was kidnapped in the first instalment of the “Rush Hour” series, which stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, said publicist Guy Adan.

Zhang, whose credits include “Seven Swords” and “Peacock,” has drawn comparisons to Zhang Ziyi, who has successfully crossed over to Hollywood. Her casting in “Rush Hour 3,” which has been filming in Los Angeles and Paris, will likely intensify the comparison.

Zhang Ziyi also made her Hollywood debut in the “Rush Hour” series, playing the villain Hu Li in the second instalment. She has since gone on to international stardom, starring in the recent “Memoirs of a Geisha.”

Zhang Jingchu’s appearance in “Rush Hour 3” contradicts earlier statements that she wasn’t interested in the U.S. market.

“I don’t plan to go to the U.S. and I haven’t signed with an American talent agency,” she said recently.

But she has said in her blog she’s studying English and is reportedly fluent.

Zhang, who studied at China’s Central Academy of Drama, is known for her sharp personality on screen. In “Peacock,” which won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005, she played a petulant, conniving homebound daughter, who tries to chart her own course in life.

She portrays a villager caught between two loves in “Seven Swords.”