'Finally' Jackie Chan gets Oscar

When Jackie Chan saw an Oscar at Sylvester Stallone's house 23 years ago, he said that was the moment he decided he wanted one.

On Saturday at the annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles, the Chinese actor and martial arts star finally received his little gold statuette, an honorary Oscar for his decades of work in film.

"After 56 years in the film industry, making more than 200 films, after so many bones, finally," Chan, 62, quipped at the star-studded gala dinner while holding his Oscar.

The actor recalled watching the ceremony with his parents and his father always asking him why he didn't have Hollywood's top accolade despite having made so many movies.

He praised his hometown of Hong Kong for making him "proud to be Chinese", and thanked his fans,

saying they were the reason "I continue to make movies, jumping through windows, kicking and punching, breaking my bones."

The actor was introduced by his Rush Hour co-star Chris Tucker, actress Michelle Yeoh and Tom Hanks, who referred to him as "Jackie 'Chantastic' Chan."

Hanks said it was especially gratifying to be able to acknowledge Chan's work because martial arts and action comedy films were two genres often overlooked during awards season.

The evening was attended by Hollywood's elite, including Denzel Washington, Lupita Nyong'o, Nicole Kidman, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Amy Adams and Dev Patel.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, hosts of the annual ceremony, also bestowed honorary Oscars on British film editor Anne V. Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentarian Frederick Wiseman.

Stalmaster, 88, credited with securing career-defining roles for actors such as Jeff Bridges and John Travolta, is the first casting director to get an Oscar.

Coates, 90, who won the film editing Oscar for 1962's Lawrence of Arabia, and has edited more than 50 films, said she shared her Oscar "with all the unsung heroes" of filmmaking.

Wiseman, 86, whose documentaries include 1970's Hospital and 1987's Blind, said: "I think it's as important to document kindness, ability and generosity of spirit as it is to show cruelty, banality and indifference," he said.