Hong Kong film actors: September 2008

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Paul Chung

Paul Chung was a late Hong Kong actor. He committed suicide on Friday, September 1, 1989.

Pauline Chan

Acting career

Despite having no prior experience as a professional actress, Cheung was given a leading role in the 2004 film ''Colour Blossoms''. Writer and Yonfan had been the photographer for Cheung's wedding, Nevertheless, she was initially reluctant to perform the , saying "When I came to know that I had to do such scenes, I was frightened and cried for more than three days". Although it failed at the box office, Cheung received a number of awards and nominations for her role, only narrowly missing out on a best actress award from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.

Cheung is credited as an executive producer on Oliver Stone's forthcoming film, '''', and will also have a cameo role as a journalist.

Human rights

In August 2006, Cheung was one of five "Human Rights Heroes" honoured during a held at the United Nations headquarters.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Tzi Ma

Tzi Ma is a Chinese American actor who has made numerous appearances in American films and TV series.

Ma was born in Hong Kong on June 10, 1962. His film career includes major roles in the films '''' and the remake of ''''. He is recognized for his role as Consul Han in '''' and in the third installment, ''Rush Hour 3'', as Ambassador Han.

Tzi speaks , , and .

He is also known for his role as Cheng Zhi, the head of security for the Chinese Consulate , on the TV series ''''. He appeared in two episodes of and made an uncredited surprise return at the end of the final episode of . He reprised his role again in the season premiere and the last eight episodes of .

He has appeared in ''Akeelah and the Bee'' and thriller ''Dante's Peak''. He also had a role in the first season of '''' as Lee Hei, Sammo Law's first major antagonist.

Ma's other TV credits include guest appearances on ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', ''Law & Order'', '''', '''', '''', ''Chicago Hope'', ''The Unit'', ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''L.A. Law'', ''NYPD Blue'' , ''Millennium'' and ''The Cosby Show''. Ma has received awards for his acting roles including the Cine Golden Eagle Award for being the Best Actor in "The Dance and The Railroad" and Garland Award for his acting in the "Flower Drum Song".

Ma is among the actors, producers, and directors interviewed in the documentary ''The Slanted Screen'' , directed by Jeff Adachi, about the representation of Asian and Asian American men in Hollywood.

Ma is married to actress Christina Ma.

Wilson Yip

Wilson Yip Wai-Shun is a actor, film director and screenwriter. His films include ''Bio Zombie'', '''', '''' and ''Dragon Tiger Gate''.

Early career

A film buff at an early age, Yip went to the whenever he could and often wrote reviews on the backs of ticket stubs. He entered the movie business in the 1980s, starting out as a "gofer" and working his way up to assistant director.

His directorial debut was ''01.00 AM'', a three-segment horror compendium. He directed two of three parts, one with Veronica Yip as a nurse who sees dead pop stars, and Anita Yuen interviewing a demon.

His next effort, ''Daze Reaper'', was a exploitation film, based on a true-crime story about a prison guard to turns to crime. Next was ''Mongkok Story'', an exploitive story in the vein of ''Young and Dangerous'', and another horror trilogy, ''Midnight Zone'', about urban myths. He also turned to comedy with ''Teaching Sucks'', about two Hong Kong teachers played by Anthony Wong and Jan Lam.

In 1998 Wilson co-wrote and directed his biggest cult hit at the time, ''Bio Zombie'', which was influenced by '''' and takes place in a shopping mall, where a small group of misfits bands together in order to survive.

Turning point

Yip next directed the 1999 - ''Bullets Over Summer'', starring Francis Ng and Louis Koo as two detectives hunting a gang of deadly criminals who have to use a demented elderly woman's apartment for surveillance. The biggest-budget film of his career up to then, he considers ''Bullets Over Summer'' his "turning point". He shared a best-screenplay award at the 2000 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for the film.

In 2000 he was picked by Golden Harvest to direct ''Skyline Cruisers'', a big-budget action film. Yip didn't get along with the cast and clashed with the studio's management over creative differences.

Other films include the sci-fi-action story ''2002'' and the romantic comedies, ''Dry Wood, Fierce Fire'' with Miriam Yeung and Louis Koo, and a ''Leaving Me, Loving You'' with Leon Lai and Faye Wong and ''The White Dragon''.

Yip also acts, mostly doing small roles. They include a pimp in ''The Runaway Pistol'' and a exorcist in the ' ''''.

Films with Donnie Yen

In 2005, Yip directed his most critically acclaimed film, ''''. A gritty return to the 1980s style of Hong Kong action cinema, ''SPL'' starred Simon Yam and Donnie Yen as trying to pin a crime on an unstoppable gangster, portrayed by Sammo Hung.

In 2006, Yip re-teamed with Yen for an adaptation of a Hong Kong manga, ''Dragon Tiger Gate''. In 2007, '''', another martial-arts crime drama, in the same vein as ''SPL'' was shot in Macau in September 2006, with Donnie Yen and Louis Koo.

Yen and Yip's next collaboration as actor and director, '''' will be a semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the of Wing Chun openly. The film is set for a December 2008 release, and will feature fight choreography by Sammo Hung.

Filmography

Director

* ''''01:00 A.M.''
* ''Daze Raper''
* ''Mongkok Story''
* ''Teaching Sucks''
* ''Midnight Zone''
* ''Bio Zombie''
* ''Bullets Over Summer''
* ''Skyline Cruisers''
* ''Juliet in Love''
* ''Dry Wood, Fierce Fire''
* ''''
* ''The Mummy, Aged 19''
* ''Leaving Me, Loving You'' (2004
* ''''
* ''''
* ''Dragon Tiger Gate''
* ''''
* ''''

Screenwriter

* ''Bio Zombie''
* ''Baau lit ying ging''
* ''Jue lai yip yue leung saan ang''
* ''Gon chaai lit feng''
* ''Dai sing siu si''
* ''The White Dragon''
* ''''

Actor

* ''Wong gok fung wan''
* ''Hui zhuan shou shi''
* ''Huo xing gui ji''
* ''Sui jeuk fun ji''
* ''You Shoot, I Shoot''
* ''Zouhou qiang''
* ''Fung lau ga chuk''
* ''Love Undercover''
* ''''
* ''Chuet sai hiu B''
* ''Obake yashiki''
* ''Tai yang wu zhi''

Lisa Chiao Chiao

Chiao Li Na or Lisa Chiao Chiao often credited Chiao Chiao is a Taiwanese film actress best known for her work in Hong Kong cinema. She was employed by the Shaw Studios between 1966 and 1972, where she appeared in films such as ''A Cause to Kill'' in 1970.

In 1972 she briefly returned to Taiwan, where she made some television appearances. She then went on to appear in several Hong Kong films in the 1980s and 1990s, with her last appearance in the 1998 picture ''Bishōnen'', making some 50 appearances between 1964 and 1998.

In 1963, Chiao married Huang Tsung Hsing, and after his death in 1976 she worked more extensively behind the scenes, most notably as a dubber.

Leslie Cheung

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing , nicknamed elder brother , was an actor and musician from Hong Kong. Cheung was considered as "One of the founding fathers of Cantopop," and "combining a hugely successful film and music career".

In 2000, Cheung was named ''Asian Biggest Superstar'' by China Central Television, and voted as ''The Most Favorite Actor in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema'' in 2005.

Childhood and education

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong. His birth name was Cheung Fat-chung , which was later changed to his stage name, Cheung Kwok-Wing. Cheung was the youngest of ten children in a middle-class family. Cheung Wut Hoi - his father was a fairly well-known tailor, whose customers included the American actors William Holden and Cary Grant His parents divorced when he was quite young. While in Hong Kong, Leslie Cheung attended Rosaryhill School .

At the age of 13, he was sent to England as a boarder at Eccles Hall School and faced racial discrimination at the school. He worked as a bartender at his relatives' restaurant and sang during the weekends. It was around this period that he chose his name, "Leslie". According to Cheung, he chose this name because "I love the film ''''. And I like . The name can be a man's or woman's, it's very unisex, so I like it."

In several of his interviews, Cheung stated that he had a fairly unhappy childhood. "I didn't have a happy childhood. Arguments, fights and we didn't live together; I was brought up by my granny."

Cheung attended the University of Leeds in northern England, where he studied textile management. He dropped out of university at the end of his first year, when his father fell ill. After his father's recovery, Cheung did not return to England to complete his studies.

Career

Early career

In 1977, Cheung won second prize by singing Don McLean's "American Pie" at the Asian Music Contest held by Rediffusion Television . He signed a contract with RTV, which subsequently became Asia Television Limited and began his career in the entertainment industry. He also signed a music contract with Polydor Records, releasing ''Day Dreaming'' and ''Lover's Arrow'' .

The early days of his career were not easy. He was once booed off the stage during a public performance, and his first two albums were not welcomed by the public. He left Polydor Records at the end of his contract. Cheung's first film, ''The Erotic Dream of the Red Chamber'' in 1978 was a soft porn film. Cheung later stated that he was unaware of the sexual nature of the film when he signed the contract.

During the 1970s and 1980s, he appeared in a number of TV dramas such as ''The Young Concubine'' , ''Agency 24'' , ''Pairing'' , and ''The Spirit Of The Sword'' . These TV dramas helped turn him into a household name in South East Asia.

Ascension to fame

In 1982, Cheung joined Capital Artists upon the end of his contract with RTV. It was at Capital Artists that Florence Chan became his music agent and remained as such through his entire career. While at Capital Artists, he also met Anita Mui, another Hong Kong Cantopop idol, starting a long lasting friendship. In 1983, Cheung released his first hit song, "The Wind Blows On" . In 1984, he released his first top ten hit song "Monica", which became the first so-called "fast" song that won the ''RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award''. "Monica" became representative of a new genre of in the mid 1980s. Fans began to demand fast and energetic Cantopop songs that would be suitable for both dancing and listening. Other ''Top Ten Gold Songs'' released by Cheung through Capital Artists included "Wild Wind" ; "Who Can Be With Me" and "Love in Those Years" . "Who Can Be With Me" became the ''Gold of the Gold Songs'' of the Year for 1986.

Cheung's movie career was a little slower to take off. He appeared in supporting roles in his second and third movies ''Encore'' and ''On Trial'' . However, his acting talent was soon recognized with his nomination for the Hong Kong Film Awards' Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''On Trial''. Subsequently after this nomination, he began to star as the leading man in ''Teenage Dreamers'' and has held the lead role in almost every movie he had been in since. From the early 1980s through 1986, most of the movies in which he had starred were teenage movies. Among them, '''' are widely considered by film critic as the representation of the Hong Kong "New Wave" films. Cheung's role as Louis in ''Nomad'' won him his first Best Actor nomination of the Hong Kong Film Awards. Later, Cheung stated that he considers ''Nomad'' as his first "real" movie. During this period, Cheung continued to act in a number of Television Broadcasts dramas, such as ''Once Upon an Ordinary Girl'' and ''The Fallen Family'' .

Stardom and retirement

In 1986, he joined and released the album ''Summer Romance'' in 1987. ''Summer Romance'' became the ''Best Selling CD of the Year'' and ''IFPI Best Selling Album'' in Hong Kong. The success of ''Summer Romance'' made him one of the top two Cantopop idols at the time . In 1988, he composed one of his most famous songs "Silence is Golden" . Other popular albums published by Cheung through Cinepoly Records included ''Hot Summer'' , ''Virgin Snow'' , ''Leslie '89'' , ''Final Encounter'' , and ''Salute'' . ''Salute'' was the first non-profit album released by a superstar in Hong Kong music history that would only compile songs originally performed by other singers. According to Cheung, ''Salute'' is his homage to music. He donated all the proceeds from the sales of ''Salute'' to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts , which was named the ''Leslie Cheung Memorial Scholarship'' after his death.

With the popularity of Cheung and Tam, fans of these two stars became increasingly hostile to each other, starting a long-standing conflict that soon put heavy pressure on both singers. In 1988, Alan Tam publicly quit all pop music award ceremonies. In 1989, Cheung announced his intention to retire from his music career as a singer. Cheung then set a record by being the first singer ever in Cantopop history to hold a retirement concert series , which ran for 33 consecutive nights at Hong Kong Coliseum. In 1990, he left Hong Kong at the peak of his music career and emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where he reportedly "found peace and tranquility." Cheung gained Canadian citizenship in 1992 and returned to Asia full-time in 1995 for his re-emergence in Chinese-language popular music.

From 1986 to 1989, Cheung acted in a number of movies that are considered as Hong Kong classics by film critics and Asian movie fans. In 1986, Cheung co-starred with Chow Yun-Fat in ''A Better Tomorrow'' , which was widely considered as a trend starter for Hong Kong triad movies in the 1980s. Cheung played Kit, a righteous and idealistic young cop. Cheung's role in the movie was widely considered his debut as a serious actor. He also starred in the sequel, ''A Better Tomorrow II'' . Also in 1987, Cheung starred in Stanley Kwan's '''' where he played Chen-Pang Chan, an infatuated, opium-smoking playboy and doomed lover of a beautiful prostitute, Fleur . Further, in the same year , he appeared in Tsui Hark's ''A Chinese Ghost Story'' . Cheung played ''Ling Choi Sin'', a well-meaning but cowardly debt collector who had fallen in love with a beautiful ghost . His performance in these movies won him two Best Actor nomination from Hong Kong Film Awards. The success of ''A Better Tomorrow'' and ''A Chinese Ghost Story'' made his name known in the Japanese and South Korea film markets.

Golden age in film

The mid-80s to mid-90s was a golden age in Hong Kong's film industry, which coincided with Cheung's film career. In 1990, Cheung acted as Yuddy, a handsome, ruthless bad boy, philanderer and narcissist in Wong Kar-wai's movie ''Days of Being Wild''. His performance in ''Days of Being Wild'' won him the ''Best Actor Award'' at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1991 and his first nomination of ''Best Actor'' at the . He also acted in two other Wong Kar-wai movies. In the 1994 martial arts film, ''Ashes of Time'', he starred as Ouyang Feng, a swordsman and assassin who spent his days in a desert. His role as Ouyang won him the ''Best Actor Award'' at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. In 1997's movie '''' which centrally depicts a complex relationship between two gay lovers , he played the capricious Ho Po-wing, who goes to Argentina with his lover Lai Yiu-fai .

In 1992's historical masterpiece '''' , Cheung acted as the Peking opera star Dieyi Cheng, a Beijing opera artist who reaches fame with his exquisite performances of female roles. ''Farewell My Concubine'' is the first Chinese film to have won the '''' award at the Cannes Film Festival. It also won more than twenty other film awards including a Golden Globe for '''' and Oscar nominations for '''' and ''''. Cheung's performance in the film won him international fame as a film star and set his steps in the mainland China film industry. In 1996, he worked again with Chen Kaige, playing the role of a misty gigolo, Zhongliang Yu, in ''Temptress Moon''. In 1998's ''A Time to Remember'' , he acted as Jin, an underground Chinese Communist leader. His Hong Kong background caused a heated debate at the time, but the film still achieved Box Office success in mainland China and in 2004 won a "Most Popular Foreign Film" Award at the Pyongyang Film Festival.

Other important movies Cheung starred in during this period include ''The Bride with White Hair'' , ''He's a Woman, She's a Man'' , ''The Phantom Lover'' , and ''Viva Erotica'' . His performance in these movies won him three Best Actor Award nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards and three Best Actor Award nominations at the from 1990 to 1998.

As a versatile actor, Cheung also acted in many comedies. In 1991, teamed again with Chow Yun-Fat and Cherie Chung, Cheung played a skillful and charming thief in John Woo's ''''. In 1992's ''All's Well, Ends Well'', he acted as an effeminate brother who would later realize the meaning of true love. Other well-known comedies included ''The Eagle Shooting Heroes'', ''It's a Wonderful Life'', and ''The Chinese Feast''. Cheung was also a box office attraction in Hong Kong; from 1990 to 1998, 13 out of 39 movies in which he starred were listed as yearly top ten box office movies.

Although Cheung quit his career as a pop singer from 1989 to 1995, he continued his music career as a composer. He composed more than ten songs during that time. In 1993, he won ''Best Original Movie Song Award'' from for the theme song ''Red Cheek, White Hair'' to the movie ''The Bride with White Hair'' . In 1995, he composed all three theme songs for the film ''The Phantom Lover''. As a composer, Cheung won four nominations for ''Best Original Movie Song Award'' at the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards and two nominations for ''Best Original Film Song'' at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Return to music

In 1995, Cheung signed a contract with Rock Records, returning to music as a singer. At the same year, he released his first post-"retirement" album, ''''. ''Beloved'' achieved large market success with the award of ''IFPI Best Selling Album'', but it did not receive much acclaim from music critics as it is a collection of Cheung's movie theme songs from 1993 to 1995. In 1996, Cheung released possibly his most highly acclaimed album, ''''. '''' was a fusion album, mixing smooth jazz, R&B, trip hop, etc., into Cantopop, forming a consistent unique style. Cheung worked since then on cutting-edge music as well as Cantopop, his new music style being markedly different from before his earlier retirement. In this album, Cheung also composed another important song in his music career, ''''. In 1998, Cheung released his first album in Mandarin , ''''.

In 1997, Cheung held his first post-retirement concert series: ''World Tour 97'', which lasted from Dec. 12, 1996 to June 17, 1997. Like with the refinements to his musical style, Cheung introduced a new image to his audience. The most daring part possibly was the closing dance "Red" where Cheung did a tango duet in a pair of red high-heels with a macho dancer. ''World Tour 97'' included 55 concerts: 24 concerts were held in Hong Kong Coliseum and 31 concerts were held in the cities around the world. Among them, six concerts were held in Japan and mainland China respectively. ''World Tour 97'' was the first concert series that Cheung held in these two areas.

In 1999, Cheung started a music company, Apex Music, signing a distribution contract with Universal Music Group. Important albums released via includes ''Count Down With You'' , '''' , and ''Untitled'' . The hit songs released by him during this period include ''Passing-by Dragonfly'', the top one hit song, ''Big Heat'', and ''Left Right Hands'', Top Ten Gold Song of the Year . He also composed the song ''I'' , which was considered by him as a song of self-statement. In 2000, Cheung was awarded the Golden Needle award . In the same year, Cheung had been assigned as the "Music Ambassador" of Composors And Authors Society of Hong Kong until his death. Cheung also composed the theme song ''Noah's Ark'', for the ''CASH Golden Sail Award''.

The later years

In 2000, Cheung held his last concert series, ''Passion Tour''. ''Passion Tour'' included 43 concerts, lasting from July 31, 2000 to April 16, 2001. It was his most disputable, and possibly best concert. Cheung worked at the first time as the art director as well as the singer for the concert. He invited Jean-Paul Gaultier to design all eight costumes for the concert. However, the costumes, together with his long wig and beard, were criticized bitterly by Hong Kong media at the early stage of the concerts. Cheung later disclosed that Gaultier was very angry about the criticism and claimed in an email that he would never design costumes again for any Asian performer. Despite the early criticisms from the media, ''Passion Tour'' achieved huge success. ''Passion Tour'' was highly welcomed in Japan and made Cheung hold 10 concerts there. Together with ''World Tour 97'' concerts, Cheung set a record of foreign artists of holding 16 concerts in Japan. In China, Cheung set a record yet to be broken by holding two consecutive night concerts in Shanghai Stadium . He was also awarded the "Grand Salute Award" by Mingpao Weekly and "Music Salute Award" from Chinese Pop Music Media Association for his work in ''Passion Tour''.

By the end of the 1990s, Cheung had began to focus on acting in non-romance roles. In '''' , he starred as a poor single father who fostered an abandoned baby boy. In the action thriller '''' , he played a psycho killer, Rick. In the 2002 psycho thriller ''Inner Senses'' , he played psychologist Dr. Law, who discovered his own emotional issues when he tried to treat his patient Yan . His performance in these films earned him another ''Best Actor'' nomination from the Hong Kong Film Awards. He also garnered another two ''Best Actor Award'' nominations from Taiwan Film Festival. During this period, Cheung began to try his hand at film direction. In 2000, he directed his first movie, the 45 minutes ''From Ashes to Ashes''. In 2002, he began to film his first regular length movie ''Stealing Heart''. The film was not completed due to the deterioration of his health.

Sexual orientation

Cheung was and once said in an interview in ''Time'' magazine: "It's more appropriate to say I'm bisexual. I've had girlfriends. When I was 22 or so, I asked my girlfriend Teresa Mo to marry me."

Despite numerous tabloid rumors, he denied his homosexual/bi-sexual orientation for the first half of his career, until his stance relaxed considerably after emigrating to Vancouver. In the early 1990s he became one of the few Hong Kong actors who dared to play gay characters onscreen.

Cheung's first gay role was ''Cheng Dieyi'' in '''' . ''Cheng Dieyi'' was a Beijing opera singer or '''' who had fallen in love with his male singing partner. In Wong Kar-wai's '''' , Cheung played another gay role, ''Ho Po-wing''. ''Happy Together'' contained graphic sex scenes. He was nominated for the Best Actor Award at the Golden Horse Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in ''''.

In 1995 a Hong Kong tabloid published a photo of Cheung with another man, Daffy Tong Hok-Tak . In a 1997 concert, Cheung openly revealed that Tong was his "most beloved" after his mother. The Hong Kong media eventually accepted the two men's relationship and the tabloid gave Tong the nickname ''Tong Tong'' . After Cheung's death, Cheung's family published a full-page obituary in a Hong Kong newspaper, in which Tong was listed as a surviving spouse . Tong, together with Cheung's eldest sister, was also designated as the executor of Cheung's estate.

Death

Cheung committed suicide on April 1, 2003. He leapt from the 24th floor of the , located in the Central district of Hong Kong Island. He left a suicide note saying that he had been suffering from . He was 46 years old.

As one of the most popular performers in Asia, Cheung's death shocked the Asian entertainment industry and Chinese community world-wide. Rumors about the cause of his death spread so fast that his family urged tabloids to let Cheung rest in peace, and not to sensationalize his sexual orientation and reasons for suicide. The day after Leslie's death, his long time partner, Tong, confirmed that Cheung suffered from depression and had been seeing psychiatrists for treatment for almost a year. He also revealed that Cheung had attempted suicide in 2002. Later at his funeral, Cheung's niece disclosed that her uncle had severe clinical depression and suffered much over the past year .

Despite the risk of infection from and the 's warning on travels to Hong Kong, tens of thousands, including celebrities and other fans, many from other parts of the world such as mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, the United States and Canada attended Cheung's memorial service, which was held for the public, on April 7, 2003. Cheung's funeral was on April 8, 2003. For almost one month, Cheung's death dominated newspaper headlines in Hong Kong and his songs were constantly on the air.

Cheung's last album ''Everything Follows the Wind'' was released three months after his death.

* Cheung's suicide note : "Depression! Many thanks to all my friends. Many thanks to Professor . This year has been so tough. I can't stand it anymore. Many thanks to Mr. Tong. Many thanks to my family. Many thanks to Fei-Fei . In my life I did nothing bad. Why does it have to be like this?"
* Cheung's suicide note : "Depression! 多謝各位朋友，多謝麥列菲菲教授，這一年很辛苦，不能再忍受，多謝唐先生，多謝家人，多謝肥姐. 我一生沒做壞事為何這樣?"

Extra information

* It was reported that Cheung got the nickname "gorgor" when he acted in the movie The Bride with White Hair with Brigitte Lin in 1993. However, Cheung said he was first called gorgor by Joey Wong when they worked for movie A Chinese Ghost Story. In Miss You Much Leslie concert , Susan Hwuang, a close friend of Cheung, said was the first one who called Cheung "gorgor" when they played Mahjong back in 80s.

* His last public singing appearance was in the late Anita Mui's last 2002 concert as a guest performer, shortly before his death. There, he sang a duet which they had recorded in the 80s and a new song "Extinct Season of Glory". He directed and acted in the video of the song "Extinct Season of Glory".

* Leslie Cheung is the first generation of Pepsi stars in Asia.

* Voted as #1 in Commercial Radio's ''Top 10 Most Beautiful People in Hong Kong''.

* Voted as the winner of the ''10 Hottest Celebrities of the Millennium in Hong Kong''.

* In 2000, many websites and newspapers reported that Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Zhu Ling Ling and Michelle Reis were elected as ''Four Peerlessly Beauty in Hong Kong''. Among them Cheung is the only man, and all the rest are women.

* His song ''Monica'' was crowned as ''Song of the Century''.

* Named ''Asian Biggest Superstar'' by CCTV-MTV in Beijing China.

* Won the ''Most Favorite Actor Award in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema'' in the poll held by Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd, Hong Kong Ferry Co. Ltd, HKFAA and UA Cinemas for the Centennial of Chinese Film History

* In the list ''Top 100 Favorite movies of Chinese Cinema'', voted by Hong Kong public, he's 5 movies of top 10, and 4 ones of top 5

* The first Hong Kong actor who acted in a mainland China film, .

* Supports charitable organizations such as Hong Kong Red Cross, Children's Cancer Foundation Hong Kong, and End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation.

* Member of the jury at Tokyo International Film Festival in 1993 and the Berlin International Film Festival in 1998.

* One of 10 Chinese Cultural Idols of the 20th Century.

* His wax figure at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong was unveiled on March 31, 2004 . It's put in "Historical and National Heroes" room . The look is reminiscent of Cheung in his famous role as Beijing opera impersonator Cheng Dieyi in the film, .

* A 2006 Hong Kong study on the celebrity suicide events suggested that Cheung's death may cast negative effects on the people already depressed during the SARS period: in April 2003, there were 134 suicides in Hong Kong . Among them, 13 mentioned Cheung in their suicide notes. However, the historical statistic given in the paper show that the suicide rates in the months before and after April 2003 keep consistent with that of April 2003. The paper does not analyze the effect of the SARS and economy depress on the suicide rate either.

* To remember Cheung, some his fans donated benches with Cheung's name to parks at the places they live, such as Hibiya Park in Tokyo or Stanley Park in Vancouver.

* Cheung was called the ''Elvis of Hong Kong'' earlier in his career. Coincidentally, the year Elvis Presley died was the year Cheung started his singing career.

* There are some songs about Cheung, the most famous one is ''Go Go,'' written and sung by Lum Hon Yeung.

Achievement lists

Selected awards

*''RTV Asian Song Contest'' Runners-up with the song "" 1977
*''Overseas Chinese Daily News'' The Best Newcomer Award 1977
*''RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award'' winner with the song 1984
*''TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award'' winner with song 1984
*''Commercial Radio Chinese Pop Songs Award'' winner 1984
*''RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award'' winner with song ''Wild Wind'' 1985
*''TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award'' winner with song ''Wild Wind'' 1985
*''Commercial Radio Chinese Pop Songs Award'' winner 1985
*''RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award'' winner with song ''Who Can Be With Me'' 1986
*''TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award'' winner with songs ''Who Can Be With Me and'', ''Love in Those Years'' 1986
*''Commercial Radio Chinese Pop Songs Award'' winner 1986
*''RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award'' winner with song ''Sleepless Night'', Summer Romance is also the Best Selling CD of the year and IFPI Best Selling Album in 1987
*''TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award'' winner with song ''Sleepless Night''
*''RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award'' winner with songs ''Silence is Golden'' and ''Up Close'' 1988
*''TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award'' Most Popular Male Singer 1988
*''CRHK Ultimate Song Chart Awards'' Best Male Singer 1988
*''TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award'' winner with song ''Start From Zero'', and also winner of the Most Popular Male Singer 1989
*''Commercial Radio Ultimate Song Chart Male Gold Award 1989'' winner LESLIE, album is also the IFPI Best Album of the Year
*''IFPI Best Selling Album'' winner with ''Fondness'' 1999
*''RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award'' Millennium Gold Song Award for '''' 1999
*''RTHK Golden Needle Award'' 1999
*''RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award'' winner with song ''Left Right Hand'' 1999
*''CRHK Ultimate Song Chart Awards'' Top Ten Albums for Countdown With You 1999
*''CRHK Ultimate Song Chart Awards'' Best Song Award for ''Left Right Hand'' 1999
*''Metro Radio Hit Music Awards'' Best Song Award for ''Left Right Hand'' 1999
*''Metro Radio Hit Music Awards'' Top Ten Best Hits for ''Left Right Hand'' 1999
*''TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Awards'' Music Salute Award 2000
*''Mingpao Weekly'' Outstanding Male Singer Award 2000
*''Ming Pao Weekly'' Grand Salute Award for Passion Tour 2000
*''Joint Award by RTHK, CR, TVB & Metro Radio for the Best Album of the Year'' winner with album ''Untitled'' 2001
*''Chinese Pop Music Media Awards'' Best Male Singer Award 2001
*''Chinese Pop Music Media Awards'' Best Concert Award for Passion Tour 2001
*''Chinese Pop Music Media Awards'' Top Ten Chinese Songs for ''Passing Dragonfly'' 2001
*''"Sprite My Choice" China Original Music Pop Chart Awards'' Golden Song Award for ''Fever'' 2001
*''"Sprite My Choice" China Original Music Pop Chart Awards'' Millennium Outstanding Achievement Award 2001
*''RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards'' Silver Jubilee Award of Excellence 2002
*''Chinese Pop Music Media Awards'' Lifetime Achievement Award 2003
*''Chinese Pop Music Media Awards'' Top Ten Chinese Songs for ''So Far So Close'' 2003
*''CASH'' My All-time Favorite Song for ''I'' 2003
*''CASH Golden Sail Music Awards'' Best Alternative Composition for ''So Far So Close'' 2003
*''Hong Kong Film Awards'' winner Best Actor for ''Days of Being Wild'' 1991
*''Taiwan Golden Horse Film Festival'' winner Best Original Movie Song for ''White-haired Beauty'' 1993
*''Chinese Performance Art Association'' Special Achievement Award for '''' 1993
*''Japanese Critic Society Best Actor Award '' for '''' 1994
*''Hong Kong Film Awards'' Best Original Film Song Award for ''Chase'' 1995
*''Winner of HK Film Critics Society Best Actor Award'' for ''Ashes of Time'' 1994
*''Taiwan Golden Horse Awards, Udn, Phoenix TV, and World Journal'' Global Top Ten Chinese Movie Stars Award 1996
*''Ming Pao Weekly Performing Arts Awards'' Most Outstanding Actor for ''Inner Senses'' 2002
*''Nikkei Entertainment Japan'' Top Ten Best Actors in Asia 2004
*''NHK Japan'' Top Ten Favorite Movie Stars 2006
*''Hong Kong Film Awards'' Eternal Glory Performing Arts Award 2004
*''Hong Kong Film Awards'' Most Favorite Actor Award in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema 2005
*''Hong Kong Film Awards'' Silver Jubilee Best Actor Award 2006
*''Standard Chartered Hong Kong'' Platinum Multi-Talented Award 2000
*''CCTV-MTV Music Awards'' Biggest Asian Artist Award 2000
*''Sina China'' Top 10 Cultural Idols of the 20th Century 2003
*''City of Smile Hong Kong'' Top 10 Celebrities With the Most Beautiful Smile 2003
*''Sina China'' Most Missed Artist 2007
*''Sohu China "Remembering My 1997"'' Most Memorable Celebrity 2007

Discography

*''I Like Dreamin' '' 1977
*''Day Dreamin' 1977
*情人箭 1979
*風繼續吹 1983
*一片痴 1983
*張國榮 Leslie 1984
*夏日精選 - 全賴有你 1985
*為你鍾情 1985
*張國榮 Leslie Cheung 1986
*''Stand Up 1986
*張國榮 1986
*愛慕 1987
*''Summer Romance'87 '' 1987
*''Hot Summer'' 1988
*''Virgin Snow'' 1988
*''Leslie '89'' 張國榮 1989
*''Salute'89'' 1989
*''Final Encounter'' 1989
*''Dreaming'' 1990
*寵愛 1995
*紅 1996
*''FROM NOW ON'' 1996
*'''' 1998
*這些年來 1998
*''陪你倒數'' '''' 1999
*'''' 2000
*''Leslie Untitled '' 2000
*''Leslie Forever'' 2001
*''Crossover'' 2002
*一切隨風 2003

Filmography

*''Erotic Dreams of the Red Chamber''
*''Dog eats Dog''
*''On Trial''
*''''
*''''
*''Energetic 21''
*''Crazy Romance''
*''Teenage Dreamers''
*''''
*''''
*''Little Dragon maid''
*''First time''
*''''
*''''
*''Behind the Yellow Line''
*''Intellectual Trio''
*''For Your Heart Only''
*''Last Song in Paris''
*''A Better Tomorrow''
*''''
*''A Better Tomorrow II''
*''A Chinese Ghost Story''
*''''
*''Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit''
*''A Chinese Ghost Story Part II''
*''''
*''Days of Being Wild''
*''Party of a Wealthy Family'' aka. ''The Banquet'' - Himself
*''Nam Kong Legend: Anti-Punk Squad''
*''All's Well, Ends Well''
*''''
*''The Eagle Shooting Heroes: Dong Cheng Xi Jiu''
*''All's Well, Ends Well Too''
*''The Bride with White Hair 2''
*''The Bride with White Hair''
*''Ashes of Time''
*''Long and Winding Road''
*''Over the Rainbow Under the Skirt''
*''He's a Woman, She's a Man''
*''''
*''The Phantom Lover''
*''The Chinese Feast''
*''Temptress Moon''
*''Yang Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema''
*''Viva Erotica''
*''Shanghai Grand''
*''Who's the Man, Who's the Woman''
*''''
*''All's Well, Ends Well 1997''
*''''
*''Ninth Happiness''
*''A Time to Remember''
*''Anna Magdalena''
*''Moonlight Express''
*''''
*''''
*''Okinawa Rendez-vous''
*''From Ashes to Ashes''
*''Inner Senses''
*''Ashes of Time Redux''

Biography

At age six he was sent to the Beijing Sports Institute at Shichahai. Both his father and grandfather were also martial artists. Like Jet Li before him, he competed as a member of the Beijing Wushu Team. He won first places in several national level competitions at the junior level and continued to compete as an adult, despite his increasing height.

In 1995 he was spotted by martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo Ping, who had come to the institute to scout for a martial artist for the film ''Tai Chi 2''. Since then Wu Jing has appeared in numerous -produced wuxia television series. He has also worked with choreographer and director Lau Kar-leung for the 2003 film ''Drunken Monkey''. In 2005, Wu Jing achieved success in Hong Kong action cinema with his role as a vicious assassin in the movie ''''.

In 2006 he continued his move into HK films by starring in the film '''', and in 2007 he is the male lead in ''Twins Mission'', starring the duo and SPL co-star Sammo Hung. He also worked with Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue and director Benny Chan on police action film ''Nan er ben se'' which was released in July 2007. In 2008 March, Wu Jing makes his directorial debut, alongside Nicky Li, on his newest film ''Legendary Assassin''.

Filmography

*''Legendary Assassin
*''The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
*''Fatal Move
*''Invisible Target
*''Twins Mission
*''
*''
*''''
*''The Legend of Zu
*''Tai Chi Boxer

Yu So Chow

Yu So Chow is a Chinese actress born in Beijing on July 9 1930 to a Peking opera family. She is the daughter of late Master Yu Jim Yuen who ran the ''China Drama Academy'', a Peking Opera School in Hong Kong, and teacher of many well-known actors.

She started her acting career in 1948 and made over 240 films in the wuxia, kung fu, action, detective and Cantonese opera genres. Her films were successful at the box-office and she was one of the most popular superstars of the 1960 in Asia and Hong Kong.

Career

Ms Yu learnt Peking Opera at the age of eight and made her stage debut at the age of nine. She specialized in playing female warrior roles in which she could skillfully demonstrate her footwork by continuously juggling and kicking back twelve red-tasselled ''tuo shou'' spears, as seen in one of her famous stage Peking operas, '''' , and in the 1951 film ''Amazon on the Sea'' .

Her first movie was made in 1948, a wuxia film called ''The Kung Fu Couple'' . She was one of the three actresses in the 1950s who really knew martial arts. Off the screen, she was virtually a heroine: at the age of sixteen, she alone successfully fought off a group of gangsters with only a silky belt on the streets of Shanghai. She was able to do all the stunts, punches and skills by herself in all her action films.

Her early wuxia pictures from 1948 to 1957 were in both Mandarin and Cantonese dialogue, with stories intended to increase cooperation of the Northern Style and Southern Style of martial arts, as seen in ''The heroine of deadly darts'' in 1956. These remarkable wuxia films were mostly based on kung fu novels, e.g. ''Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery Pt 1 & Pt 2'' in 1950, ''The Golden Hairpin Pt 1 & Pt 3'' in 1963, ''Buddha’s Palm'' Pt 1 to Pt 4 '' in 1964 and ''The Burning of Pingyang City'' in 1965.

Her performances in Cantonese opera were quite different; she brought in a mixture of Peking Opera, in which she performed a lot of footwork, as in ''Suet Ting Shan and Fan Lai Hua - Meeting on the Weedy River'' in 1961, ''Giving birth on the bridge – the White serpent'' in 1962 and ''How Zhong Wuyan Conquered the West'' in 1962. She also played a male lead as seen in movies ''Execution of Lui Po'' at Pak Moon Lau in 1961, ''Two hunters in a pursuit'' in 1962 and ''The beauties'' in 1964. Apart from action films, she did a few rare contemporary and melodrama films, for example ''Midsummer night’s romance'' in 1953, ''Bachelors beware'' in 1960 and ''Two mouthy ladies from the north and south'' in 1965.

Her golden age of filming was between 1963 and 1966 ,when she made at least thirty movies in a year. Despite her fame and her leading position, she did take part in movies as a villainous woman, a role usually rejected by other actresses who were afraid of damaging their image. However, Ms Yu proved that her talent in acting was not limited to action films. Her surprise roles in ''The big revenge part 1 and 2'' and ''Heaven, Hell and Crystal Palace'' did not destroy her popularity nor upset her fans; instead they won the hearts of the audience.

She married famous Cantonese opera actor, Mr Mak Bing Wing, in 1966. Her last major movie was filmed in Taiwan and she made a guest appearance in ''Secret agent no.1'' in 1970. Soon after that she was completely retired from the limelight. She is now settled in San Francisco with her five children.

In 2004, Ms Yu was one of the celebrities honoured on the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong. To date, Ms Yu still holds the record among actresses of making more than 170 wuxia movies. Though she did not gain any international awards before her retirement , she is recognised as a "queen" of martial artists and actresses by her fans for her devotion to, and excellence in, wuxia films.

Kong Duen-Yee , known then as Mui Yee, was a beautiful Chinese movie star in Hong Kong. In her several films she depicted a wealthy wife scorned and other romantic characters. Her film career ran throughout the 1950's, at a time when mainstream cinema in Hong Kong was just beginning to challenge the conservative Asian culture. Soon after Yee was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 1960, she retired and decided to become a "preacher" as which she acted for about seven years. Yee died in 1966 due to complications of her cancer.

Conversion to become a christian sect leader

In 1963, facing certain death, Kong Duen-Yee turned from a worldly lifestyle to religion and reacted to the Pentecostal revival which had reached Asia to start a Christian sect she called the New Testament Church . She appointed herself a prophetess and an Apostle to continue the work of the book of in the Bible. In addition to teaching "speaking in tongues" as a means of salvation, she began promulgating what she called "Blood, Water and Holy Spirit," of which she claimed God had inspired her from her Bible readings of 1 John 5:6-8, but is actually a teaching that many Christians have always held dear: that Jesus shed His blood for the remission of sins, began His ministry when He was baptized, and ended His ministry when He sent down the Holy Spirit to build His church on the Day of Pentecost.

Kong also taught her primarily female followers teachings that bordered on numerology, including the "7.21 Inspiration" , which she dubbed the "rebuilding of the New Testament Church by the Holy Spirit." Yee prophesied that her religious group would become famous and cause worldwide revival. Upon her gruesome death, she was succeeded by her daughter Ruth Chang. But soon afterwards Ruth was convinced by her husband that her mother's teachings were heretical and that the NTC sect is a cult. Chang then moved to Southern California and became a pastor of a Pentecostal Christian church .

Film career

These are the films by Yee Mui before she was stricken ill:

Title Year
* Reunion, The 1962
* Magic Lamp 1960
* Beauty Slain By The Sword 1959
* Road, The 1959
* Seven Swordsman Leave Tianshan 1959
* Lotus Lantern , The 1958
* Marriage On The Rocks 1958
* Prince Of Thieves 1958
* Prince's Romantic Affairs, The 1958
* Scholar Redeems His Love, A 1958
* Case Of The Blood Stain, The 1957
* Escorting Lady Jing On A 1,000 Mile Journey 1957
* Fox-Spirit's Romance, The 1957
* Her Tragic Death 1957
* Lizhi's Tale, The 1957
* Lotus Lamp, The 1957
* Pearl's Reconciliation 1957
* Story Of Liang Tianlai, The 1957
* Thunderstorm 1957
* Beauty In The Mist 1956
* Fire 1956
* King And The Beauty, The 1956
* Madam Mei 1956
* Peacock's Sad Tale, The 1956
* Precious Lotus Lamp, The 1956
* Romance At The Western Chamber 1956
* Sad Wife In A Grand House, The 1956
* Broken Spring Dreams 1955
* Devoted Lover, The 1955
* Honeymoon 1955
* Hypocritical Heart, The 1955
* Love 1955
* Love 1955
* Love Trilogy 1955
* My Wife, My Wife 1955
* Next Generation, The 1955
* Orphan's Tragedy, An 1955
* Pagoda Of Long Life, The 1955
* Hills Divide Us, The 1954
* Noble Family, The 1954
* Orchid Of The Valley 1954
* Unforgettable Song, An 1954
* Bird In The Sunset 1953
* Bright Night 1953
* Death Of A Beauty 1953
* Family 1953
* Guiding Light, The 1953
* In the Face of Demolition 1953
* Things Of The Past 1953
* Couple In Love, A 1952
* Kowloon City Fire 1950
* Laughter And Tears 1950
* Laughter And Tears 1950
* Dead End Case 1949
* Love And Hate On The Sea 1949
* Love In The Schoolyard 1941
* Beautiful Puppet,The 1938
* Sentimental Woman, The 1937
* War And Survival 1937

Sources

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*
*
*

Kai Wong

Kai Wong; born July 22; and coached by Sean Penn, and after studies at the Sorbonne, was admitted to New College, University of Oxford in English Literature but finished baccalaureate degree at Dartmouth College.

Wong later moved to Europe where he trained and performed at the of Paris, where he was a year junior with Louis Garrel of Bernardo Bertolucci's ''''. As an actor, he worked under late theatre director Claude Stratz, collaborator of French director Patrice Chereau.''

Family

Kai's estranged sister, Bennie, is a Moonie apostate, a follower of Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon. His other sister, Connie, is god-daughter of the former Head of CIA.

Genealogy

Of ancient imperial lineage, Wong is an intra-clan of the Yellow Emperor, Huangdi, and a direct descendant of Qinshihuang. Wong's ancestry traces to the Huang clan of Jiangxia Prefecture in Hubei. This branch of the Wong clan are direct descendants of the founding Emperor of China. His paternal grandfather Huang Zhongwen born Y.S. Wong , rumored to be part of the Tongmenghui, was tutored by an Imperial scholar - Jìnshì , and a trained physician , before fighting in Sun Yat-sen's army in the Northern Expedition against European and Japanese invasions, after which he passed away from tuberculosis. He inherited imperial palace beads from his grandmother, Kwan, , but this was lost in the war.

Career

Wong was discovered in New York City by talent manager and dancer, Jadin Wong. Jadin immediately signed him up after hearing him audition as Marius in "". He started his U.S. film career as her protégé. His career started in New York performing in off-Broadway theater such as anti-war agitprop musicals and performance theater.

Wong started his career in New York sitcoms and then moved to Hollywood. Wong was shortlisted to co-star with Meryl Streep in '''', a film inspired by true events in the genre of Michael Moore's ''Bowling for Columbine'' and Gus Van Sant's ''''. He was also shortlisted for Rush Hour 3 as French-speaking Assassin. Wong stalled involvement in both in view of racial sensitivities after the controversy surrounding the Virginia Tech Massacre.

Damian Lau is a legendary Hong Kong TVB ATV actor. A famous Award winner and nominated Hong Kong Actor and Director, Damian Lau is recognized by many audiences throughout the world for his intense credibility in acting.

* Height: 5'10 .
* Star Sign: .
* Chinese Zodiac: Ox.
* Religion: Catholic.

His Work

A highly accomplished actor, Damian Lau was often cast as the silent handsome good guy heroic type in a number of the sword fighting fantasy films of the 80’s and 90’s. One of his first major roles was in John Woo’s Last Hurrah for Chivalry in 1979 as an Assassin. After that was Duel To the Death where his character's final duel with Norman Chiu's character is said to be one of the best wuxia sword fight ever made.
Damian Lau has been in a lot of movies since then. Although he is a famous movie star, he is also highly respected and praised in Hong Kong and mainland China for his portrayal in Television Series. He is always used when there's a rating war among television stations. Most of the series he is in as a lead or second lead always received well in public and received very nice reviews and ratings. As for his allegiance, there is no real saying whether he is a TVB actor or an ATV actor. There are a number of times where he'd fight for both sides at the same time, TVB and ATV. Damian got a nickname ''"Mom killer / Lady killer"'' in Hong Kong and mainland China because they just love his portrayal in TV Series. He is also known well for his youthfulness and health. In year 2007 he won the Ming Pao magazine Best Actor award for TV series for his portrayal as King Gou Jian of Yue in TV Series The Conquest.

"No Man is Rich enough to buy back his past. Hard Working is the key to success. And of course being healthy is the most important of all".

The Tokyo Trial

The Tokyo Trial was a highly controversial 2006 film in which Damian successfully portrayed the historic Chinese judge Mei Ju-ao, who convinced 10 other national judges to prosecute Japanese World War II criminals with the death penalty for their crimes against peace and humanity. The Tokyo Trial was the first movie in which Damian delivered most of his lines in English. He received a Best Actor nomination for the 2007 Golden Rooster Awards for his portrayal in the movie.

The Drive of Life

The Drive of Life is a TVB 60-episode Grand production, specially filmed to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of of Hong Kong back to Mainland China from United Kingdom 1997-2007. It is a joint production of TVB and . Told in flashback from 1994, the Story revolves around Damian's Character, Wah Man Hon as the oldest brother and his family through the Ups and Downs that Hong Kong's had been experiencing since the handover. The series has finished airing in Hong Kong .

Point Of No Return

Damian play the character of Chow Ming Hin, a man of little words but many aspirations. He dedicated his life to run the shipping company; sacrificing his own happiness in the process. Outwardly, he seemed like a domineering and aggressive man, but deep down inside he was kind and caring. He finally was able to marry his childhood sweetheart Ng Yuk Hing , but his world came crashing down when he realized he didn't have much time left due to his liver cancer. An experienced veteran actor, Damian was the pulling force of PONR. He stole the show every time he appeared on the screen. Audiences can step into his shoes and feel his happiness, anguish, sadness and helplessness through his turbulent life. Definitely thumbs up performance by this great actor.

Movies/TV Series Directed

* The Brave and the Coward ''director''
* Bei Dou Xing ''actor and director''

TV Series Filmography

* Mei Gui Jiang Hu as Jun Wuji
* Catch Me Now as Ko Chi Jack
* The Drive of Life as Wah Man Hang
* The Conquest as King Gou Jian of Yue
* Men in Pain as Hong Tin Yam
* Eight Heroes as Guan Yu Lou
* Tian Xia Di Yi as Tiedan Shenhou
* Only You as Wang Hao Ran
* Hard Fate as Leung Pak-Yin
* Scent of Love as Jin Zhi Zhong
* as Chow Ming Hin
* Find the Light as Chan Do Yeung
* True Love
* The Awakening Story as Suen Hok Kei / Philip
* Dare to Strike as Li De Chao
* To Where He Belongs as Ko Hou Wan
* ICAC Investigators 2000 as Lee Tin
* Monk At Thirty as Lin Chong
* The Immortal Fugitive as Rong Ren Jie
* The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre as Zhang Cui Shan
* Ups and Downs as Hong Da Long
* Silver Rat
* Bond of Friendship as Zhuang Xue Ren
* Wen Yi Duo
* Interpol
* Women's Story
* The Swordsman
* King of Gamblers
* The Unexpected
* The Great General
* ICAC Investigators 1994
* Xia Yi Jian Qing Tian
* The Thief of Time
* The Greed of Man as Fong Chun Sun
* Bi Hai Qing Tian
* Jiang Hu Zai Jian
* Lovers at the End of an Era
* Spring Comes and Goes
* Ba Yue Gui Hua Xiang the theme song itself is sung by the late Roman Lo
* Lay and Order
* Huan Jun Ming Zhu with Taiwanese actress Su Ming-ming as co-stars
* Hero of the Time
* The Rise of the Great Wall as Jing Ke
* Condor in September as Yip Hoi
* Chronicles of the Shadow Swordsman
* Da Di En Qing Zhi Gu Du Jing Lei
* Swordsman Li Bai
*
* Yesterday's Glitter as Kam Jan-sai
* Princess Chang Ping
* God of Sabre
* Da Heng
* The Butterfly Lovers
* Luk Siu Fung I: Battle of Wu Dang as Luk Siu Fung
* Luk Siu Fung II: Before and After the Duel as Luk Siu Fung
* Luk Siu Fung III: Mystery of the Golden Bird as Luk Siu Fung
* Ban Sheng Yuan

Movies Filmography

* Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon as Cao Cao
* The Tokyo Trial as Judge Mei Ju-ao
* New Born Living Strong as Professor Vincent Yu
* Fireline as Cheng Fu-Shing
* Till Death Do Us Part
* Best of the Best as Calvin Chan Lik-Yeung
* First Option as Inspector Lau
* Ah Kam as Lawyer
* My Father is a Hero as Yat-Wah's Boss
* Sea Eagles as Liu Qing Zong
* Tian Di as Tai Chai-Man
* What Price Survival as Wu An-Kuo
* The New Legend of Shaolin as Chan Kan-Nam
* Murder as Yau Lung
* Holy Weapon as Mo Kake 'Heaven's Sword'
* The Magic Crane as Yat Yeung-Tze
* Executioners as Inspector Lau
* The Heroic Trio as Inspector Lau
* The Thief of Time
* Shanghai Heroic Story as Ngai Ting-Yim
* She Starts the Fire
* Royal Tramp 2 as Chan, Master of the Heaven & Earth Society
* Royal Tramp as Chan, Master of the Heaven & Earth Society
* Inspector Pink Dragon as Teng Kuo-Chiao
* The Story of My Son as Li Tzu-Liang
* School on Fire as Wan
* Profile in Anger
* Zu - Warriors from the Magic Mountain as Abbott Hsiao Yu
* Duel to the Death as Ching Wan
* The Enigmatic Case as Lo Tin-Kwan
* Last Hurrah for Chivalry as Tsing Yi / Greeno

Monday, September 15, 2008

Felix Wong

Felix Wong Yat-Wah is a popular TVB actor in Hong Kong from the eighties (also known as TVB's golden decade. He is one of the most famous series actors and one of the most favoritable. His specialty are roles in tragic and sad series.

Career and fame

Felix Wong graduated from TVB Artist Training Class in 1979, and proceeded to act for TVB, where he made his name known. Although he has appeared in over a dozen movies, he is mostly known for his work in various television series. During the 1980s, Felix Wong, along with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Andy Lau, Miu Kiu Wai and Kent Tong, made up the "Five Tiger Generals of TVB", who were the most popular male actors of TVB at the time. According to most polls, he was probably the most favorable tiger. He is best known for his role as the foolish, yet brave Guo Jing in the 1983 television adaptation of Jin Yong's ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' .

In , his character was foolish, dumb, clumsy, but had an excellent level of stubbornness and bravery. Felix mastered to portray every character trait as good as the story itself. This role was no doubt, his most famous role ever. The story was itself was also one of the most famous sword play stories ever written.

During the eighties Felix was one of the few actors who filmed series continuously. Though achieving great fame, due to his series, he was never really happy with his heavy project loads. He was a very obedient actor and directors liked to work with him. Because of this personality, he became a slave to TVB. It was rare that Felix would go home and see his wife, which made her and his daughter unhappy. This fact had also caused some family issues as well. Felix was filming so many series in one year , he recalled he had to sleep in the bathroom. He had said that those who were lucky would be able to get the chairs to sleep in the studio. Those who were unfortunate sleep on the floor or the locker room. Because of his overload work hours; in 1985, he collapsed in the studio and was immediately transferred to the hospital. The doctor had said he was overworking himself and he also had a bad lung due to smoking. He recalled being very happy, during his eighteen days rest at the hospital.

This hard worker was also known for his flexible acting ranging from the innocent to the clever, sly, and greedy, Lee Mun in The Grand Canal. His role as Lee Mun was considered the most favorable evil role Felix had played. The Lee Mun in the story was handsome, powerful and would be dressed in a white outfit. At first, he tried to "camouflage" his evilness and befriended the main character, Tony Leung. Many audiences have denied they have fell for his "camouflage". At the end, he splits up general Tony's warriors and took part of the warriors for himself. He then ended up killing the warriors when he was betrayed. His personality was one that "swayed with the wind." Whenever one country lost, he would go fight for the winning country. When that country had lost, he would go fight for the winning country convincing them with his sly grouping of words. He was so greedy, he killed his own sister for Tony's warriors to stop attacking him.

This favorable actor is also best friends with the famous canto-pop singer Andy Lau. Felix was also the person who handed Lau the application form to become an actor . had laughed and said that he couldn't have imagined that the person handing him the application form was so handsome.

When Felix graduated from college his family would often nag at him to become an actor due to his good looks. During many days of nagging him, his sister got him an application form . Through many times of begging, he accepted to take the form. Going to TVB Artist Training School was like going to regular school for him. The instructors saw him as a good student. His classmates also included Miu Kiu Wai. His first role ever was as a gangster in The Bund, a notable series starring the legendary Chow Yun Fat. Though Felix did not even get five minutes of on-screen time, his roles gradually became bigger.

His next series, The Misadventure of Zoo had actually got him as one of the characters the story focused on. This was a series with Adam Cheng while Felix plays Adam Cheng's sworn brother. His first major role was with Carol Cheng in Gwor Hak. The series was a major success and quickly shot him to great fame. This was also Michael Miu's first big role. In the series, Felix shot his friend, only to lose his girlfriend, Carol Cheng. After the series was aired, his fan letters exceeded hot favorites such as Liza Wang, Angie Chiu, and Carol Cheng. The series that had shot him into more fame was a famous classical with Barbara Yung. After the series, his name quickly became a legendary household name. This was no doubt one of the most famous TV series in Hong Kong.

Notable productions

During his heydays, he and his series were a hot favorite among many fans. After just one year in the entertainment industry, he became a popular favorite among audiences. What many seem to find special about him is how he portrayed a cute, honest, and sweet person very well. Though there were many generations of artists portraying Guo Jing, he was considered the most classic and popular version. No one could replace his foolishness, braveness and clumsiness as the swordsman. Some of his acting skills were learned from veteran actors, Bill Chan and Kwan Hoi San whom also co-starred in some productions including The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

The newer productions are good too, but critics has claimed that only Felix possesses most of the swordsman's traits.

He is also famous for another series with Carina Lau and Deric Wan, Looking Back in Anger. The song and series was considered a huge success. Being able to achieve enormous ratings, this series was an irreplaceable classic and considered the most rented series in Hong Kong history. It was especially famous for its mysterious and tragic ending. This series along with his tragic acting had made many people cry. The love triangle between Felix, Carina Lau, and Kathy Chow was one of the most memorable ones from TVB.

Felix left TVB for the first time in 1989, after finishing Kim Mo Tuk Ku Kao Pai, a series about a swordsman who cannot find anyone who can defeat him. The title role is inspired from one of Jin Yong's legendary hero, whose sword style learned by Yang Guo in The Return of the Condor Heroes and Linghu Chong in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.

Felix moved to ATV and made four series between 1990 to 1992. Some of famous and considered as ATV classic series are Heaven's Retribution, and Silver Tycoon. Felix also made one Taiwanese series, Imperial Wanderer paired with Kathy Chow once again.

In 1993, Felix back to TVB and made a big production series Racing Peak. He was paired up with Amy Chan. The plot focuses on a horse racing company. Felix plays a slacker and a gambler that risks at any costs.

Some other famous productions are, Criminal Investigator with Sunny Chan and Gallen Lo, a series about cops.
Justice Pao with Ti Lung and Liu Kai Chi. Felix plays Pao's loyal bodyguard, Jin Chiu. Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, Secret of the Heart, Flying Fox of The Snowy Mountain as Hu Yi Dao, the main character's father, but unfortunately ended up dead, and Treasure Raiders a sequel to Gu Long's famous novel, Chor Lau Heung as the main hero Xiao Shi Yi Lang.

Family

Felix's love life involves two people: Mimi Kung and Leung Kit Wah. His first girlfriend was Leung. Leung and Felix dated in 1982, during their days in the training school. After a while, they broke up and Felix dated Mimi Kung. They dated for an amount of time and broke up which resulted in Felix and Leung getting back together. There was also a rumor that Kung turned Felix's proposal down.

In December 1988, he married his wife, Leung Kit Wah. During the same year, his megahit hit series, Looking Back in Anger was filmed. Two years later, their daughter Wong Chi Ching was born. Felix would usually go to Japan with his daughter because of her interest in the . Since his hours were always rush hours, he was very happy when he got a chance to chat with his daughter. He did not worry much about his daughter because she is in the top five in her class. Though he is an actor himself, he convinced his daughter to not join the filming industry because it is very complicated.

Due to some negative rumors, Felix and his wife's relationship has had some ups and downs. The rumor that his wife had an underground relationship with one of her business friends caused serious damage. There was a huge misunderstanding and the worse was how papparazzi made up their own version of the story.

Some actresses that Felix have had negative rumors with are Ada Choi, Kenix Kwok, and Sheren Tang. On the positive side, his relationship with his wife increased due to these misunderstandings. Felix had accepted himself as a non romantic man. On the other hand, his wife is a very romantic woman. When going to China to film, he would usually send small gifts to his wife such as flowers or cards. Before, Felix dis not have much time with his wife, since he was so busy. Nowadays, if people were to stop by the Wongs' house, most of the time him and his wife would be holding hands. During many interviews, he had said he cherished his wife because he had "almost lost her before".

One production Felix worked with his wife was in Twilights of a Nation. Felix does not only suffer from problems with his wife, but his family as well. His mom would scold him everyday for filming too many ancient series. This had made Felix lose much of his self-esteem.

Leaving TVB

On 11 January 2002, Felix Wong left TVB for the second time and made mainland serials. He was unhappy about how TVB was being run. He disliked the way how the company was making many gibberish series. He also hated the way how series nowadays were just about revenge. In the same year, he even protested against TVB saying they should make better series. It didn't matter much, because his contract has expired. He even said in an interview, that TVB were slave drivers. Before, he was ''"frozen"'', because he at first declined to shave his hair for a role as the monk in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. Because he was ''frozen'', he did not get to film his upcoming movie. The role was later given to Andy Lau. The talented actor had declared in an interview that he would not return to TVB until there was no more competition left. This had left many other studios chances to have him film for them unfortunately, he rejected them all. His last major role for TVB was in Treasure Raiders.

In 2005, Felix got a role in Andy Lau's new movie, Wait 'Til You're Older. When Andy asked Felix to play get a role in movie, Felix just replied yes to his friend. Felix, who was clueless about his role did not even read the script yet. When it was time for the script, he was shocked to find out he played Andy's father, when they're both the same age. Even though, Felix just smiled and accepted the role. Andy had said that he found Felix suitable for the role, because he saw how happy and comfortable Felix's daughter was when she was walking with him.

Felix's life does not only revolve around acting, it revolves around soccer as well. Being known as a soccer maniac he plays for the Hong Kong celebrity soccer team. This soccer is made up of the best Hong Kong celebrity soccer players. His celebrity soccer team is also famed for another tiger, Michael Miu. Though they did not see each other for a long amount of time, Michael and Felix has remained best friends for over twenty years. Due to heavy loads of filming projects he recalled not playing soccer and visiting his friends for three years. Felix and Eddie Cheung should be hosting the Hong Kong World Cup, an event that Felix is very eager to attend.

Current life

Felix is now semi-retired and enjoying his life full of leisure and simple activities. He has rejected many series and will only film movies right now. This had made him and his family happier. Since his mother's death in 2000, he had told himself to cut down work because of the fear he would be the next one dead. This has caused him great depression. Though he does not make much profit from it, he would be seen in many charity concerts. The main reasons that makes him happy about these are that it allows him to be a singer and hear the roars of his fans. He denied he will not be a full time singer because he does not like his voice and doesn't want to embarrass himself. The only goal in his life is to be a good and successful man. This means having a good family, good health, and being able to support the family. He has quit taking alcohol and is trying to quit smoking as well. He would lower his smoking limits per day. Before, he would smoke a packet per day.

During his free time, he would either bowl or play soccer. Chatting with Andy Lau would also be another choice. His bowling skills was learned from Lau. This down to earth man possesses an unambitious attitude with a low profile. Unlike many other scandal actors, Felix does not try to end up on the news or go to promotional events unless it's urgent. He was also one of the few actors who has a small amount of negative rumors. During many interviews, he denied he was tired from those hard filming days in the past. Even on his birthday, his only wish is to enjoy more out of life. Many reporters have felt that his personality does not suit the entertainment industry. His down to earth and peaceful personality are two traits that most fans respect him for. Though he doesn't appear on the television screen as much as before there are still many die hard fans of him around.

Michael Wong (actor)

Michael Fitzgerald Wong or Wong Man-Tak is an Chinese-American and a Hong Kong based actor, director, singer and producer.

He is fluent in English language, but weak in , which is reflected in many of the characters he has portrayed. His most notable film is the 1998 film '''' which won a with Wong in the lead role. As of 2004, he has appeared in over fifty films in twenty-one years, often in lead roles.

Early career

Michael Wong grew up in Troy, New York, the son of restaurateur William Wong and American artist of Dutch and French descent, Connie Van Yserloo. After finishing high school, he left for Hong Kong to try his luck at acting. His brothers Russell Wong and Declan Wong would also become actors in the Hong Kong film industry.

There were a number of significant factors working against Wong's eventual success in the Hong Kong film industry including an inability to speak , no formal training in acting and no background in martial arts. He also lacked an entry into the tightly knit Hong Kong film industry.

His debut was in 1983's ''Invincible Obsessed Fighters'', which was a kung fu film. His next significant film was ''Royal Warriors'' aka ''In the Line of Duty'', which established his dominant image for the first part of his career as a naive but tough outsider. In 1986, he starred in ''Legacy of Rage'' alongside Brandon Lee in his only Hong Kong movie. He also starred alongside Jackie Chan in '''' and Brandon Lee's sister Shannon Lee in ''Enter the Eagles'' .

He is married to Hong Kong supermodel Janet Ma.

Later career

'''', released in 1994, would make Wong a major star in the Chinese film industry. Playing the role of a police officer, he established a tougher image and the character reappeared in a prequel ''First Option'' in 1996. He would reprise the role of Stone Wong in the 2002 movie ''New Option''.

Wong starred in a 1996 TV production '''' directed by John Woo. He made his English language movie debut in Tsui Hark's ''Knock Off'' in 1998. His starring role in ''Beast Cops'', which won a 1998 Best Film prize at the Hong Kong film awards, further consolidated his position.

In 2000, Wong made his debut as a director in ''Miles Apart'', which he also produced and starred in. He continues to enjoy steady film work even though he has to learn his Chinese lines phonetically. In 2006, Wong re-entered the music scene by performing "big band" music accompanied by a 10 piece band with the likes of ""

Filmography

* Drive of Life
* House of Fury
* Magic Kitchen
* Calmi Couri Appassionati
* At The Threshold Of An Era
* Enter the Eagles
*
* Thunderbolt
* Legacy of Rage
* Invincible Obsessed Fighters

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

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Monday, September 15, 2008