Mr Tony Leung Chiu Wai

1962-

Actor & Singer

Actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai was a 1982 graduate of TVB’s acting course. His first post-graduation assignment was to host the children’s programme 430 Space Shuttle (1982) before being cast in the TV series Soldier of Fortune (1982). It was a hit and viewers began paying attention to him. His next projects, Duke of Mount Deer (1984) and Police Cadet (1984) made him one of the most popular TV actors of the time. Leung made his film debut in 1985, and honed his acting skills further in The Lunatics (1986) and Love Unto Waste (1986). The following years saw him collaborating with prominent directors such as Hou Hsiao Hsien in A City of Sadness (1989) and John Woo in Bullet in the Head (1990) and Hard Boiled (1992). Leung won Best Supporting Actor twice at the Hong Kong Film Awards, for Derek Yee’s People’s Hero (1987) and Patrick Tam’s My Heart Is that Eternal Rose (1989). Leung is the record holder for the most Best Actor wins at the Hong Kong Film Awards; his five wins were for Wong Kar Wai productions Chungking Express (1994), Happy Together (1997), In the Mood for Love (2000) and 2046 (2004), as well as Lau Wai Keung and Mak Siu Fai’s Infernal Affairs (2002). In 2000, Leung bagged the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for In the Mood for Love. He has also received Best Actor three times at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, for Chungking Express (1994), 2046 (2004) and Lust, Caution (2007). In 2015, Leung was made an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture of France. In 2018, he became the first winner of the Chaplin Award for Asia.