Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
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| Tony Leung Chiu-Wai | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Leung at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival |
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| Chinese name | 梁朝偉 (Traditional) | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | 梁朝伟 (Simplified) | |||||||||||||||||
| Pinyin | Liáng Cháowěi (Mandarin) | |||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | Leong4 Ciu4wai5 (Cantonese) | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 June 1962 Hong Kong |
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| Years active | 1982 - present | |||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Carina Lau (21 July 2008 - ) |
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- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Leung (梁).
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai (Chinese: 梁朝偉; pinyin: Liáng Cháowěi; Cantonese Yale: Lèung Chìuh Wáih; born 27 June 1962) is a Cannes Film Festival and five-time Hong Kong Film Award-winning Chinese film and television actor. He has also won the Golden Horse Film Awards thrice (in 1994, 2003 and 2007). He has been a major film star since the 1990s.
To distinguish himself from fellow actor Tony Leung Ka-Fai, he is known colloquially in Hong Kong as "Little Tony", while Ka-Fai is known as "Big Tony", nicknames which correspond to the actors' respective physical statures.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Leung is a Toisanese-Chinese born in Hong Kong, though his family came from Taishan, Guangdong, China. Leung's early childhood was punctuated with parents' quarrels and arguments about money. A mischievous boy in his early years, Leung's personality changed when his father, a chronic gambler, left the family when he was eight; he and his younger sister were brought up single-handedly by their mother.[1][2]
Leung became a reticent, quiet child; his childhood experiences made it difficult for him to trust in marriage and paved the way for his acting career, which allow him "to express my emotions without me getting embarrassed. I can cry or smash things on the set, but no one knows that's just acting or that's how I am really feeling." "After my father left me when I was eight, I became afraid to talk to other people. In school, when other children talked about their parents, I would get very embarrassed. I didn't want to mention my father, so I seldom talked to others".[3]
His childhood has had a lasting effect on Leung's personality. "I am very restrained, very suppressed, very quiet. I don't like to talk too much because I don't know what to do in front of an audience. Actually, I don't know how to communicate with others because of my background and I am scared."[3]
Leung's mother worked hard to keep him attending a private school, but even so, Tony had to quit school at the age of 15 due to financial difficulties. As an adolescent he behaved himself and remained very close to his mother. During a DVD interview on the making of Hero, he says that he sees his mother as his definition of a "hero[ine]" for having brought up two children alone.
[edit] Television career
After quitting his studies, Leung worked in a variety of jobs, first as a grocer's runner at his uncle's shop, then a showroom salesman in a Hong Kong shopping centre. He met actor and comedian Stephen Chow who influenced his decision to become an actor and remains a good friend.
In 1982 he passed the training courses of television channel TVB. Due to his boyish looks, TVB cast him as host of a children's programme, 430 Space Shuttle. Leung enjoyed comedies during his television years; it was for these he became well known. Leung starred in the highly successful Police Cadet TV serial in 1984 (later named Police Cadet 84 to distinguish it from subsequent sequels). He played an outgoing young man who decides to become a police officer; Maggie Cheung, who also started her career at the same time, played a shy bookworm, Tony's upstairs neighbour and love interest. Since then they have worked together on The Yangs' Saga (1985), Days of Being Wild (1991), Ashes of Time (1994), In the Mood for Love (2000), Hero (2002), and 2046 (2005). Interviewed by Wong Kar Wai, Leung said that he considered Maggie to be his alter ego. "Maggie is a truly formidable partner - one to waltz with. We do not spend a lot of time with each other, as we like to keep some mystery between us. Whenever I see her, I discover something new about her".[4]
[edit] Film career
Many consider Tony Leung's role in director John Woo's 1992 action film Hard Boiled in which he co-starred with Chow Yun-Fat, as his breakthrough role in film. However, Leung first gained international exposure through Hou Hsiao-Hsien's 1989 film A City of Sadness, which won the Venice Golden Lion.
Leung often collaborates with director Wong Kar-wai and has appeared in many of his films. His most notable roles in Wong Kar-wai's films include the lonely policeman in Chungking Express (1994), a gay Chinese expatriate living in Argentina in Happy Together (1997), and a self-controlled victim of adultery in In the Mood for Love (2000), for which he won the Best Actor award at Cannes.
He is considered by many to be the finest actor of his generation in Hong Kong. Robert De Niro is an admirer of his work,[5] and Leung has been called Asia's answer to Clark Gable."Why Tony Leung is in the mood for lust". The Times. 18 October 2007. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/london_film_festival/article2678331.ece.
Leung also has an on-and-off Cantopop and Mandarin pop singing career and sang the theme song of Infernal Affairs with Andy Lau.
Leung speaks decent English and is well read and well versed on historical issues. During the late 1990s, some predicted that it would be difficult for him to break into Hollywood since he would not take on degrading roles because of his pride and character. To date, he has not done a Hollywood film, but is primed to appear in one after signing on with an American film agent.[6][7]
In addition to Cantonese, English, and Spanish, Leung is also able to speak Mandarin and Japanese (as heard in Tokyo Raiders).
During the promotion of the film Hero, some politicians and commentators in Hong Kong attacked Leung for expressing the view that the Tiananmen Square demonstration crack down was necessary to maintain stability. Under constant political pressure and boycott threats, Leung made a single statement that he may have been quoted out of context but refused to retract his statement in the magazine.[8] However, the movie magazine editor maintained that the original statement was not out of context and challenged people to read the complete interview.
[edit] Relationship with Carina Lau
Leung has dated Carina Lau since the end of 1989. He had known her since The Replica in 1984 as she had been good friends with Margie Tsang, his previous girlfriend. He worked on-screen with Lau in Replica (1984), Duke of Mount Deer (1984), Police Cadet (1984, 1985, 1988), The Yangs' Saga (1985), Days of Being Wild (1991), He ain't heavy, he's my father (1993), Ashes of Time (1994), and 2046 (2005).
In 1990, during the filming of Days of Being Wild, Lau was abducted for several hours. Wong Kar-wai said, "Originally, there were plans for Days of Being Wild I and II, and the sequence featuring Tony Leung was meant to be the opening scene of the second movie. But two things happened, one of which was that Days of Being Wild didn't do well in Hong Kong, so the producers said, "No Part 2." The other reason was Carina Lau's kidnapping.[9]
On 21 July 2008, the couple got married in Bhutan in royal fashion. The wedding created a media frenzy in Hong Kong, with companies spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue the wedding party.[10]
According to Ming Pao Daily News, Faye Wong and her husband actor Li Yapeng had taken them to India in 2007 to visit the 17th Karmapa. The Karmapa's counsel helped them to resolve a crisis in their relationship, and he also suggested Bhutan as a wedding venue.[11]
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Asian Film Awards
- 2008 Won Best Actor (Lust, Caution)
- Cannes Film Festival
- 2000 Best Actor (In the Mood for Love)
- Golden Horse Film Festival
- 2007 Best Actor (Lust, Caution)
- 2003 Best Actor (Infernal Affairs)
- 2000 Nominated Best Actor (In the Mood for Love)
- 1994 Best Actor (Chungking Express)
- Hong Kong Film Awards
- 2009 Nominated Best Actor (Red Cliff)
- 2007 Nominated Best Actor (Confession of Pain)
- 2005 Won Best Actor (2046)
- 2003 Won Best Actor (Infernal Affairs)
- 2001 Won Best Actor (In the Mood for Love)
- 1999 Nominated Best Actor (Longest Nite)
- 1998 Won Best Actor (Happy Together)
- 1995 Won Best Actor (Chungking Express)
- 1993 Nominated Best Supporting Actor (Hard-Boiled)
- 1990 Won Best Supporting Actor (My Heart Is That Eternal Rose)
- 1988 Won Best Supporting Actor (People's Hero)
- 1987 Nominated Best Actor (Love Unto Waste)
(9 Best Actor Nominations, 3 Best Supporting Actor Nominations)
- Golden Bauhinia Awards
- 2005 Won Best Actor (2046)
- 2003 Won Best Actor (Infernal Affairs)
- 1998 Won Best Actor (Happy Together)
- Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
- 2005 Best Actor (2046) [12]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Discography
- Raining Night (1986)
- Who Wants (1988)
- Love Day by Day (1993)
- One Life One Heart (1994)
- Trapped by Love (1994)
- Day and Night (1994)
- Cannot Forget Collection (1995)
- The Past and the Future (1995)
- Too Affectionate (1995)
- Tony Leung Greatest Hits (June 2000)
- In the Mood for Love (November 2000)
- Wind Sand (2004) (reissued January 2006)
[edit] References
- ^ HK Mr Charming Tony Leung born to be an actor
- ^ Why Tony Leung is in the mood for lust - Times Online
- ^ a b YouTube - Broadcast Yourself
- ^ "Interview" magazine. September 2005. Retrieved 23 December 2006.
- ^ Tony Leung in the mood for acting. China View, 21 April 2005. Retrieved 26 December 2006.
- ^ Tony Leung to appear in Hollywood film. ChinaDaily.com, 10 August 2005. Retrieved 23 December 2006.
- ^ Tony Leung Heads for Hollywood. CRI English.com, 18 August 2005. Retrieved 23 December 2006.
- ^ Tony Leung Chiu-Wai claims he was misquoted. HK Entertainment Review, 19 December 2002. Retrieved 23 December 2006.
- ^ Karen Durbin (August 7, 2005). "Still in the Mood for a Collaboration". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/07/movies/07durb.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.
- ^ International Herald Tribune. "IHT." Actors' wedding leads to Hong Kong media frenzy. Retrieved on 2008-07-22.
- ^ Why Tony, Carina nuptials in Bhutan
- ^ Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards 2005 at the Internet Movie Database
[edit] External links
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Tony Leung Chiu Wai |
- Tony Leung Chiu Wai at the Internet Movie Database
- Tony Leung Chiu Wai at the Hong Kong Movie Database
- Tony Leung Chiu Wai at LoveHKFilm.com
- Tony Leung's Official Website
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Asian Film Awards | ||
| Preceded by Song Kang-ho for The Host |
Best Actor 2008 for Lust, Caution |
Succeeded by Masahiro Motoki for Departures |
| Cannes Film Festival | ||
| Preceded by Emmanuel Schotte for Humanité |
Best Actor 2000 for In the Mood for Love |
Succeeded by Benoît Magimel for The Piano Teacher |
| Golden Bauhinia Awards | ||
| Preceded by Kent Cheng for The Log |
Best Actor 1998 for Happy Together |
Succeeded by Anthony Wong Chau Sang for Beast Cops |
| Preceded by Hu Jun for Lan Yu |
Best Actor 2003 for Infernal Affairs |
Succeeded by Simon Yam for PTU |
| Preceded by Simon Yam for PTU |
Best Actor 2005 for 2046 |
Succeeded by Simon Yam for Election |
| Golden Horse Award | ||
| Preceded by Jackie Chan for Crime Story |
Best Actor 1994 for Chungking Express |
Succeeded by Lin Yang for Super Citizen |
| Preceded by Leon Lai for Three Going Home |
Best Actor 2003 for Infernal Affairs |
Succeeded by Andy Lau for Infernal Affairs III |
| Preceded by Aaron Kwok for After This Our Exile |
Best Actor 2007 for Lust, Caution |
Succeeded by Zhang Hanyu for Assembly |
| Hong Kong Film Award | ||
| Preceded by Paul Chun for The Lunatics |
Best Supporting Actor 1988 for People's Hero |
Succeeded by Jacky Cheung for As Tears Go By |
| Preceded by Jacky Cheung for As Tears Go By |
Best Supporting Actor 1990 for My Heart is that Eternal Love |
Succeeded by Ng Man Tat for A Moment of Romance |
| Preceded by Anthony Wong Chau Sang for The Untold Story |
Best Actor 1995 for Chungking Express |
Succeeded by Roy Chiao for Summer Snow |
| Preceded by Kent Cheng for The Log |
Best Actor 1998 for Happy Together |
Succeeded by Anthony Wong Chau Sang for Beast Cops |
| Preceded by Andy Lau for Running Out of Time |
Best Actor 2001 for In the Mood for Love |
Succeeded by Stephen Chow for Shaolin Soccer |
| Preceded by Stephen Chow for Shaolin Soccer |
Best Actor 2003 for Infernal Affairs |
Succeeded by Andy Lau for Running on Karma |
| Preceded by Andy Lau for Running on Karma |
Best Actor 2005 for 2046 |
Succeeded by Tony Leung Ka-Fai for Election |
| Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | ||
| Preceded by Andy Lau for Running on Karma |
Best Actor 2004 for 2046 |
Succeeded by Tony Leung Ka-Fai for Everlasting Regret |
