Andy Lau
Andy Lau Tak-wah (simplified Chinese: 刘德华; traditional Chinese: 劉德華; pinyin: Liú Déhuá; Jyutping: Lau4 Dak1 Waa4) (born September 27, 1961 in Hong Kong as 劉福榮) is a Hong Kong pop star and a movie actor.
The first lead role that made his initial popularity was the TVB series Hunting in 1982. In the same year, Andy started in his first movie in Boat People. Later in 1983, his role as Yang Guo in wuxia TV serial The Return of the Condor Heroes made him even more popular and landed him his first leading role in a Shaw Brothers' film called On the Wrong Track.
Andy's most recent role was in Battle of Wits in 2006.
Movie highlights
He has since appeared in more than 100 films, and has a huge fan base throughout Asia with the success of both his onscreen performance and his musical career. Andy Lau is best known for his (often) recurring roles in the King of Gamblers.
Lau is known to some more for his good looks than for his strengths of acting, though he has answered his critics since the turn of the century in a series of critically acclaimed movies, especially those directed by Johnnie To. His first major acting prizes came with A Fighter's Blue and Running Out of Time in 2000. In 2004, he won the prestigious Golden Horse Award for his performance in Infernal Affairs 3, the sequel to the popular Infernal Affairs which is to be remade in Hollywood as The Departed starring Matt Damon as the police mole Lau played. Western audiences may also be familiar with his performance in the House of Flying Daggers.
Andy Lau was recently awarded "No.1 Box Office Actor 1985-2005" of Hong Kong, yielding a total box office of HKD 1,733,275,816 for shooting 108 films in the past 20 years. It is compared to the first runner-up Stephen Chow (HKD 1,317,452,311) and second runner-up Jackie Chan (HKD 894,090,962). "I've never imagined that would be as much as 1.7 billion!" he told the reporters.
Musical career highlights
He is also one of the most successful Chinese music celebrities, with an extensive list of Cantonese and Mandarin hits to his credit. His first music contract came in 1985, but his singing career reached stellar status in 1990 with the release of the album entitled 可不可以 "Would It Be Possible?", and his subsequent releases only solidified his status as a highly marketable singer. Andy Lau along with Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai also named as the Cantopop Four Great Heavenly Kings (四大天王 Cantonese: sêi daài tïn wong, Pinyin: sì dà tiān wáng).
Andy Lau also got into Guinness World Records for "Most Awards Won By A Canto-Pop Male Artist". By April 2000, Andy Lau had won an unprecedented 292 awards, for a singing career that began in 1988. Since 1992, Lau has appeared in concert 179 times.
The most notable hits by Andy Lau include 一起走過的日子 (The Days We Passed Together), 愛不完 (Neverending Love), 潮水 (The Tide), 忘情水 (Forget Love Potion), 中國人 (Chinese People), 笨小孩 (Stupid Child), 愛你一萬年 (Love You Forever (lit. Love You For 10,000 Years)), 你是我的女人 (You Are My Woman), Black Hawk Down
Trivia
- Lau has demonstrated a proficient command of Chinese calligraphy during onstage performances.
- In 2003, he started his own media company called Focus Group Holdings Limited.
- Lau was voted as the top 100 sexiest Asian men by public Internet users this year, 2006.
Discography
Note: Compilations with no new material are not included on this list.
Year | Album | Label | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | 只知道此刻愛你 | 華星 | Cantonese Album |
1987 | 情感的禁區 | EMI | Cantonese Album |
1988 | 回到你身邊 | EMI | Cantonese Album |
1989 | 劉德華 | EMI | Cantonese Album |
1989 | 在夢裡 - 愛的連線 | EMI / Impact | Cantonese Album |
1990 | 可不可以 - 誰說不可以 | IPS | Cantonese Album |
1990 | 如果妳是我的傳說 | IPS | Mandarin Album |
1990 | 再會了 | IPS | Cantonese Album |
1991 | 愛不完 | IPS | Cantonese Album |
1991 | 我和我追逐的夢 | IPS | Mandarin Album |
1991 | 一起走過的日子 | IPS | Cantonese Album |
1991 | 不可不信……緣 | IPS | Cantonese Album |
1991 | 來生緣 | IPS | Mandarin Album |
1992 | 愛的空間 | IPS | Cantonese Album |
1992 | 謝謝你的愛 | IPS | Mandarin Album |
1992 | 真我的風采 | WEA | Cantonese Album |
1993 | 答案就是你 | WEA | Cantonese Album |
1993 | 寧願我傷心 - 一生一次 | WEA | Mandarin Album |
1993 | 愛意 | WEA | Cantonese Album |
1994 | 忘情水 | WEA | Mandarin Album |
1994 | 五時三十分 | WEA | Cantonese Album |
1994 | 天意 | WEA | Mandarin Album |
1995 | 真永遠 Always Andy | Music Impact | Mandarin Album |
1995 | 情未鳥 | Music Impact | Cantonese Album |
1996 | 相思成災 | Music Impact / BMG | Mandarin Album |
1996 | 在乎你 | Music Impact / BMG | Cantonese Album |
1996 | 反轉紅館倒轉地球 劉德華演唱會 96 | Music Impact / BMG | Cantonese / Mandarin Live Album |
1996 | 因為愛 | Music Impact / BMG | Mandarin Album |
1997 | 愛如此神奇 | Music Impact / BMG | Mandarin / Cantonese Album |
1997 | 真生命 | Music Impact / BMG | Cantonese Album |
1997 | 愛在刻骨銘心時 | Music Impact / BMG | Mandarin Album |
1998 | 你是我的女人 | Music Impact / BMG | Cantonese Album |
1998 | 笨小孩 | Music Impact / BMG | Mandarin / Cantonese Compilation |
1999 | 回家真好 | Music Impact / BMG | Cantonese / Mandarin Compilation |
1999 | 人間愛 | Music Impact / BMG | Mandarin Album |
1999 | 劉德華演唱會 99 | Music Impact / BMG | Cantonese / Mandarin Live Album |
1999 | 愛無知 | Music Impact / BMG | Cantonese Album |
2000 | Just For You | Music Impact / BMG | Cantonese / Mandarin EP |
2000 | 男人的愛 | Music Impact / BMG | Mandarin Album |
2000 | 心藍 | Music Impact / BMG | Cantonese Album |
2001 | The Melody Andy Vol. 8 | NMG / BMG | Cantonese / Mandarin Compilation |
2001 | 天開了 | Multi-Talent / BMG | Mandarin Album |
2001 | 夏日 Fiesta | Multi-Talent / BMG | Cantonese / Mandarin EP |
2001 | 夏日 Fiesta 演唱會 2001 | Multi-Talent / BMG | Cantonese / Mandarin Live Album |
2002 | 美麗的一天 | Catchy / EMI | Mandarin Album |
2002 | 你是我的驕傲演唱會 | Catchy / EMI | Cantonese / Mandarin Live Album |
2003 | 如果有一天 | Catchy / EMI | Cantonese Album |
2004 | Coffee or Tea | Ever Song | Cantonese Album |
2004 | 劉德華 Vision Tour 2004 演唱會 | Ever Song | Cantonese / Mandarin Live Album |
2005 | 再說一次‧我愛你 | FocusMusic | Mandarin Album |
2005 | 繼續談情 | FocusMusic | Cantonese / Mandarin Compilation |
Filmography (as actor)
In chronological order
- Boat People (1982)
- Home At Hong Kong (1983)
- Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars
- Lucky Stars Go Places (1986)
- The Unwritten Law
- Rich And Famous (1987)
- Sworn Brothers
- As Tears Go By (1988)
- The Crazy Companies
- The Dragon Family (1988)
- Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch
- Three Against The World (1988)
- Bloody Brotherhood (1989)
- Casino Raiders
- City Kids
- Crocodile Hunter (1989)
- The First Time Is The Last Time
- The Fortune Code (富貴兵團) (1989)
- God of Gamblers
- Perfect Match
- The Romancing Star 3
- Stars And Roses (1990)
- Days of Being Wild (1991)
- Dragon in Jail
- God of Gamblers II
- Island of Fire
- Kawashima Yoshiko
- Kung Fu Vs Acrobatic
- Hong Kong Godfather (1991)
- A Moment Of Romance
- No Risk, No Gain: Casino Raiders The Sequel
- Return Engagement (1990)
- Casino Raiders 2 (1991)
- Dances With The Dragon
- Don't Fool Me (1991)
- The Last Blood
- Lee Rock
- Saviour Of The Soul
- The Tigers (1991)
- Tricky Brains (1991)
- Zodiac Killer
- Casino Tycoon (1992)
- Casino Tycoon 2 (1992)
- Gameboy Kids
- Gun And Rose
- Handsome Siblings
- The Moon Warriors
- The Prince Of Temple Street
- Saviour Of The Soul 2
- What A Hero!
- Days Of Tomorrow (1993)
- Future Cops
- The Sting 2
- Drunken Master 2 (1994)
- Drunken Master 3
- A Taste Of Killing And Romance
- The Three Swordmen
- The Adventurers (1995)
- Full Throttle
- A Moment Of Romance 3 (1996)
- Shanghai Grand
- Thanks For Your Love
- What A Wonderful World
- Armageddon (1997)
- Island of Greed
- The Conman (1998)
- The Longest Summer
- A True Mob Story
- Century Of The Dragon (1999)
- The Conmen In Vegas
- Fascination Amour
- Prince Charming
- Running Out Of Time
- The Duel (2000)
- A Fighter's Blues (2000)
- Needing You
- Dance Of A Dream (2001)
- Fulltime Killer
- Love On A Diet
- Fat Choi Spirit (2002)
- Golden Chicken (2002)
- Infernal Affairs
- The Wesley's Mysterious File (2002)
- Magic Kitchen
- Cat And Mouse (2003)
- Infernal Affairs III
- Running on Karma (2003)
- Jiang Hu (movie) (2004)
- House of Flying Daggers
- Yesterday Once More (2004)
- A World Without Thieves
- Wait 'Til You're Older (2005)
- All About Love (2005)
See also
External links
- Andy Lau's Blog at Asian Men Pic
- Latest News about Andy Lau (in English)
- Andy Lau at HKcinema.net
- Official site for Andy Lau (in Chinese)
- Andy Lau Forum (English)
- The TFL-approved Andy Lau fanlisting
- Karazen: Andy Lau Album Reviews & Chinese Lyrics
- Andy Lau at IMDb
- JayneStars.com - English translated news about Andy Lau