Chow Yun-fat

Lore & Background

Chow was born on Lamma Island, Hong Kong, to a father who worked on a Shell Oil tanker and a mother who was a cleaning lady and vegetable farmer. He grew up in a house with no electricity, helping his mother sell herbal jelly and tea-pudding. At 17, he left school and worked odd jobs including bellboy, postman, camera salesman, and taxi driver. In 1973, he responded to a newspaper advertisement for TVB's actor training program and made his acting debut in soap operas. His breakout role came in the TVB drama The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1979), followed by The Bund (1980), which made him a star across Asia.

Chow's film career began in 1976 with Goldig Films. After a period of box office failures in the early 1980s, he was referred to as 'Box Office Poison.' Success came with his collaboration with director John Woo on A Better Tomorrow (1986), which swept Asian box offices and won Chow his first Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor. He went on to star in five John Woo action films, including The Killer (1989) and Hard Boiled (1992), and also made popular action films with director Ringo Lam. His role in City on Fire (1987) won him a second Best Actor award and inspired Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. He also starred in comedies and romantic blockbusters, and his 1989 film God of Gamblers broke Hong Kong's all-time box office record.

Reader's Guide

Chow Yun-fat's significance lies in his pivotal role in elevating Hong Kong gangster and action films to international prominence, particularly through his collaborations with director John Woo. His portrayal of honorable tough guys in 'heroic bloodshed' films set a new standard for the genre and influenced filmmakers worldwide. Despite an unsuccessful move to Hollywood in the late 1990s, his performance in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) brought him global recognition and an Oscar-winning film. Chow's career demonstrates remarkable versatility, spanning action, comedy, romance, and historical drama, and he has received multiple top acting awards in Asia. His legacy includes being named Asian Filmmaker of the Year at the 28th Busan International Film Awards in 2023, the second Hong Kong actor to receive that honor.

Did You Know?

• Chow was born on Lamma Island in a house with no electricity and helped his mother sell herbal jelly and tea-pudding as a child.
• He was referred to as 'Box Office Poison' in the early 1980s before his breakthrough with A Better Tomorrow.
• His role in City on Fire (1987) inspired Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.
• Chow has stated he is not athletic like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan and relies heavily on stunt coordinators.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Chow Yun-fat (18 May 1955–) is a Hong Kong actor." — Chow Yun-fat "I don't have an English sense of humor. In my language, I have tons of it. In English, you have to really get the slang, and the culture." — Chow Yun-fat