Anthony Wong (Hong Kong actor)

Anthony Wong
Wong in September 2022
Born
Anthony William Perry

(1961-09-02) 2 September 1961 (age 63)
EducationDiploma of Performing Arts at the Academy of Drama, Honorary Academician
Alma materHong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1985–present
Spouse
Ng Wai-zing
(m. 1996)
Children3
AwardsChangchun Film Festival
Best Supporting Actor
2002 Princess D
Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Actor
1993 The Untold Story
1998 Beast Cops
Best Supporting Actor
2002 Infernal Affairs
2005 Initial D

Golden Bauhinia AwardsBest Actor
1998 Beast Cops
Best Supporting Actor
2002 Infernal Affairs

Hong Kong Film Critics Society AwardsBest Actor
1998 Beast Cops
2002 Infernal Affairs

Golden Horse AwardsBest Supporting Actor
2002 Princess D
2003 Infernal Affairs
2005 Initial D

TVB Anniversary AwardsBest Actor
2015 Lord of Shanghai

Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Hanyu PinyinHuáng Qiūshēng
JyutpingWong4 Cau1-sang1

Anthony Wong Chau-sang (born Anthony William Perry; 2 September 1961) is a Hong Kong film actor and singer,[1][2][3] known for his intense portrayals of often-amoral characters.[4] He has won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor three times for The Untold Story (1993), Beast Cops (1998) and Still Human (2018), and won Taiwan's Golden Horse Award for Best Actor for The Sunny Side of the Street (2022). He is the first Hong Kong actor to have won Best Actor awards in films, stage theatre and TV. His notable international credits include his roles as Triad gangster Johnny Wong in Hard Boiled (1992), police Superintendent Wong Chi-shing Infernal Affairs trilogy (2002-03) and General Yang in the Hollywood film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008).

Early life

Wong was born Anthony William Perry on 2 September 1961[5] to a Hong Kong Chinese mother of Taishanese descent, Wong Juen-yee,[6] and an English father, Frederick William Perry, who served with the Royal Air Force during World War II and later as a colonial officer. Frederick Perry walked out on the family when Wong was four,[6] so he lived with his mother "in the staircase of a pre-war building in Wan Chai" until he was sent to live with various relatives for two years while his mother "held down three jobs."[6] He kept in touch with his father through letters until they lost contact when he was 12 years old, and he knew that he had three older half-siblings from his father's marriage.[7] He met his half-brothers in 2018.[6]

In his acting career, Wong has established a reputation for openly critiquing the Hong Kong film industry and its practices, actors' performances and pop culture in interviews and his personal microblog. In some of those critiques, he revealed his experiences of being bullied and discriminated against—for being a "mixed race foreigner" and "during the 1960s, English-Chinese mixed race people like me were regarded as bastards" and for being born outside Hong Kong—while growing up in Hong Kong and during the early years of his acting career.[8][9]

During his late teens, Wong moved to the United Kingdom to attend a college of further education.[9] He returned to Hong Kong to attend a training course in hairdressing until he quit to join Asia Television's (ATV) training programme when he was 21.[8]

Career

After completing ATV's training programme, he continued his training at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.[9] He had stated in an interview that his mixed ethnicity initially caused him to be typecast as a villain, due to institutionalised racism in the Hong Kong film industry during this period.[10] He nonetheless won a Hong Kong Film Award for his performance as a fictionalised version of serial killer Huang Zhiheng in the 1993 film The Untold Story.

In the following years, Wong appeared in a wide range of genre films including Rock n' Roll Cop, Hard Boiled, The Heroic Trio, Infernal Affairs, The Mission, The Medallion and the Young and Dangerous film series. Wong had also appeared in a number of international films, such as The Painted Veil and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. In 1995, Wong made his directorial debut with The New Tenant. In a 2005 interview with Star eCentral, Wong stated that amongst his prolific output during the 1980s and the 1990s, a considerable number of films he appeared in were "terrible."[11] However, he does not regret making those films, as he needed the money to support his family.[11]

In 2014, Wong hosted TV show Dinner Confidential, where he would prepare one dish out of a table d'hote candle-lit dinner menu for guests. In 2015, Wong won the TVB Anniversary Awards for Best Actor and Best Drama for Lord of Shanghai, making him the first Hong Kong actor to have won Best Actor awards in films, stage theatre and TV.

Personal life

Wong married his teenage sweetheart, Jane Ng Wai-zing, in 1992 but lived separately. They have two sons, born in 1996 and 1998.[12] Wong and Ng signed a divorce agreement in 1998 but did not file for the divorce. In June 2018, it was revealed that he had a son named William (born 1998) in the UK with a woman named Joyce, who is the niece of John Shum.[13] Since 2020, Wong has been living with his wife Ng after 28 years of living separately.[14]

In March 2018, Wong met his half-brothers, twins John William and David Frederick Perry, after a BBC story[15] on Wong's search for his family was published.[16] He also has a half-sister, Vera Ann. His father died in 1988 in Australia, where he and his first family settled after they left Hong Kong. His half-siblings did not know of Wong's existence until the BBC story was produced.[6]

Wong is a supporter of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, a series of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.[17] This has reportedly led to limited acting opportunities for him in mainland China.[17][18] He has also voiced support for the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.[19][20] On 18 April 2021, Wong was approved for Taiwan's Employment Gold Card, allowing him to work in Taiwan without needing to apply in advance. It also allows him to receive tax incentives and National Health Insurance.[21]

Filmography

Wong at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

Film

Year Title Role
1985 My Name Ain't Suzie (花街時代) Jimmy Koch
1990 When Fortune Smiles (無敵幸運星) Wei (曹家大哥/飛飛大哥)
No Risk, No Gain: Casino Raiders - The Sequel Yeung Sing
Dancing Bull (舞牛) Ngau Ban-tsiu (牛品超)
The Big Score (絕橋智多星) Ma Kwan (馬坤)
1991 Erotic Ghost Story II (聊齋艷譚續集五通神) Ng Tung/Chau-sang (五通(男魔)/秋生)
Don't Fool Me Nerd's brother Su (黑幫小弟)
Casino Raiders II Pow
1992 Sting of the Scorpion (蠍子) Chow Kin (周健)
Now You See Love, Now You Don't Dunno
What a Hero! Saucer
Hard Boiled Johnny Wong
Lucky Encounter (踢到寶) Cheap Chan (賤人陳)
Full Contact (1992) Sam Sei (沈四)
Angel Hunter (女校風雲之邪教入侵) Kwok/The Bishop
1993 Rong shi qi an Lau
Biao jie, ni hao ye! III zhi da ren jia dao Inspector Lu Ping
Fight Back to School III Tailor Lam
The Heroic Trio Kau
Fu gui kuang hua
Huang Fei Hong dui Huang Fei Hong
The Untold Story Wong Chi-hang
3 Days of a Blind Girl Sam Chu
A Moment of Romance II Dino
The Mad Monk Nine Lives Beggar
Cheng shi nu lie ren Charlie Chan
Executioners Mr. Kim/The Faceless Monster/Kau
Di shi pan guan Kin
Daughter of Darkness Officer Lui
Love to Kill Sam-wai Wong
1994 Bomb Disposal Officer: Baby Bomb John Wu
Meng chai ren
Oh! My Three Guys Best Actor Winner
Ti tian xing dao zhi sha xiong The prosecutor
Xiang Gang qi an: Zhi xi xue gui li wang Tong Chi-ming
Yi xian sheng ji Inspector Kim Kuo-hao
Organized Crime & Triad Bureau Ho Kin Tung
Guang Dong wu hu zhi tie quan wu di Sun Zhong Shan
'Saang Gong yat ho tung chap faan Inspector Hung
Gui mi xin qiao Liu Sheng-ming
Guai xia yi zhi mei
1995 Er yue san shi Raymond Shiu Chi-li
Hai shi jue de ni zui hao Wah Tino
Jie fang chai ren Lau
Ma lu ying xiong II: Fei fa sai che Doctor
Xin fang ke Alan Tam
The World of Treasure
1996 Tou tou ai ni
Mongkok Story Lui Lone
Xiu hua da dao
Jing hua rou bo jiang jian dang
Jin zhuang xiang jiao ju le bu Host/Inspector Wong/Mr. Shaw/John
Zhong guo 'O' ji zhi xie xing qing ren Li Shu-pei
Young and Dangerous 2 Tai Fai
Ebola Syndrome Kai San
Big Bullet Bird
Young and Dangerous 3 Tai Fai
Black Mask King Kau
Viva Erotica Wong
1997 Armageddon Chiu Tai-pang
Hui zhuan shou shi Shing
Young and Dangerous 4 Tai Fai
Huo shao dao zhi heng hang Ba dao
Ng yun ji dai
Option Zero Sing
1998 The Untold Story 2 Officer Lazyboots
Haunted Mansion Ah Gi's Husband
God.com
The Demon's Baby Chin Hai-ching Hoi
Young and Dangerous 5 Tai Fei
Beast Cops Tung
Quan zhi da dao
The Storm Riders Sword Saint
Jiang jian xian jing Wong Lik-tak
1999 Raped by an Angel 4: The Raper's Union Human Milk Drinking Doctor
Wai Goh dik goo si
A Lamb in Despair Charles
Hak do fung wan ji sau chuk wong Chiu-chau Tsam
Fascination Amour Eric
Ordinary Heroes Peter Kam
Gou hun e meng
A Man Called Hero Pride
Heaven of Hope Ah Wah (Brother Wah)
Baan gwat chai
Hei she hui dang an zhi hei jin di guo
Century of the Dragon Lam
The Deadly Camp Boar
The Mission Curtis
The Legendary 'Tai Fei' Tai Fei
2000 Violent Cop Tai Pan-kim
Evil Fade
Nu nan jue
Fist Power Charles Chau
Those Were the Days... Dai Fei
Q gei luen yan Lam
Yau sau tung dong
What Is a Good Teacher ching
Time and Tide Uncle Ji
Jiang hu: The Triad Zone Master Kwan Wan-cheung
Miu meng ji tiu Wisdom
Ai wo bie zou Rock
Metade Fumaca
Gen-X Cops 2: Metal Mayhem Dr. Tang
2001 United We Stand and Swim Coach Mao
Yuk mong ji shing
Runaway Ray
Visible Secret Wong Lin
My Life as McDull School Principal (voice) and Logan (voice)
2002 Gwaai sau hok yuen
Roaring Dragon, Bluffing Tiger
Yi wen ji bao biao Peter's Dad
Seung fei Joker's Father
Just One Look Crazy
Demi-Haunted Hung
Infernal Affairs SP Wong Chi-shing
2003 Love Under the Sun
Cat and Mouse Judge Bao Zheng
The Twins Effect Prada
Kap sze moon yat goh gei kooi Anthony
Colour of the Truth S.P. Wong Jiang
The Medallion Lester
Fu bo
Infernal Affairs II Inspector Wong Chi-shing
Infernal Affairs III SP Wong Chi-shing
Golden Chicken 2 Chow
2004 Magic Kitchen Tony Ho
20 30 40 Shi Ge
McDull, Prince de la Bun principal (voice)
A-1 Headline Lam Hei-fei
2005 Slim till Dead Sergeant Tak
House of Fury Yue Siu-bo
2 Young Nam's Pop
Initial D Bunta 'Tofuman' Fujiwara
Mob Sister Whacko
All About Love
2006 McDull, the Alumni
Isabella Chen-shing's boss
On the Edge Lung
Exiled blazed
The Painted Veil Colonel Yu
2007 Sweet Revenge Ching Shing
Dancing Lion Great Uncle
Mr. Cinema Zhou Heung-kong
Simply Actors Theatre janitor
Secret Chiu
The Sun Also Rises Teacher Liang
Bullet and Brain Brain
2008 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor General Yang
Plastic City Yuda
Ying han Dragon
True Women for Sale Lau Fu-yi
2009 I Corrupt All Cops Unicorn Tang
Vengeance Kwai
McDull, Kung Fu Kindergarten Principal/Master/Xiongbao (voice)
Turning Point Brother one
The Last Night of Madam Chin Cheng Rong-fa
2010 Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen Liu Yutian
2011 Punished Wong Ho-chiu
A Beautiful Life
A Simple Life Grasshopper - Elderly home's owner
The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake
White Vengeance Fan Zeng
2012 Motorway Lo
McDull: The Pork of Music principal
The Four Zhuge Zhenwo
Naked Soldier
Westgate Tango
2013 Ip Man: The Final Fight Ip Man
The Four II
2014 Golden Chicken 3
The Four III
McDull: Me & My Mum
Gangster Payday
2015 Hot Blood Band
12 Golden Ducks
2016 The Mobfathers
McDull: Rise of the Rice Cooker
2017 Cook Up a Storm Mountain Ko
The Sleep Curse
77 Heartbreaks
2018 Still Human
2019 A Home with a View
Declared Legally Dead
2022 The Sunny Side of the Street
2024 Emmanuelle The Eye
TBA Initial D 2 Bunta Fujiwara

Television series

Theater

  • Equus (May 2014)
  • Le Dieu Du Carnage (August 2015)
  • Le Dieu Du Carnage (Re-run - January 2016)
  • Le Dieu Du Carnage (Huayi - Chinese Festival of Arts - February 2016)
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (September 2016)
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (Huayi Chinese Festival of Arts - February 2017)
  • Speed-the-Plow (September 2017)

[22] [23]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Film Result
1993 12th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Love: Now You See It... Now You Don't Nominated
1994 13th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor The Untold Story Won
Best Supporting Actor Rong shi qi an Nominated
1996 16th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Young and Dangerous 3 Nominated
1999 18th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor Beast Cops Won
5th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor Won
2000 19th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor Ordinary Heroes Nominated
2002 39th Golden Horse Awards Best Supporting Actor Seung fei Won
2003 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Just One Look Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Seung fei Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Infernal Affairs Won
40th Golden Horse Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
9th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor Won
2005 42nd Golden Horse Awards Best Supporting Actor Initial D Won
Asia-Pacific Film Festival Best Supporting Actor Won
2006 25th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
2014 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor Ip Man: The Final Fight Nominated
2015 19th TVB Anniversary Awards Best Actor Lord of Shanghai Won
2018 25th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor Still Human Won
2019 38th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor Won
2020 25th Asian Television Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role The Republic Won
2022 59th Golden Horse Awards Best Leading Actor The Sunny Side of the Street Won
29th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards[24] Best Actor Nominated
2023 41st Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor Nominated

References

  1. ^ Daniel O'Brien Spooky Encounters: A Gwailo's Guide to Hong Kong Horror 2003 -- Page 155 "The biggest 'star' to work in this disreputable field is undoubtedly Anthony Wong Chau-sang. Best known to Hong Kong action fans as the lead villain in John Woo's Hard Boiled, Wong gave an award-winning performance in The Untold Story, ."
  2. ^ Botang Zhuo, Tong Cheuk Pak Hong Kong New Wave Cinema: (1978-2000) - 2008 Page 194 "Cheung, a senior police, is actually a traitor, working in complicity with Anthony Wong. ... Besides being in complicity with Anthony Wong, he also frequently made use of his position to interfere with Lee Sau-yin's movements, in order to enable ..."
  3. ^ Gina Marchetti Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs: The Trilogy -2007 Page 151- "Anthony Wong plays Tung who bridges both sides of the law in Gordon Chan and Dante Lam's Beast Cops (1998), and he won the 1999 Hong Kong Film Award for best actor for that role. Thus, the revelation that SP Wong is literally in bed ...
  4. ^ Linda Williams The erotic thriller in contemporary cinema 2005- Page 389 "A prolific action figure such as Anthony Wong, for instance, is able to star in the exemplary Cat III violent shocker The Untold Story (a Sweeny Toddesque tale of everyday cannibalism - he even got a Hong Kong Film Award for the role) or the ..."
  5. ^ Chung, Winnie (2 September 2019). "5 of Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong's most memorable film roles". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e Shao, Zhijie (27 March 2018). "BBC helped me find family who never knew me". BBC News.
  7. ^ "O father, where art thou?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  8. ^ a b David Thompson (24 May 2012). "Interview: Anthony Wong Chau-sang". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  9. ^ a b c Thomas Podvin (2005). "Interview With Anthony Wong Chau-sang". Hong Kong Cinemagic. HK Cinemagic. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  10. ^ Interview in HK ORIENT EXTREME CINEMA, N°13, January 2000
  11. ^ a b Chow, Vivienne. "O father, where art thou?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong reunites with half-brothers he never knew existed: BBC". AsiaOne. 27 March 2018.
  13. ^ HK, ELLE Online Editorial @ ELLE. "這星二代大隻又是學霸!黃秋生20歲小鮮肉私生仔的神秘生活 | ELLE.com.hk". ELLE HK (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  14. ^ "黄秋生分居28年再同住 12字泄夫妻相处之道". 光华网. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Looking for the father who left us". BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  16. ^ Shao, Zhijie (27 March 2018). "BBC helped me find family who never knew me". BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  17. ^ a b "'I plan to get my passport': Hong Kong actor's uncertain future". South China Morning Post. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  18. ^ hermesauto (6 May 2019). "No job offers for Anthony Wong despite winning Best Actor at Hong Kong Film Awards". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  19. ^ "香港警察才是暴徒――電影《無間道》演員黃秋生專訪". tw.news.yahoo.com (in Chinese). 27 December 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  20. ^ "HK actor Anthony Wong urges Japanese not to visit the island state because of demonstrations". sg.news.yahoo.com. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  21. ^ "HK actor Anthony Wong receives Taiwan employment gold card | Taiwan News | 2021-04-19 11:40:00". 19 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Anthony Wong Chau-sang". hkmdb.com.
  23. ^ "⓿⓿ Anthony Wong Movies - Actor - Hong Kong – Filmography – Movie Posters - TV Drama Series - Action Film - Film Awards - Anthony Wong Movie List - Best Films - Chinese Movies". chinesemov.com.
  24. ^ "香港電影評論學會大獎 張繼聰首奪影帝 鄭秀文隔22年再封影后" [Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Zhang Jicong won Best Actor for the first time, Sammi Cheng won Best Actress again after 22 years]. HK01 News. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.