Tony Leung Chiu Wai is a Hong Kong actor and singer. He is considered one of Asia's most successful and internationally recognized actors. He has won the Hong Kong Film Awards five times, the Golden Horse Best Actor awards three times (in 1994, 2003, and 2007), and many international acting prizes, including the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actor for his performance in the film "In the Mood for Love".

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. He has been called Asia's answer to Clark Gable and was named by CNN as one of "Asia's 25 Greatest Actors of All Time".

Leung was a mischievous child and became very quiet and shy at the age of 8 after his father left the family. Due to financial difficulties, he quit his studies at 15 years old and worked in a variety of jobs, first as a grocer's runner at his uncle's shop and then as a showroom salesman in a Hong Kong shopping center. Then, he met actor and comedian Stephen Chow, who influenced his decision to become an actor, and they remained good friends.

In 1982, he passed the training courses on the television channel TVB. Due to his boyish looks, TVB cast him as the host of a children's program, "430 Space Shuttle". He excelled and became popular for his comedic talents. In the 1980s, he was named as "Small Tiger" in TVB’s “Five Tigers”, a group of the five most popular actors along with Andy Lau, Felix Wong, Michael Miu, and Kent Tong.

He first gained international exposure through the 1989 film "A City of Sadness", which won the Venice Golden Lion. He also has an on-and-off Cantopop and Mandarin pop singing career and sang the theme song of "Infernal Affairs" with Andy Lau.

He speaks flawless English and is well-read and well-versed in 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. He made his Hollywood debut in 2021 in the movie "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings".

In addition to Cantonese, English, and Spanish, Leung is also able to speak Mandarin (accented) and some Japanese (as heard in "Tokyo Raiders"). "Lust Caution" is the first film where he has a Mandarin-speaking role in which he used his own voice. (The first one was actually "Hero", but his voice was dubbed over by someone else).

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 crackdown 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. However, the movie magazine editor maintained that the original statement was not out of context and challenged people to read the complete interview.

On 2 September 2023, he became the first Chinese actor ever to receive the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the 80th Venice Film Festival.

(Source: Wikipedia) Edit Biography