Aarif Rahman (, born 26 February 1987), also known as Aarif Lee Zhi-ting, is a Hong Kong actor, singer and songwriter.
Early life
Born in Hong Kong, Aarif Rahman is of mixed
Arab,
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
and Chinese descent. He grew up in Hong Kong and attended
King George V School, where he discovered his penchant for music and started playing drums, guitar and the piano, as well as dabbling in song-writing.
After graduating with a physics degree from the
Imperial College London, Rahman signed with
East Asia Record Production company.
Career
Rahman first gained the interest of the Hong Kong music scene when he was exposed as the writer who penned all the lyrics in
Janice Vidal's 2009 English album ''
Morning''. Following this, in 2009 he released his debut album ''Starting from Today'', which won him the Best Newcomer award at the Metro Radio Music Awards.
Rahman then made his film debut in the movie ''
Echoes of the Rainbow
''Echoes of the Rainbow'' (; romanisation: ''Shui Yuet Sun Tau''; literally "''Time, the Thief''") is a 2010 Hong Kong drama film directed by Alex Law and starring Simon Yam and Sandra Ng. It won the Crystal Bear for the Best Film in the Childr ...
'' (2010), which won him the
Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer and Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild for Best New Actor of the Year – Silver Award. The theme song which he sang also won the
Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Song.
He then starred as
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...
in the dramatic biopic film ''
Bruce Lee, My Brother
''Bruce Lee, My Brother'' (, also known in the United Kingdom as ''Young Bruce Lee'') is a 2010 Hong Kong biographical martial arts drama film directed by Raymond Yip, and also written, produced and directed by Manfred Wong, and also storied, pr ...
'' (2010) and as a police investigator in the crime thriller ''
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
'' (2012).
In 2013, Rahman starred in the Mainland romantic comedy ''
One Night Surprise
''One Night Surprise'' (Chinese: 一夜惊喜) is a 2013 romantic-comedy film directed and written by Eva Jin and starring Fan Bingbing, Aarif Rahman, Pace Wu, Jiang Jinfu and Daniel Henney.
Plot
At her Marie Antoinette-themed birthday bash, M ...
''. The low-budget film unexpectedly became a commercial success, and received positive reviews. Rahman won the Best New Actor award at the 1st China International Film Festival London and Outstanding Performance award at the
Chinese Film Media Awards for his performance.
Rahman then starred in historical drama ''
The Empress of China'', where he played the role of
Li Zhi. The 82-episode TV series was broadcast on
Hunan Television from 21 December 2014 to 5 February 2015, and earned increased recognition for Rahman in the Mainland region. He won the Best Actor in the Ancient Drama category at the
Huading Awards for his performance.
In 2016, Rahman starred alongside Korean actress
Kim Ha-neul in the family film ''Making Family''. He also featured in
Guo Jingming's fantasy animated motion capture ''
L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties'', and reprised his role in the sequel of ''Cold War''.
In 2017, Rahman starred alongside
Jackie Chan in the action comedy film ''
Kung Fu Yoga''. The same year, he starred in
Tsui Hark's science fiction wuxia film ''
The Thousand Faces of Dunjia''.
In 2019, Rahman starred in the historical romance drama ''
Princess Silver'' as the male lead.
He is considered one of the promises in film acting, as he himself recognized in April 2021, during an interview for
Vanity Teen China magazine.
Aarif Lee:I have more than luck (Vanity Teen China)
16 April 2021. ''Vanity Teen.''
Filmography
Film
Television series
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Awards
Music
Film and television
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Aarif
1987 births
Living people
Hong Kong male singers
Cantopop singer-songwriters
Cantopop singers
Cantonese people
Mandopop singers
Hong Kong people of Malay descent
Hong Kong people of Arab descent
Hong Kong people of Malaysian descent
Alumni of King George V School, Hong Kong
Alumni of Imperial College London
21st-century Hong Kong male actors
Hong Kong male film actors
Hong Kong male television actors