Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "
Four Heavenly Kings
The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ...
" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenced by the late American performer
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. He has released over 30 studio albums in Cantonese and Mandarin, mostly in the
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
genre, with elements of
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
,
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
and
traditional Chinese music
''Guoyue'' ( 國 樂; literally "national music"; also ''minyue'' (民乐), ''huayue'' (華樂) or ''zhongyue'' (中樂)), nowadays refers to the music composed for Chinese musical instruments, which is an extension of the Chinese traditional ...
.
Concurrently with his music career, Kwok started as an actor with a role in the
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
Twilight of a Nation
''Twilight of a Nation'' is a Hong Kong television series based on the events of the Taiping Rebellion and the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the late Qing dynasty. The 45 episodes long series was produced by Siu Sang and was ...
'' (1988), ''
Man from Guangdong
{{Chinese, title=Man from Guangdong, t=我係黃飛鴻, s=我系黄飞鸿, l="I am Wong Fei-hung", p=Wǒ Xì Huáng Fēi Hóng, j=Ngo2 Hai6 Wong4 Fei1 Hung4
''Man from Guangdong'' is a 1991 Hong Kong martial arts television series produced by TV ...
'' (1991), ''Heartstrings'' (1994), and '' Wars of Bribery'' (1996). He gained widespread recognition in the movie '' Saviour of the Soul'' (1991), for which he was nominated for a
Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to an actor for the best performance by an actor in a supporting role.
History
The award was established at the 4th Hong Kong Film Awards (1985) a ...
, before starring in a string of box-office hits, including ''
Future Cops
''Future Cops'' (; literal title: ''Super-School Tyrant'') is a 1993 Hong Kong action-comedy film loosely based on the ''Street Fighter'' video game franchise, starring an ensemble cast of Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok, Chingmy Yau, Dick ...
Divergence
In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of the ...
'' (2005), ''
After This Our Exile
''After This Our Exile'' (父子, literally ''Father-Son'') is a 2006 Hong Kong drama film directed by Patrick Tam. A critical hit, the film won both the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film and the Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film award ...
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...
'' (2018).
Early life
Kwok graduated from St John's Co-education College in Hong Kong. After graduating from secondary school, Kwok worked as a junior staff in King Fook Gold & Jewellery Co. Ltd. His father, who owns a small gold retail store, desired that he gain experience in the business with the view of eventually handing the family business over to him. If not for one of Kwok's brothers taking over the gold business, his father would not have allowed him to join the entertainment industry. In 1984, he was fired for prolonged absenteeism (sick leave) caused by a foot muscle injury from trying the
splits
A split (commonly referred to as splits or the splits) is a physical position in which the legs are in line with each other and extended in opposite directions. Splits are commonly performed in various athletic activities, including dance, figu ...
at a party.
In 1991, Kwok's older brother, Kwok Fu-kun, was shot dead outside the
Sunbeam Theatre
Sunbeam Theatre () is a landmark theatre in Hong Kong showcasing Cantonese opera. It is located at 423 King's Road, North Point, near the intersection with Shu Kuk Street.
History
In the 1950s, many of the Shanghainese emigrants moved from S ...
in North Point while chasing armed robbers who had raided his Marble Street jewelry store.
Career
Early years
After being fired from a jewellery company in 1984 at the age of 19, Kwok only had a high school education and had never studied dancing in university before. Kwok subsequently joined a dancer training course at
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
, where his talent for dancing was immediately recognized. Kwok then performed in music videos and variety shows for other singers. In 1987, he was transferred to the acting department of the talent training course and became a TV actor, where he played minor parts in TVB dramas. In 1990, he did a TV commercial in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
for the
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
motorcycle DJ-1RR. The commercial gained him instant popularity with Taiwanese girls, and he immediately burst onto the music scene.
Music
Kwok then began his music career with three
mandopop
Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Standard Chinese, Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Ta ...
albums including the famous song "Loving You Forever" (對你愛不完) to accompany his dance moves. After his success in Taiwan, he returned to Hong Kong in 1991 to do
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
. The next few years saw his popularity reach fever-pitch, and he was soon ranked as one of the "
Four Heavenly Kings
The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ...
". Kwok became one of Hong Kong and Asia's most prominent pop stars. He won his first major awards with the
1991 Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards The 1991 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation () was held in January 1992. It is part of the Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation series held in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong S ...
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
collaborated with Aaron Kwok and
Ricky Martin
Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...
for international versions of "
Ask for More
"Ask for More" is a song performed by Janet Jackson as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi in 1999.
Alternate versions of the ad campaign with Ricky Martin and Aaron Kwok were released in international markets.
Song inf ...
", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
. A full-length music video of the version with Kwok was also released in Asian markets.
Dancer
As soon as Kwok entered the music industry in 1991, he started a fast-dancing trend (勁歌熱舞). Kwok's onstage dancing and displays has been known to be influenced by
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. Later in his career, he is known to have won a prestigious top ten Hong Kong dance award (十大舞蹈家年獎). Of all the performing arts at which Kwok excels, stage appearances remain his perennial favourite. His dance accomplishments are also matched with stage displays. On 16 November 2007, he held an "Aaron Kwok De Show Reel Live" concert at
Hong Kong Coliseum
Hong Kong Coliseum, commonly known as the Hung Hom Coliseum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. It is in Yau Tsim Mong District.
It was built by the Urban Council and inaugurated on 27 ...
with the largest revolving stage. On 17 February 2008, he held an "Aaron Kwok De Show Reel Extension Live" concert at the Hong Kong AsiaWorld Arena with the largest revolving stage measured at 10m x 9.44m and created a new entry for the
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
.
Acting
Over the years, Kwok has also been active in other media such as TV commercials and acting. He began his acting career with the TVB series ''Rise of Genghis Khan'', and the 1988 series ''
Twilight of a Nation
''Twilight of a Nation'' is a Hong Kong television series based on the events of the Taiping Rebellion and the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the late Qing dynasty. The 45 episodes long series was produced by Siu Sang and was ...
'' about the
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...
Athena Chu
Athena Chu (born 25 October 1971) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Zixia Fairy in ''A Chinese Odyssey'' (1995).
Early life and education
On 25, October 1971, Chu was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Her father was ...
.
He also starred in various movies. At the Taiwan's 42nd
Golden Horse Awards
The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...
ceremony on 13 November 2005, Kwok was the surprise winner of Best Leading Actor award for his role in the film ''
Divergence
In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of the ...
''. It was Kwok's first Golden Horse nomination and beat veteran Hong Kong star
Tony Leung Ka-fai
Tony Leung Ka-fai (; born 1 February 1958) is a Hong Kong actor who is a four-time winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor.
As he is often confused with actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony," while Tony Leu ...
to win the honour. He won the Best Actor Award again at the 43rd Golden Horse Awards on 24 November 2006 for his role in the film ''
After This Our Exile
''After This Our Exile'' (父子, literally ''Father-Son'') is a 2006 Hong Kong drama film directed by Patrick Tam. A critical hit, the film won both the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film and the Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film award ...
''. He became only the second actor in the history of the Golden Horse Awards to win the Best Actor Award consecutively.
Jackie Chan
Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...
first accomplished this back in the 1992-3.
Along with
Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi (; ; born 9 February 1979) is a Chinese actress and model. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China. Her first major role was in '' The Road Home'' (1999). She later gained international recognition for her role in ...
, Kwok stars in an AIDS-themed film ''
Love for Life
''Love for Life'' (), also known as ''Life Is a Miracle'', ''Til Death Do Us Part'' and ''Love for Live'', is a 2011 film directed by Gu Changwei and starring Zhang Ziyi and Aaron Kwok. It was Gu's third film as director after a lengthy career a ...
'', which premiered on 10 May 2010.
In 2016, Kwok won his first
Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to an actor for the best performance by an actor in a leading role. The actor with most awards in this category is Tony Leung Chiu-Wai with 5 times. He is als ...
Kwok married Shanghai-based Chinese model Moka Fang (方媛)and they both are parents to daughters Chantelle Kwok. and Charlotte Kwok .
Kwok posted on social media on 18 April 2019 that his second daughter Charlotte Kwok was born.
Hobbies
Kwok is a collector of sports cars as well as a fan of motor racing. He is known as a car fanatic and has a large collection of notable cars.Auto.cn. Auto.cn ." 郭富城和他的12輛超級跑車. Retrieved on 28 June 2009. Some of his collection include the Audi R8 GT Spyder,
Ferrari F50
The Ferrari F50 (Type F130) is a mid-engine sports car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 1995 until 1997. Introduced in 1995, the car is a two-door, two seat targa top. The car is powered by a 4.7 L naturally asp ...
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano (internal code F141) is a grand tourer produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. It was the brand's front engined, two-seat model that replaced the 575M Maranello in 2006 as a 2007 model, and was replaced for ...
,
Ferrari California
The Ferrari California (Type F149) is a grand touring, high performance sports car created by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. It is a two-door 2+2 hard top convertible. When originally unveiled in 2008, the California was powered by ...
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
Porsche 911 Turbo
The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and ori ...
Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobil ...
, a Carbon version
Pagani Zonda F
The Pagani Zonda is a mid-engine sports car produced by the Italian sports car manufacturer Pagani. It debuted at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show. By 2019, a total of 140 cars had been built, including development mules. Both 2-door coupé and ro ...
,
Lamborghini Murciélago
The Lamborghini Murciélago is a sports car produced by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini between 2001 and 2010. Successor to the Diablo and flagship V12 of the automaker's lineup, the Murciélago was introduced as a coupé in 2001. ...
Porsche 996 GT3
The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance homologation model of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS.
The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national ...
,
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alth ...
.
In 2011, Kwok became a race-horse owner at the
Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...
. He originally owned two horses: N288 CALLING WITH LOVE and another named P288 MY FAVORITE. In 2018, he purchased a new horse named C180 DANCING FIGHTER.
Kwok is also well known to be a super fan of Chinese hotpot .
Image
He was famous for popularising a new type of " center-split hair style" that was widely imitated during the 1990s.dailynews.sina.com. Sina.com "當年狂追的偶像髮型 Retrieved on 2 April 2010. As a fashion icon amongst the show biz industry, throughout his career he changed his hair style numerous times, including styles such as the five-five split and the four-six split. In 2020, he became the brand ambassador of
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
Jade in Hong Kong with advertisements that shared his own beneficial experience of using its banking services.
Discography
*1990
** ''Loving You Never Stop'' (Mandarin Debut Album)
*1991
** ''Should I Leave Quietly?''
** ''Who Can Tell Me Finally?''
*1992
** ''Please Bring My Affection Home'' (1st Mandarin Compilation)
** ''Loving You''
** ''Dancing Never Stop, Loving Never Stop, Singing Never Stop'' (Cantonese Debut Album)
** ''Marlboro Red Hot Hits: Heat Moves Lalala''
*1993
** ''Deep Loving You - Aaron Kwok'' (2nd Mandarin Compilation)
** ''Leaving All My Love To You''
** ''Without Your Love''
** ''Dream Can't Be Kept''
** ''Merry X-Mas'' ingle*1994
** ''AK-47'' (four new Cantonese songs + Cantonese & Mandarin Compilation)
** ''Starts From Zero'' (Cantonese & Mandarin Compilation)
** ''The Wild City'' (1st Album released by Warner Music)
** ''The Horizon''
** ''A Moment Of Romance II OST''
** ''Desire'' ingle*** ''Desire'' (Japanese Version) ingle** ''Temptation of the Iron Mask''
** ''Elution/Good Gal'' (Remix)
** ''Lover For A Whole Life'' (Mandarin Compilation)
** ''Romance Iron Mask Moving Temptation'' (Remix)
*1995
** ''My Starting Point Is Here''
** ''You Are My Everything'' (EP)
** ''Pure Legend''
** ''Wind Can't Stop''
** ''Memorandum''
*** ''Memorandum'' (Photo Album)
*1996
** ''Aaron Kwok Golden Songs : Memorandum Collection''
** ''Love Dove''
** ''The GIG Kingdom'' (EP)
** ''Listen to the Wind's Song''
*1997
** ''Listen to the Wind'' (karaoke remix)
** ''Warner MasterSonic Vol 1: Aaron Kwok''
** ''Aaron Kwok Live in Concert 1996''
** ''Who Will Remember Me?''
** ''Love Call''
** ''Duplicate Soul - Duplicate Again'' (Remix)
** ''Devoted''
** ''Generation Next''
*1998
** ''Code In The Wind''
** ''Warner MasterSonic Vol 2: Aaron Kwok''
** ''Best To Sing Mandarin 1998''
** ''Aaron Kwok The Best Remix''
** ''A Magic To City''
** ''Best Hits of Aaron'' (songs from his previous label)
*1999
** ''Pepsi Aaron Kwok Live in Concert 1998''
** ''Ask For More'' (EP)
** ''Amazing Dream'' lbum*** ''Amazing Dream'' (Version 2)
*** ''Amazing Dream'' (Big Box)
** ''So Afraid''
*** ''So Afraid'' (Happy New Year Version)
** ''Hip Hip Hurray Greatest 16 Hits 1999''
*** ''Hip Hip Hurray Greatest 16 Hits 1999'' (Singapore Version, with two Mandarin songs)
*2000
** ''Journey, Cheer''
** ''And I Hate You So OST''
** ''Fascinating''
** ''China Strike Force OST''
** ''Fearless vs Future'' (EP)
*2001
** ''Pepsi Aaron Kwok Live On Stage 2000/01''
** ''34 Best Choice of Aaron Kwok HDCD'' (Combination of Warner MasterSonic 1&2)
** ''Xin Tian Di + Para Para Sakura OST''
** ''Pure Energy Collection''
** ''Absolute''
*2002
** ''Aaron Kwok & Friends in Concert 251101''
** ''Beyblade'' (3"CD, EP)
** ''Aaron Kwok Nicam Greatest Hits 2002'' (Love.Stage)
*** ''Aaron Kwok AA+ Best Hits!'' (Taiwan Version of Nicam Greatest Hits)
** ''Burning Flame 2 OST''
** ''The Power Of Love 2002''
*2003
** ''In The Still Of The Night''
*** ''In The Still of The Night'' (Special Version)
** ''Romancing Hong Kong OST''
*2004
** ''AK Trilogy Yours Truly Greatest Hits I II III''
*2005
** ''Thematic'' (AVCD, EP)
*2006
** ''My Nation''
*** ''My Nation Plus'' additional single (Kid of Wind)** ''Aaron Kwok: The Best Collection'' (2DVD + 2CD)
*2008
** ''Aaron Kwok de Show Reel Live in Concert 2007/2008''
*2009
** ''Aaron Kwok Greatest Hits'' (2CD)
*2010
** ''Aaron Kwok Never Ending Love''
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
Douban
Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese c ...