Chan Wui-ngai, (born 6 February 1953; often credited as Billy Chan) is a

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 ...

actor, stuntman, director, fight choreographer, and film producer. Chan won the 1983

Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to a choreographer or a group of choreographers for the best achievement in action choreography. History The award was established at the 2nd ...

along with

Sammo Hung Sammo Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and Film director, director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreog ...

Lam Ching-ying Lam Ching-ying (; born Lam Gun-bo (); 27 December 1947 – 8 November 1997) was a Hong Kong stuntman, actor, and action director. As a practitioner of martial arts Lam starred in a number of notable films that found recognition outside Hong Kong ...

and Xia Ling-zhen (Yuen Biao) for his work in '' The Prodigal Son''. In later years, Chan won several more choreography awards.

Biography

Chan was born on 6 February 1953, in

with his brother Chan Lung. At the age of 7, he attended the Nah-Hwa Primary School on

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

, where he failed his first year, after which his parents withdrew him from the school. In his teenage years, he was sent to the

China Drama Academy The China Drama Academy () was a Peking opera school in Kowloon, Hong Kong, famous for being the childhood home of such famous actors as Jackie Chan (Yuen Lo), Sammo Hung (Yuen Lung), Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu and Corey Yuen (Yuen Kwai). It w ...

, a

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

School run by

Yu Jim-yuen Yu Jim-yuen (September 5, 1905 – September 8, 1997) () was a Chinese martial artist, actor, teacher and the master of the ''China Drama Academy'', one of the main Peking Opera Schools in Hong Kong from which Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen B ...

. Despite being an actor, Chan also trained martial arts. Chan trained rigorously for the next decade, excelling in martial arts and acrobatics. He later left the Peking Opera School. Later, he attended directing and producing school. Chan start directing martial arts movies. He studied martial arts under

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 ...

and appeared in several films with Lee, including ''

The Big Boss ''The Big Boss'' (, lit. "The Big Brother from Tangshan"; originally titled ''Fists of Fury'' in America) is a 1971 Hong Kong action martial arts film produced by Raymond Chow and starring Bruce Lee in his first major film in a lead role. The ...

'', ''

Fist of Fury ''Fist of Fury'' is a 1972 Hong Kong action martial arts film written and directed by Lo Wei, produced by Raymond Chow, and starring Bruce Lee in his second major role after ''The Big Boss'' (1971). Lee, who was also the film's action choreogr ...

'' and ''

Enter the Dragon ''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death o ...

''.

Film career

Beginning in 1986, Chan directed 15 movies, beginning with ''New Mr. Vampire'', which won several directing awards. He next directed the film ''Brotherhood'', which starred

Ko Chun-hsiung Ko Chun-hsiung (; 15 January 1945 – 6 December 2015) was a Taiwanese actor, director and politician. He had been acting since the 1960s and had appeared in more than 200 films. His career accolades included three Golden Horse Awards, two As ...

and

Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: ''A Better Tomorrow'', ''A Be ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Wui-ngai 1953 births Living people Hong Kong male actors