Dicky Cheung Wai-kin (; born 8 February 1965) 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 and singer.

Early childhood

Cheung grew up with a physically abusive father. His parents divorced when Cheung was 14. Cheung was educated in St Francis Xavier's College in Hong Kong. He became interested in acting when he was in elementary school, stemming from his interest in analyzing human behaviour. For example, he always loved being in crowded streets or buses, where he could observe people and hear conversations. In plays, he would work as director, actor, and scriptwriter. In 1984, he won the TVB International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship. However, it was not a good start of his singing career. No record company wanted to sign a contract with him. So he changed his career path to acting. In 1985, he signed a contract with TVB. However, the following eight years he only acted in small parts until 1991 when he finally got the chance to be the main actor in the TVB drama called "Laoyou Guigui"(''"A Step Beyond"''). Later, he gained the lead role in ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popu ...

'', where he gained many fans and supporters in Hong Kong.

Career

He entered show business in the early 1980s, signing a contract with television station

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 ...

. He won the third annual

New Talent Singing Awards New Talent Singing Awards (Traditional Chinese: 新秀歌唱大賽) or ''NTSA'' for short, later re-organised into New Talent Singing Awards International Finals (Traditional Chinese: 全球華人新秀歌唱大賽) or ''NTSA International Fina ...

in 1984. Up until the mid-90s, Cheung struggled for many years working as a low-paid actor, singer and appeared occasionally in films. It was not until his brilliant portrayal of the

Monkey King The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong ( zh, t=孫悟空, s=孙悟空, first=t) in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West'' ( zh, ...

character in the 1996 TVB drama

, an adaptation of the classical Chinese novel ''

'', that his popularity began to skyrocket. A sequel to the TV adaptation was planned, but due to a contract dispute with TVB, Cheung left before production began.

Benny Chan Ho Man Benny Chan Ho-man (born 7 October 1969) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Education Chan attended . He graduated with a bachelor's degree in social science from Lingnan University. Acting career Chan's career in the entertainment industry began ...

took over the role of the Monkey King in the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

. Cheung then went abroad to

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 ...

to continue his career. Cheung's most notable performance that made him famous was his portrayal of the

in the 1996 TVB adaptation of the classic Chinese tale ''

''. As well as being the lead character, Cheung also sang the theme song as well as many other songs throughout the series. This series was very popular during its run on

TVB Jade TVB Jade (), or simply Jade, is a Hong Kong Cantonese-language free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) as its flagship service, alongside its sister network, the English-language TVB Pearl. Bro ...

, it was even dubbed in English and broadcast on

TVB Pearl TVB Pearl is a terrestrial television channel in Hong Kong owned by Television Broadcasts Limited. Established on 19 November 1967, it shares headquarters with TVB's other properties at TVB City at 77 Chun Choi Street in Tseung Kwan O Industr ...

, the only TVB series to receive this treatment to date. Cheung was also due to play the Monkey King in the sequel. However, due to a dispute regarding the contract, the role was given to

. He has appeared in many Taiwanese television productions since going to Taiwan. In 1999, TVB's rival station ATV acquired the Hong Kong broadcasting rights to his Taiwanese television series ''

Young Hero Fong Sai Yuk ''Young Hero Fang Shiyu'' is a 1999 Hong Kong television series based on the story of Chinese folk hero Fang Shiyu. It starred Dicky Cheung as the titular protagonist. Plot In the beginning, Fang Shiyu was a troublemaker in Guangzhou, constantl ...

''. Cheung played

Fong Sai Yuk Fong Sai-yuk (or Fang Shiyu) is a semi-fictional Chinese martial artist and folk hero from Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province of the Qing dynasty. Fong was also associated with Hung Hei-gun and the Five Elders of the Southern Shaolin Monas ...

, a character also portrayed by

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, Chinese martial arts, martial artist, and retired wushu (sport), Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singapo ...

in his film ''

''. The show was an instant hit in Hong Kong and managed to gain much higher ratings than TVB's own television series. The TVB series showing at that time was ''

Dragon Love A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

'', starring Benny Chan Ho Man, who replaced Cheung in the ''

'','' In one of the TV adaptations of

Louis Cha Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong dail ...

's Wuxia novel ''

The Deer and the Cauldron ''The Deer and the Cauldron'', also known as ''The Duke of Mount Deer'', is a comic historical novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha), the longest of his novels and the last to be published but chronologically it is the eighth novel. It was initially pub ...

''. Cheung played the anti-hero Wai Siu-Bo, a character previously portrayed by

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place ...

Stephen Chow Stephen Chow Sing-chi (, born 22 June 1962), known professionally as Stephen Chow, is a Hong Kong filmmaker, former actor and comedian, known for ''Shaolin Soccer'' and ''Kung Fu Hustle''. Early life and education Stephen Chow was born in British ...

and

Jordan Chan Jordan Chan Siu-chun (born Chan Siu-tsun on 8 July 1967) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and dancer, known for starring in the ''Young and Dangerous'' film series and for his role in the 1998 TV adaptation of Louis Cha's novel, '' The Duke o ...

in many television and film adaptations, in '' The Duke of Mount Deer.'' In 2001,

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

's NMG production company produced another television adaptation of ''

''. Cheung was given a chance to once again portray the role in '' The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra''. The series was broadcast in 2002 on TVB. Although it received high ratings, many felt it was not as good as the 1996 version. Cheung played Shun in ''

Kung Fu Soccer {{Infobox television , native_name = 功夫足球 , caption = , genre = Modern Drama , runtime = 45 minutes (approx.) , creator = , director = Ho Wai Chan Sin Ming Ko Ping Kwong Lee Man Kit Poon , company = ...

'', a young talented soccer player originated from rural

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

whose also excels in kungfu yet suffers from short term memory loss. The series was broadcast by TVB from December 2004 to January 2005, with Cheung sang the opening theme of the series. After a 20-year absence, Cheung made his TVB comeback. He starred in TVB's 50th anniversary drama, '' The Learning Curve of a Warlord'' <大帥哥>, which was produced by Steven Tsui.

Personal life

At the end of 1997, Cheung met his wife Jess Zhang (

Zhang Qian Zhang Qian (; died c. 114) was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diplomats to bring back valuable inf ...

), an actress in China. They were filming in the same location on separate productions. They formally met each other when Jess was humming the tune of "哎呀哎呀親親你" (Aiya, Aiya, Kissing You) and did not know who originally sang the song nor realize the original singer was in her presence. Their relationship then further developed when Cheung purchased a water bottle for Jess. In 2004，Cheung married Jess in Nanjing and had a separate wedding ceremony in

Boracay Boracay (; often locally shortened to Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of three barangays in Malay, Akla ...

in 2009. Prior to his marriage with Jess, he was involved in brief relationships with the actresses

Elvina Kong Elvina Kong Yan-yin (; born 6 July 1967) is a Hong Kong television actress and presenter currently under contract to TVB. Background Kong was born in British Hong Kong on 6 July 1967. She was a finalist in the New Talent Singing Contest 1985 ...

and

Jessica Hsuan Jessica Hester Hsuan (; PA: syn hyn, also known as Suen Huen, is a Hong Kong actress. Early life Hsuan's father gave her the name Jessica, while her mother gave her the middle name Hester. She was educated in Hong Kong at Maryknoll Convent S ...

. He has said that he would like to eventually leave the acting business and seriously consider doing something more meaningful in life such as volunteering to give back to the society.

Filmography

Television

* ''The Learning Curve of a Warlord'' ( zh, 大帥哥) (2018) * ''

Swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

'' (2013) * ''

Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties 1 & 2 ''Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties 1 & 2'' () is a 2012 Chinese historical television series directed by Li Hantao. It was first aired on Hunan Television in China in 2012. The series is based on the events in the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui duri ...

'' (2012) * ''The Legend of Hundred Family Surnames'' (2011) * ''The Next Magic'' (2011) * ''Shi Da Qi Yuan'' (2008) * ''The Kung Fu Master Wong Fei Hung'' (2008) * ''Project A'' (2007) * ''Ayo'' (2007) * '' The Proud Twins'' (2005) * ''

Magic Chef Magic Chef, Inc. (formerly the American Stove Company) is an appliance brand currently owned by CNA International Inc. St. Louis origins In the 1850s John Ringen, a German immigrant to the United States, began a tinshop in St. Louis, Missouri. His ...

'' (2005) * ''

The Royal Swordsmen ''The Royal Swordsmen'' () is a Chinese ''wuxia'' television series directed by Deng Yancheng and Wei Liyuan, starring Roger Kwok, Li Yapeng, Wallace Huo, Michelle Ye, Damian Lau, Tammy Chen, Gao Yuanyuan and Eva Huang. It was first shown on ...

'' (2005) * ''The Luckiest Man'' (2005) * ''The Legend of the Treasure Basin'' (2004) * ''

'' (2004) * ''The Luckiest Man'' (2003) * '' The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra'' (2002) * ''Mr. Winner'' (2002) * ''Taiji Prodigy'' (2002) * ''Smart Kid'' (2001) * '' The New Adventures of Chor Lau-heung'' (2001) * '' The Duke of Mount Deer'' (2000) * ''

Chess Warriors {{Infobox television , image=chesswarriors.jpg , caption=DVD cover , alt_name={{Unbulleted list, Chinese Swordsman, Chess Swordsman , director=Kuk Kok Leung , screenplay= Kuo Cheng , native_name={{Infobox name module, chinese={{linktext, 棋, 武� ...

'' (1999) * ''Swordsman'' I (1999) * ''

Young Hero Fang Shiyu ''Young Hero Fang Shiyu'' is a 1999 Hong Kong television series based on the story of Chinese folk hero Fang Shiyu. It starred Dicky Cheung as the titular protagonist. Plot In the beginning, Fang Shiyu was a troublemaker in Guangzhou, constantl ...

'' (1999) * ''Happy Flying Dragon'' I, II, III (1997) * ''The Witty Attorney'' (1997) * ''

'' (1996) –

Sun Wukong The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong ( zh, t=孫悟空, s=孙悟空, first=t) in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West'' ( zh, ...

* ''The Buddy Gang'' (1995) * " Money and Fame" (1992) * ''Edge of Righteousness'' (1992) * ''Wong Fei Hung Returns'' (1992) * ''Mystery of the Twin Swords'' II (1992) * ''Mystery of the Twin Swords'' (1991) * ''The Little boy from China'' (1991) * '' The Legend of the Book and the Sword'' (1987)

Films

References

External links

*
JayneStars.com – English translated news about Dicky Cheung

Dicky.cn (Chinese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheung, Dicky 1965 births Big Four (band) members Cantopop singers Hong Kong male film actors Hong Kong male television actors Hong Kong male singers Hong Kong Mandopop singers Hong Kong singer-songwriters Living people New Talent Singing Awards contestants Male actors from Shanghai 20th-century Hong Kong male actors 21st-century Hong Kong male actors Hong Kong male comedians