Chris Lai Lok-yi (born 15 June 1980) is a Hong Kong actor and host contracted to

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 TVB ...

. Lai is best known for playing John Ma in the

sitcom ''

Come Home Love ''Come Home Love'' (; literally "Love, Return Home") is a Hong Kong sitcom created and produced by TVB. Premiering on TVB Jade on May 14, 2012, the series was originally intended for 180 episodes but extended multiple times, before finally concl ...

'' from 2012 to 2015. In 2018, he was nominated for

TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor The TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role is one of the TVB Anniversary Awards presented annually by Television Broadcasts Limited Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong ...

for his performance as Elvis Yip in the family drama ''Who Wants a Baby?''.

Background

Lai Lok-yi was born on 15 June 1980 in

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 ...

in a very poor family with 5 members including himself, his parents, an elder brother and a younger brother; he is the middle child. He grew up living in a small flat in

. Lai’s father worked very hard to buy a truck for delivery, which helped improve the life of his family. However, at 11 years old, his father died from cancer. After his death, his and his family's lives worsened. His mother worked 2 jobs, an office cleaner and a street vendor, while raising her children. In high school, he started working various part-time jobs in hopes to support his family. He even worked as a docker in 2 big supermarkets in Hong Kong and taught children to earn money.Lai Lok Yi Reflects on 11-Year Acting Career
/ref> After graduating from

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Yau Tze Tin Memorial College Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Yau Tze Tin Memorial College () is an aided secondary school in Hong Kong. Fully subsidized by Government of Hong Kong, the day school is located in Siu Hong Court, Tuen Mun, New Territories. The grammar school is the ...

, Lai worked in a bank. After much pressure, he resigned. Lai signed up for

's Artiste Training School in 2001. After 3 unsuccessful interviews, he was eventually chosen due a close resemblance of the late music star

Danny Chan Danny Chan Pak-Keung (; 7 September 1958 – 25 October 1993) was a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, records producer and actor. He is widely recognised as the first modern day pop idol in Hong Kong, gaining fame alongside performers Alan Tam, ...

Career

Actor career of Lai Lok-yi is a long way from his early rise to success and long plateau. After making cameo appearances in several dramas, Lai took on his first major supporting role in the sports drama ''

Aqua Heroes ''Aqua Heroes'' (戀愛自由式) is a twenty episode modern series by Television Broadcasts Limited in Hong Kong. Synopsis Yau Han (Bobo Chan) and her sister, Yau Wing (Leila Tong) have been separated for many years and they happen to fall in lo ...

'' while he was still a trainee. He graduated from the school in 2002. In 2003, he starred in the idol drama

Hearts of Fencing {{Infobox television , native_name = 當四葉草碰上劍尖時 , image = HeartsofFencing2003.jpg , caption = Official poster , genre = Modern Drama , runtime = 45 minutes (approx.) , creator = , director = ...

, leading a cast consisting entirely of rookies. Back then, when he debuted, he was grouped with fellow actors

Raymond Lam Raymond Lam (; Jyutping: lam4 fung1; born 8 December 1979) is a Hong Kong actor and singer who is best known for roles in the television dramas ''A Step into the Past'', ''Twin of Brothers'', ''Moonlight Resonance'', ''Highs and Lows'' and ''Line W ...

Ron Ng Ron Ng Cheuk-hei (, born 2 September 1979) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, and former dancer. He first rose to popularity in the 2003 TVB drama ''Triumph in the Skies.'' He has since starred in several successful television series, most notably ''T ...

Bosco Wong Bosco Wong Chung-chak (; born 13 December 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, and entrepreneur who gained popularity in the modern drama ''Triumph in the Skies'' (2003). Since then, he has played a diverse spectrum of roles in television seri ...

Sammul Chan Sammul Chan Kin-fung (born 4 May 1978) is from Hong Kong. He is an actor, singer, and presenter. Career Chan debuted in 1999 as a DJ for Metro Broadcast Corporation Limited under his birth name, although most of the time he was simply referred t ...

and

Kenneth Ma Kenneth Ma Kwok-ming (born 13 February 1974) is a Hong Kong actor contracted to TVB. Ma had won the Most Popular Male Character award at the TVB Anniversary Awards for four times in 2012, 2017, 2018 and 2021 respectively, becoming the TVB acto ...

to make up the “Olympic Six”. While the other five in the group have already reached male lead status, Lai was still hovering in second and third line roles. People said that TVB did not intend to make his name although Lai Lok-yi had all the fundamentals to become a successful actor with his tall stature and handsome good looks.Lai Lok Yi Reflects on Early Rise and Plateau of Career
/ref> Until 2012, sitcom drama

gained a big success, and Lai played the main role as John Ma, which rose him to popularity. In the next few years, Lai also starred in several popular

dramas such as: ''

My Unfair Lady ''My Unfair Lady'' (Chinese : 不懂撒嬌的女人) is TVB's first 4K resolution television series. It stars Frankie Lam, Jessica Hsuan, Vincent Wong and Natalie Tong as the main leads, with Lai Lok-Yi, Samantha Ko, Max Cheung and Zoie Tam as th ...

'', ''Daddy Cool'', ''

Presumed Accidents ''Presumed Accidents'' (; literally "Skillful Accident") is a 2016 Hong Kong modern suspense crime television drama produced by Andy Chan for TVB, starring Lawrence Ng and Sisley Choi as the main leads, with Lai Lok-yi, Joyce Tang, Raymond Cho a ...

'' and ''The Tofu War'' . In 2018, Lai starred in the family drama ''Who Wants a Baby?'' as the first male lead. The drama earned critical acclaim and garnered him nominations for

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

and Most Popular Male Character at the 2018

TVB Anniversary Awards The TVB Anniversary Awards (), officially known as the TVB Awards Presentation, is an annual awards ceremony honoring TVB's programming achievements in Hong Kong television; despite claims that it is the region's equivalent to the American Emm ...

The origin of the stage name "Lai Lok Yi"

His real name is Lai Yat-sing, which was named by his late father. The stage name "Lai Lok Yi" was named by his teacher. He chose his name while filling the form of attending the training artiste class. He believed that this name would bring him the durability in the career.

Personal life

Lai dated actress

Tavia Yeung Tavia Yeung Sin-yiu (; born 30 August 1979), previously known as Tavia Yeung Yi (), is a Hong Kong actress. She is best known for starring in the television dramas ''Vigilante Force'' (2003), ''Moonlight Resonance'' (2008)'', Beyond the Realm o ...

from 2008 to 2011.Tavia Yeung Still Dating Lai Lok Yi?
/ref> From 2011 to 2014, Lai dated Nicole Lee, a former

Miss Hong Kong The Miss Hong Kong Pageant (), or Miss HK () for short, is an annual beauty pageant organised by local Hong Kong television station, TVB. The pageant was established in 1946, and acquired by TVB in 1973. The current Miss Hong Kong is Denice Lam ...

contestant and heiress to a Hong Kong-based beauty corporation. They got married in November 2014.Celebrity Weddings: Lai Lok Yi and Nicole Lee
/ref> Their son was born in 2017. Their second son was born in early 2022.

Filmography

Television dramas

Music video appearances

*2003: "''Fong Sang''" (放生) by

Jade Kwan Kwan Wai-Man (born 31 July 1979), better known professionally as Jade Kwan Sum-Yin (), is a Cantopop singer and philanthropist based in Hong Kong. Originally from Vancouver, she entered the music industry after winning the 1999 New Talent Singin ...

*2003: "''Tung Yau Ji Chui''" (痛由自取) by

Yumiko Cheng Yumiko Cheng (born 6 September 1981) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Cheng was given the Japanese nickname "Yumiko" by her friends in secondary school, and upon signing with EEG, adopted it as her official stagename.Tran, JennyYumiko ...

*2005: "''San Sai Kai''" (新世界) by 2R *2005: "Rolls-Royce" by

Denise Ho Denise Ho Wan-see (born 10 May 1977) is a Hong Kong-based Cantopop singer and actress. She is also a pro-democracy and Hong Kong human rights activist. In 2012, Ho came out as lesbian, the first mainstream Cantonese singer to do so. In 2014, Ho ...

*2005: "''Tei Ping Sin''" (地平線) by

Ella Koon Ella Koon Yun-na (born 9 July 1979) is a former Hong Kong Cantopop singer and semi-retired actress. Biography Ella Koon was born in the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, and is of Hakka descent. She was raised in Hong Kong and attended high sch ...

*2006: "''Sam Sang Yau Hang''" (三生有幸) by

Ronald Cheng Ronald Cheng Chung-kei (born 9 March 1972) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Life and career Ronald Cheng was born in Hong Kong. Originally intending to work behind the scenes as a songwriter and a producer, Cheng did odd jobs at his father (Dire ...

*2006: "December Rain" by

Rain Li Rain Lee Choi-wah (; born 11 November 1983) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. Filmography * ''Stolen Love'' (2001) * '' Goodbye Mr Cool'' (2001) * '' 2002'' (2001) * '' If U Care ...'' (2002) * '' My Lucky Star'' (2003) * '' Super Model'' (2004 ...

*2008: "''Jui Mei Lai Tik Tai Chat Tin''" (最美麗的第七天) by

Vincy Chan Vincy Chan (born 16 October 1982) is a Hong Kong-Singaporean Cantopop singer. She began her singing career after winning 1st runner up at the 2005 New Talent Singing Awards and has since been signed with Emperor Entertainment Group. Her best known ...

*2008: "''Sui Sin Mo Cheung Ngor Jeh Yeung Keung Tik Yan''" (誰羨慕像我這樣強的人) by

Theresa Fu Theresa Fu (born 22 September 1984) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, film and television actress, and model. Fu was introduced by the Talent Bang model agency in order to become a pop star. She started her career in 2002 as one of the members of ...

*2008: "''Yee Yan Sai Kai''" (二人世界)

Linda Chung Linda Chung Ka-yan (; born on 9 April 1984) is a Chinese-Canadian actress, singer and songwriter. She signed a long-term contract with TVB in 2004 after winning the Miss Chinese International. Chung was always Non-official Best Actress during ...

*2009: "I'm Sorry" by

Charlene Choi Charlene Choi Tsoek-jin ( zh, t=蔡卓妍; born 22 November 1982) is a Hong Kong Canadian actress and singer. She is a member of Cantopop group Twins, along with Gillian Chung. Early life Choi was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. S ...

Lai Lok-yi at chinesemov.com
/ref>

References

External links

Official TVB Blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lai, Lok Yi 1980 births Living people Hong Kong male television actors TVB actors 21st-century Hong Kong male actors Hong Kong male film actors