''Once a Thief'' is a remake of a 1991 film of the same name. Both films were directed by

John Woo John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun ...

. The movie was also made into a 1997 television series also of the same name. The remake aired on the

Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

and was hoped to be the beginning of a weekly series, but Fox passed on it, and the series aired instead on the CTV Television Network in Canada.

Plot

The film is about two orphans - Mac Ramsey and Li Ann Tsei who have spent their life living with the Tang family - a ruthless Chinese organized crime syndicate. Mac and Li Ann were taken in by the Tang Godfather and have formed a close friendship with his son Michael. When they grow up, Li Ann is betrothed to Michael, but falls in love with Mac so the two scheme to steal money from the Tang family and run off to start a new life. During the heist, Mac is arrested and Li Ann flees to Canada. 18 months later, Mac is released into the charge of a menacing woman known only as the Director who takes him to Canada to work for her crime-fighting team. He soon realizes he will be working with Li Ann and her former cop boyfriend Victor.

Cast

* Sandrine Holt as Li Ann Tsei *

Ivan Sergei Ivan Sergei Gaudio (; born May 7, 1971) is an American actor known for his work in television. His best known roles are Dr. Peter Winslow in ''Crossing Jordan'' and Henry Mitchell in ''Charmed''. Life Ivan Sergei Gaudio was born in Hawthorne, N ...

as Mac Ramsey *

Nicholas Lea Nicholas Lea (born Nicholas Christopher Herbert; June 22, 1962) is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of Alex Krycek on ''The X-Files'' and of Tom Foss on ''Kyle XY''. Life and career Lea was born in New Westminster, British Columbia. He ...

as Victor Mansfield *

Robert Ito Robert Ito (born July 2, 1931) is a Canadian actor of Japanese ancestry. He is known for his television and film work, including the roles of Sam Fujiyama on the 1976–83 NBC series '' Quincy, M.E.'' and Larry Mishima on the 1980s CBS primetime ...

as The Godfather * Michael Wong as Michael Tang *

Alan Scarfe Alan John Scarfe (born 8 June 1946) is a British–Canadian actor, stage director and author. He is a former Associate Director of the Stratford Festival (1976–77) and the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool (1967–68). He won the 1985 Genie A ...

as Robertson Graves *

Jennifer Dale Jennifer Ciurluini (born January 16, 1956 in Toronto), known professionally as Jennifer Dale, is a Canadian actress. Biography She is the sister of Canadian actress Cynthia Dale. From 1980 to 1986 she was married to Robert Lantos; they have t ...

as The Director * Nathaniel DeVeaux as Dobrinsky * Greg Chan as Dance MC * Young Ryu as Li Ann's Dance Partner * Matthew Walker as Interpol Judge * Paul Wu as Judge's Aide *

Phillip Tsui Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philip ...

as Fong * Derek Lowe as Mill Security Guard

TV series

The spin-off series ran for one season.

External links

* 1996 television films 1996 films Canadian drama television films Canadian action films 1990s crime action films Canadian crime drama films 1996 crime drama films Films directed by John Woo Films about orphans Films adapted into television shows Remakes of Hong Kong films Crime television films Action television films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films {{Canada-tv-film-stub

Plot

Cast

TV series

See also

External links