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 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 ...

. As he is often confused with actor

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 ...

, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony," while Tony Leung Chiu-wai is known as "Little Tony," nicknames which correspond to the actors' respective age and physical statures.

Career

Leung has been in the film industry for more than 30 years, starring in a variety of roles. His debut film was ''Burning of the Imperial Palace'' (1983), where he played the

Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), or by temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing (), given name Yizhu (), was the eighth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigned from 1850 t ...

. He would later work with

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 ...

in three films, '' Prison on Fire'' (1987), ''

A Better Tomorrow 3 ''A Better Tomorrow III: Love & Death in Saigon'' () is a 1989 Hong Kong action drama film co-produced and directed by Tsui Hark. It is a loosely based prequel to John Woo's ''A Better Tomorrow'' and ''A Better Tomorrow II''. The film was dir ...

'' (1989), and ''

God of Gamblers Returns ''God of Gamblers Returns'' (), also known as ''God of Gamblers' Return'' and ''The Return of the God of Gamblers '', is a 1994 Hong Kong action-drama-comedy film written and directed by Wong Jing. It starred Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Sh ...

'' (1994). He also appeared as

Joyce Godenzi Joyce Mina Godenzi (; born 28 May 1965) is a former actress and winner of the Miss Hong Kong pageant of 1984. Background Born in British Hong Kong in 1965 to an Australian father and a Chinese mother, Godenzi was encouraged to join the Miss Hong K ...

's husband in ''

She Shoots Straight ''She Shoots Straight'' (, alternately ''Lethal Lady'') is a 1990 Hong Kong action film directed by Corey Yuen and starring Sammo Hung and Joyce Godenzi. Story ''She Shoots Straight'' turns on three plot axes. The first concerns the complica ...

'', Joyce's trademark film. In 1991, Leung went to France to appear in

Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for directing ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), '' The Bear'' (1988), '' The Lover'' (1992), '' Seven Years in ...

's '' The Lover'', based on

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

's novel, as the older lover of a young teen schoolgirl, who was played by British actress

Jane March Jane March Horwood (born 20 March 1973) is an English film actress and former model. Early life and education March was born Jane March Horwood in Edgware, London. Her father, Bernard Horwood, was a design and technology secondary school teac ...

. Leung was originally asked to portray the title character of ''

The Last Emperor ''The Last Emperor'' ( it, L'ultimo imperatore) is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted ...

'' (1987) but declined due to prior commitments. The role later went to

John Lone John Lone (; jyutping: zyun1 lung4; born October 13, 1952) is an American actor. He starred as Pu Yi in the Academy Award-winning film '' The Last Emperor'' (1987), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. A veteran ...

. Leung went on to star in the international horror feature film ''

Double Vision Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally or vertically in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often v ...

'' with American actor

David Morse David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film c ...

. His ongoing career has seen him star in films such as '' The Myth'' (2005), ''

Everlasting Regret ''Everlasting Regret'' is a Hong Kong films of 2005, 2005 Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong film Film director, directed by Stanley Kwan, and produced by Jackie Chan. It is based on Wang Anyi's 1995 novel ''The Song of Everlasting Sorrow (novel), T ...

'' (2005) and ''

Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

'' (2005). Leung won his fourth Best Actor award for his performance in ''

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

'' at the 32nd

Hong Kong Film Award The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, act ...

s. He also starring in the music video of

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...

's song "Tough" in 2016.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Tony Leung Ka-fai
at

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 ...

Tony Leung Ka-fai
at chinesemov.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Leung, Tony Ka-Fai 1958 births Living people Hong Kong male film actors Alumni of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University 20th-century Hong Kong male actors 21st-century Hong Kong male actors Hong Kong male television actors Cantonese people