John Lone (; jyutping: zyun1 lung4; born October 13, 1952) is an American actor. He starred as Pu Yi in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning film '' The Last Emperor'' (1987), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. A veteran of the East West Players, he appeared in numerous high-profile screen and stage roles throughout the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s, in films like '' Iceman'', '' Year of the Dragon'', ''

M. Butterfly ''M. Butterfly'' is a play by David Henry Hwang. The story, while entwined with that of the opera ''Madama Butterfly'', is based most directly on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Peking opera singer. ...

'', ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

'', and ''

Rush Hour 2 ''Rush Hour 2'' is a 2001 American buddy action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and written by Jeff Nathanson, based on the characters created by Ross LaManna. A sequel to '' Rush Hour'', it is the second installment in the ''Rush Hour'' ...

''. He was also nominated for the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male The Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male was one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It was first presented in 1987, with Morgan Freeman being the first recipient, for his role as Fast Black in '' Street Smart''. It was last pres ...

for his performance in ''

The Moderns ''The Moderns'' is a 1988 film by Alan Rudolph, which takes place in 1926 Paris during the period of the Lost Generation and at the height of modernist literature. The film stars Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino, John Lone, and Geneviève Bu ...

''.

Biography

Lone was born in 1952 as Ng Kwok-leung () in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the British ...

. He was raised in an orphanage and later adopted by a woman from

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

. At age 7, he was sent to train in the style of the

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 ...

at Hong Kong's Chin Chiu Academy, where he was trained in singing, dance, and classical Chinese theater techniques. It was here that he was given the name "Johnny"; he chose the surname Lone to reflect the fact that he was an orphan and for its similarity to Leung, part of his given name. Lone declined an offer to join a Belgian dance company, and a contract to make

Kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...

films, and accepted a sponsorship by an American family. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and spent three years taking night classes at

Santa Ana College Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Ora ...

to improve his English. In 1972, he married fellow student Nina Savino and gained American citizenship. They divorced in 1979. In 1978, he graduated from the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

Career

Due to the lack of roles in Hollywood for people of East Asian descent at the time, Lone was often left to play minor parts on television. Lone was with the

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

theatre organization East West Players for ten years before Mako offered him a role as an Asian emigrant trying to assimilate in

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yel ...

's first play '' FOB.'' Lone starred alongside

Tzi Ma Tzi Ma (;) is a Hong Kong-American actor. He is well known for his roles in television shows, such as '' The Man in the High Castle'' and '' 24'', and films, such as ''Dante's Peak'', ''Rush Hour'', ''Rush Hour 3'', '' Arrival'', '' The Farewel ...

and his performance garnered him an

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...

in 1981. While in New York City he was discovered by the talent agent

Jadin Wong Jadin Wong (May 24, 1913 – March 30, 2010) was an American singer, dancer, actress, and comedian. Early life Wong was born near Stockton, California, after which the family moved to San Francisco. She started singing in public at six y ...

, who helped him to launch his career. One of his earliest roles was as the cook in the film ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

''. His first major role in films was as the title character in ''Iceman''. In 1985, John Lone played the gang leader Joey Tai in

Michael Cimino Michael Antonio Cimino ( ; February 3, 1939 – July 2, 2016) was an American filmmaker. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Cimino achieved fame with ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Bes ...

's '' Year of the Dragon'', for which he was nominated the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Impressed by Lone's performance, Cimino recommended Lone to his longtime friend

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

, who was casting for '' The Last Emperor''. Bertolucci met Lone while casting in Los Angeles and chose him as

Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

at first sight. Lone portrayed Puyi at different stages of his life, from an 18-year-old to a man in his sixties. In preparation for his role, he visited China to study the body language of the elderly. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama at the

45th Golden Globe Awards The 45th Golden Globes Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1987, were held on January 23, 1988 at the Beverly Hilton. The nominations were announced on January 5, 1988. Winners and nominees Film The following fi ...

in 1988 for his performance. He and Chen presented the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film This is a list of films by year that have received an Academy Award together with the other nominations for best documentary short film. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are annou ...

at the 1988 Academy Awards. In 1987,

and John Dexter were casting for Hwang's play ''

''. Hwang knew of Lone's Peking opera training, and thought of him for the part of Song Liling, an opera singer. He sent him a copy of the script, but Lone was too busy to respond. In 1991, David Cronenberg prepared to direct the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of ''M. Butterfly'', and invited Lone to play Song Liling. After a three-hour meeting with Cronenberg, Lone agreed to play Song. Lone did his own singing for the film. In the 1995 film '' The Hunted,'' Lone played assassin Kinjo alongside

Christopher Lambert Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957) is a French-American actor, producer, and novelist. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying T ...

. Further international film appearances included the role of corrupt Hong Kong cop Ricky Tan in ''

'' (2001) and the antagonist Shiwan Khan in ''

'' (1994). Lone's focus then shifted to the Chinese market.'''' He played the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

in the 30-episode television drama series ''Qianlong and the Fragrant Concubine'' (乾隆与香妃) in 2004. He also appeared in the title role of

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

, in '' Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito'' (1998–2007), a Chinese television series about the Manchu-ruling Qing Empire monarch. His last film role was 2007's ''

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

'', co-starring

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, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years ...

and Jason Statham.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards & nominations

References

External links

*
Message Board of John Lone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lone, John 1952 births 20th-century Hong Kong male actors 21st-century Hong Kong male actors American male actors of Hong Kong descent American male film actors American male television actors Hong Kong emigrants to the United States Hong Kong male film actors Hong Kong male television actors Living people