Wayne Lai Yiu-cheung (; born 4 May 1964) is a Hong Kong actor. He became one of Hong Kong's most successful television actors after starring in TVB hit drama series ''

Rosy Business ''Rosy Business'' () is a 2009 Hong Kong period television drama produced by Lee Tim-sing and TVB. Comprising 25 episodes, it originally aired on the Jade network from 27 April to 29 May 2009. Set in Eastern China during the mid-19th century ...

''. Lai won three TVB Anniversary Awards for Best Actor, making him only one of three actors who have three wins in that category. After graduating from

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 ...

artistes' training program, he made his acting debut in 1986, playing supporting roles. He first rose to popularity for his role as

Zhu Bajie Zhu Bajie (), also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Tang Sanzang and a major character of the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West''. Zhu means " swine" and Bajie means " eight precepts". Buddhist scholars consider that both e ...

in the 1996 fantasy drama ''

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 popul ...

.'' In 2008, he won Best Supporting Actor at the TVB Anniversary Awards for his role in '' The Gentle Crackdown II.'' His performance as Chai Kau in the period drama ''

'' received critical acclaim and earned him the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor. Lai again won Best Actor at the TVB Anniversary Awards for starring in '' No Regrets'' (2010) and '' The Confidant'' (2012).

Life and career

Lai was born in Hong Kong and the youngest in his family. His father was a firefighter. When Lai's father retired, his family moved to Kowloon's Shun Lee Estate. Lai began working at television network

in 1983 as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

in the administration department. In 1985, he resigned from the position and enrolled in TVB's artistes training program. After completing the program, he joined TVB as an actor. He appeared in various Educational Television programs, in which he played supporting roles. He made his television series debut in the 1986 docu-drama ''Price of A Green Card'' (). From 1986 to 1989, Lai played various roles and made appearances as an extra in over 50 drama series. Lai portrayed

Zhou Botong Zhou may refer to: Chinese history * King Zhou of Shang () (1105 BC–1046 BC), the last king of the Shang dynasty * Predynastic Zhou (), 11th-century BC precursor to the Zhou dynasty * Zhou dynasty () (1046 BC–256 BC), a dynasty of China ** Wes ...

in four Jin Yong television adaptations, including '' Rage And Passion'' (1992), '' The Condor Heroes Return'' (1993), '' The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1994,'' and ''

The Condor Heroes 95 ''The Condor Heroes 95'' is a Hong Kong television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel '' The Return of the Condor Heroes''. It was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in 1995. Many of the cast from ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' (1994) ...

.'' Lai gained popularity as

in the commercial success ''

''. After starring in ''Anti-Crime Squad'' in 1999, he left TVB to pursue opportunities in the film industry. He appeared in the films '' Bio-Zombie'' (1998) and ''Happy Go Lucky'' (2003), and starred in a few ATV productions after joining the network for a year. In 2002, unable to earn a steady source of income from film projects, Lai returned to TVB. He starred in the television series '' Greed Mask'', in which Lai portrays a transgender man. Lai won Best Supporting Actor at the 2008 TVB Anniversary Awards for his role in '' The Gentle Crackdown II.'' In 2008, Lai starred in '' Pages of Treasures'', marking his first role as the male lead along with Paul Chun. His breakthrough year was 2009 when Lai portrayed Chai Kau in the critically acclaimed period drama ''

,'' starring opposite

Sheren Tang Sheren Tang Shui-man (born 2 March 1966) is a Hong Kong actress. She is best known for her roles in the mega-hit Hong Kong TVB drama series '' War and Beauty'', as well as '' La Femme Desperado'', '' The Family Link'', '' Rosy Business'' and '' ...

. His performance was met with overwhelming critical acclaim. Chai Kau became a Hong Kong pop culture icon and spawned the catchphrase "How many decades are in a lifetime?" (). At the 2009 TVB Anniversary Awards, Lai won Best Actor, My Favourite Male Character, and the TVB.com Popularity Award. In 2010, Lai once again won Best Actor at the TVB Anniversary Awards for his role Lau Sing in the second installment of ''Rosy Business, No Regrets,'' becoming the second actor to win consecutive awards in this category after

Gallen Lo Gallen Lo Ka-leung () is a Hong Kong actor and singer who primarily acts in television series. He is sometimes credited as King Gallen or Law Ka-Leung. Career Lo started his television career in 1984 at ATV. He received short-term success in a ...

who won in 1997 and 1998. Over the years, Lai continues to call the role of Lau Sing as his favourite among all the characters he has played and considers it his representative work. He has stated that ''No Regrets'' deeply affected him due to its patriotic theme and that the series is the best drama he has worked on. In 2011, Lai starred in the police procedural '' Forensic Heroes III'' as Pro Sir. In 2012, Lai starred as Li Lianying in the palace drama '' The Confidant''. He won Best Actor for the third time at the 2012 TVB Anniversary Awards. In 2015, Lai made a guest appearance in the drama ''

Master of Destiny ''Master of Destiny'' (; literally "Across Heaven and Earth") is an 2015 Hong Kong-Chinese joint epic television drama created by Hong Kong director Wong Jing and produced by his production company Jing's Entertainment Limited. ''Master of Dest ...

,'' and starred in the period fantasy drama '' Under the Veil''. He portrays Kung Siu San in '' Lord of Shanghai,'' starring alongside Anthony Wong and

Kent Tong Kent Tong (; born 29 September 1958) is a Hong Kong actor. He was a popular TVB actor during the 1980s, nicknamed "Prince" and one of the "Five Tiger Generals" of TVB. Early life Kent Tong was born to and grew up in a poor family in Hong Kong. Hi ...

. Lai then starred in the period comedy '' Short End of the Stick,'' a series about the lives of eunuchs after the fall of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. Lai starred in the sitcom '' Come Home Love: Dinner at 8''. In 2016, he starred in a dual role portraying twins in the third installment of the ''Rosy Business'' franchise, ''

No Reserve ''No Reserve'' (), also known as ''Rosy Business III'', is a 2016 Hong Kong espionage television drama serial created and produced by Lee Tim-sing for TVB. It is the third installment of the ''Rosy Business'' franchise. Previous installments i ...

''. In 2020, Lai starred in the action drama ''Death by Zero,'' portraying the role of an assassin.

Filmography

Film

Television dramas

Awards

*2007:

Astro Wah Lai Toi Astro Wah Lai Toi () is a Cantonese Video on demand (Formerly from Cantonese TV Channel) owned and operated by Astro in partnership with Hong Kong's TVB. The channel offers mainly TVB programming, alongside some local content. To satisfy a g ...

"My Favorite Show-Stealer Cast" award for '' Safe Guards'' *2007:

"My Favourite Unforgettable Scene" award for '' Safe Guards'' *2008: 2008 TVB Anniversary Awards "Best Supporting Actor" award for '' The Gentle Crackdown II'' *2009: Mingpao Weekly – "Most Outstanding Actor" for Rosy Business *2009:

42nd Anniversary "Best Actor" award for ''

'' *2009:

42nd Anniversary "TVB.com Popularity Award" *2009: TVB Anniversary Awards "My Favourite Male Character" "

" *2009: Yahoo! Asia Buzz Awards "TV Actor" *2010: Next Magazine Top 10 TV Artiste No. 2 *2010: TVB Anniversary Awards "Best Actor" award for '' No Regrets'' *2010:

New York Television Festival The New York Television Festival (NYTVF) is a yearly festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often mark ...

"Best Performance – Talent Credits" for Rosy Business (Episode 7) *2011: Shanghai Television Festival nominated "Best Actor" for No Regrets *2011: Mingpao Weekly – "Most Outstanding Actor" for No Regrets

References

External links

Wayne Lai
on Sina Weibo * * , - ! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" , TVB Anniversary Awards , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lai, Wayne 1964 births Living people Hong Kong male television actors TVB veteran actors 20th-century Hong Kong male actors 21st-century Hong Kong male actors Hong Kong male film actors Hong Kong male comedians