Chow Yun-fat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chow Yun-fat
SBS
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| 周潤發 | |||||||||||||||||||
Chow Yun-fat in 2007
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| Born | 18 May 1955 Lamma Island, British Hong Kong
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| Other names | Donald Chow | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Actor, singer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1973–present | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) |
Candice Yu
(m. 1983; div. 1983)Jasmine Tan
(m. 1986) |
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| Awards | Full list | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 周潤發 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 周润发 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Chow Yun-fat (born on May 18, 1955) is a famous actor and filmmaker from Hong Kong. He was also known as Donald Chow earlier in his career. Over more than 40 years, Chow has acted in over 100 TV shows and movies.
He is known for being able to play many different types of characters. These include action heroes, dramatic roles, and even funny characters. He has won many awards, like three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor. He also won two Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor.
Chow became very popular because of TV shows like The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1979) and The Bund (1980). His first big movie was The Story of Woo Viet (1981). In this film, he played a Vietnamese refugee trying to reach the United States.
He worked a lot with director John Woo on five action movies. These include A Better Tomorrow (1986), The Killer (1989), and Hard Boiled (1992). These movies made him a huge star in Asia. Chow also made popular action films with director Ringo Lam, like City on Fire (1987). He is famous for making Hong Kong gangster films well-known around the world.
Chow also starred in other popular films like An Autumn's Tale (1987) and God of Gamblers (1989). Later, he appeared in Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) and Project Gutenberg (2018). He started acting in Hollywood movies with The Replacement Killers (1998). He is also known in the West for movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).
Contents
Early Life and How He Started
Chow Yun-fat was born on Lamma Island in Hong Kong. His father worked on a tanker ship, and his mother was a cleaning lady and farmer. Chow grew up in a farming area without electricity. Every morning, he helped his mother sell herbal jelly and tea pudding. In the afternoons, he worked in the fields.
When he was ten, his family moved to Kowloon. At 17, Chow left school to help his family earn money. He worked many different jobs, including a bellboy, postman, camera salesman, and taxi driver.
His Acting Journey
In 1973, when Chow was 18, he saw an advertisement for an actor training program at TVB. After training for a year, he signed a three-year contract with the TV station. He started his acting career in TV soap operas.
He became more recognized in dramas like The Killer (1976) and Hotel (1976). His big break came with The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1979). After that, he starred in The Bund, a series about gangsters in 1930s Shanghai. This show made Chow a star all over Asia.
Even though he was very successful on TV, Chow wanted to be a film actor. He made his first movie in 1976. However, his early movies in the 1980s were not very successful.
His career changed when he worked with film director John Woo. They made the gangster action movie A Better Tomorrow in 1986. This movie was a huge hit in Asia and made Chow and Woo superstars. A Better Tomorrow also won Chow his first Best Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. It became the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong at that time. After this success, Chow stopped acting in TV shows completely.
With his new image from A Better Tomorrow, he made many more action films. These included A Better Tomorrow II (1987), Prison on Fire (1987), and The Killer (1989). He also starred in Hard Boiled (1992) and City on Fire (1987).
Chow is often known for playing tough but honorable characters, like police officers or criminals. But he also starred in comedies like Diary of a Big Man (1988). He also acted in romantic movies such as An Autumn's Tale (1987), for which he won another Best Actor award.
In 1989, he combined his different acting styles in the movie God of Gamblers. In this film, he played a charming, funny, and action-packed hero. The movie was very popular and broke box office records in Hong Kong. It also led to many other gambling-themed films. Because of his tough look and youthful appearance, Chow earned the nickname "Babyface Killer."
In the mid-1990s, Chow moved to Hollywood to try and become as successful there as he was in Asia. His first two Hollywood films, The Replacement Killers (1998) and The Corruptor (1999), did not do well. In his next film, Anna and the King (1999), he worked with Jodie Foster, but it also did not perform well.
However, Chow accepted the role of Li Mu-bai in the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This movie was a huge success around the world and won many Oscars. In 2003, Chow returned to Hollywood for Bulletproof Monk. In 2006, he starred with Gong Li in Curse of the Golden Flower, directed by Zhang Yimou.
In 2007, Chow played the pirate captain Sao Feng in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Some parts of his role were removed when the movie was shown in mainland China. This was because some felt his character made Chinese people look bad.
From 2014 to 2016, Chow worked again with his God of Gamblers director Wong Jing on the From Vegas to Macau movie series. For this role, he lost 13 kg in 10 months. In 2018, he co-starred with Aaron Kwok in Project Gutenberg. This movie earned him another Best Actor nomination at the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards.
In 2023, Chow became the second Hong Kong actor to be named Asian Filmmaker of the Year. This award was given at the 28th Busan International Film Awards.
Personal Life
Chow has been married twice. In 1983, he married actress Candice Yu, but their marriage lasted only nine months. In 1986, Chow married Jasmine Tan from Singapore. They had a daughter in 1991, but she was stillborn. After this, they decided not to have children. Chow has a goddaughter named Celine Ng.
Even though he is famous for his martial arts moves in movies, Chow has said he relies on stunt coordinators. He mentioned that he is not as athletic as people might think, unlike actors like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan.
Chow is known for living a simple life. He often eats at local food stalls and uses public transportation in Hong Kong. In November 2023, Chow ran a half marathon in less than 2 hours and 30 minutes.
In October 2014, Chow showed his support for students in the Umbrella Movement. This was a movement in Hong Kong where people wanted more rights.
Filmography
Chow has appeared in over 95 films and more than 25 television series.
Awards and Nominations
Hong Kong Film Awards
- Best Actor Nomination for Hong Kong 1941
- Best Actor Nomination for Women
- Best Supporting Actor Nomination for Love Unto Waste
- Best Actor for A Better Tomorrow
- Best Actor Nomination for Prison on Fire
- Best Actor Nomination for An Autumn's Tale
- Best Actor for City on Fire
- Best Original Film Song Nomination for The Diary of a Big Man
- Best Original Film Song Nomination for Triads: The Inside Story
- Best Actor Nomination for God of Gamblers
- Best Actor for All About Ah-Long
- Best Actor Nomination for Once a Thief
- Best Actor Nomination for Treasure Hunt
- Best Actor Nomination for Peace Hotel
- Best Actor Nomination for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- Best Actor Nomination for Curse of the Golden Flower
- Best Supporting Actor Nomination for The Postmodern Life of My Aunt
- Best Actor Nomination for Project Gutenberg
Chinese American Film Festival
- Golden Angel for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Project Gutenberg (2019)
- 28th Busan International Film Festival
- The Asian Filmmaker of the Year (2023)
University Honorary Awards
- Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts – Honorary Fellow (1999)
- City University of Hong Kong – Honorary Doctor of Letters (2001)
- Hong Kong Baptist University – Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa (2021)
See also
In Spanish: Chow Yun-Fat para niños
