Chow Yun Fat is a charismatic, athletically built and energetic
Asian-born film star who first came to the attention of western
audiences via his roles in the high-octane/blazing guns action films of
maverick HK director John Woo.
Chow was born in 1955 on the quiet island of Lamma, part of the
then-British colony of Hong Kong, near its famous Victoria Harbour. His
mother was a vegetable farmer and cleaning lady, and his father worked
on a Shell Oil Company tanker. Chow's family moved to urban Hong Kong
in 1965 and in early 1973, Chow attended a casting call for TVB, a
division of Shaw Bros. productions. With his good looks and easy-going
style, Chow was originally a heartthrob actor in non-demanding TV and
film roles. However, his popularity increased with his appearance as
white-suited gangster Hui Man-Keung in the highly popular drama TV
series Shang Hai tan (1980).
In 1985, Chow started receiving acclaim for his work and scored the
Golden Horse (Best Actor) Award in Taiwan and another Best Actor Award
from the Asian Pacific Film Festival for his performance in
Hong Kong 1941 (1984). With
these accolades, Chow came to the attention of Woo, who cast Chow in
the fast-paced gangster film
City Wolf (1986) (aka
"A Better Tomorrow"). The rest, as they say, is history. The film was
an enormous commercial success, and Chow's influence on young Asian
males was not dissimilar to the adulation given to previous Asian film
sensations such as Bruce Lee or
Jackie Chan. Nearly every young guy
in Hong Kong ran out and bought himself a "Mark Coat," as they became
known--a long, heavy woolen coat worn by Chow in the movie (although it
is is actually very unsuited to Hong Kong's hot and humid climate).
Further hard-edged roles in more John Woo crime films escalated Chow's
popularity even higher, and fans all over the world flocked to see
City Wolf II - Abrechnung auf Raten (1987)
(aka "A Better Tomorrow 2"),
The Killer (1989)
(aka "The Killer"), and
Hard Boiled (1992) (aka
"Hard Boiled"). With the phenomenal global interest in the HK action
genre, Chow was enticed to the United States and appeared in
The Replacement Killers - Die Ersatzkiller (1998)
with Mira Sorvino,
Corruptor - Im Zeichen der Korruption (1999) with
Mark Wahlberg, and, for a change
of pace, in the often-filmed romantic tale of
Anna und der König (1999).
Chow then returned to the Asian cinema circuit and starred in the
critically lauded kung fu epic
Tiger & Dragon (2000) (aka
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). His wide appeal can be seen in his
"boy next door" type of personality and his ability to play such a
broad spectrum of roles from a comedic buffoon to a lovestruck Romeo to
a trigger-happy professional killer. A highly entertaining and gifted
actor with dynamic on-screen presence, Chow continues to remain in
strong demand in many film markets.
