ANDY LAU

Date of Birth

27 September 1961, Tai Po, Hong Kong 

Birth Name

Lau Fok Wing 

Nickname

Wah Jai 

Height

5' 9" (1.75 m) 

Spouse

Carol Chu

(24 June 2008 - present)

Trade Mark

Frequently cast in films directed by Johnnie To

Frequently cast in films directed by Ka-Fai Wai

Frequently uses his Chinese name, "Wah," in his films

Frequently cast in films directed by Jing Wong

Trivia

Started career as a TV actor.

Once a side kick of Yun-Fat Chow. They made 4 movies together: Ying hung ho hon (1987), Gong woo ching (1987), Du shen (1989) and Dou hap (1991). They also made two TV series together: "Yang ka cheung" (1986) and "Sou hat yi" (1982).

Named as "Four Kings" of Hong Kong pop-music industry with Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok in the early 90s.

He was one of the "5 Tigers" in TVB with Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Felix Wong, Kiu Wai Miu, and Ken Tong in the 1980s.

Has the most awards won by a male Cantonese pop artist, as of April 2000 he had 292 awards.

Since 1992 he has appeared in concert 179 times. [As of 2003]

Awarded "No. 1 Box-office Actor 1985-2005" of Hong Kong, yielding a total box office of HKD 1,733,275,816 for shooting 108 films in the past 20 years.

Awarded honorary fellow member by the Hongkong Academy of Performing Arts (HKAPA). Past recipients of the honor include Yun-Fat Chow,John Woo and 'Anthony Wong (IX)'.

Is skilled in the Chinese calligraphy.

Lau was awarded the Asian Filmmaker of the Year in the 2006 Pusan International Film Festival in Busan (formerly Pusan), Korea. He received the award after initiating a project Focus First Cuts to finance films from fledging Asian directors. One of the 6 films, the black comedy Feng kuang de shi tou (2006) (aka Crazy Stone), has gone on to become to date the second top-grossing film in China this year.

Personal Quotes

"I think Fruit Chan is an interesting director because he could offer a purely commercial attraction with artistic subjects and personalities." (on director, Fruit Chan).

"Wong Kar Wai is a very intense character, very personable, and I believe in general he does not like and he would not want his actors to show their true looks and their true personality on screen." (on working with Kar Wai Wong).

"I want to have a form that fits the times, so I just keep on changing - and that makes people feel I'm a hardworking guy trying to do my best." (on his new approach to acting)

In Hong Kong the camera is always moving. Yimou Zhang will put the camera on you and leave it there. And if you're good, you're good. And if you're not, well ... [on the difference between working on Hong Kong productions and a Zhang Yimou production]

Sing more and you get better, Fight more and you get better ... But acting is hard.

"In any movie you showed your handsome face, maybe stood there in a smart pose, and that's it, that was enough. The hard part was already done." (on his previous acting roles)

"The first time I met him, he just showed me his Rolex. He says 'Look at it' then I look at it. Then he told me 'Work hard, and you are going to have it!" (on meeting his idol, 'Chow Yun-Fat', for the first time)