Comprehensive information and links about Chow Yun Fat

Chow Yun-Fat ) (born May 18, 1955 on Lamma Island, Hong KongChow Yun-Fat is among a handful of internationally recognized screen actors that Hong Kong has produced, along with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. A charismatic actor, he has been likened to a grittier, more intense version of Cary Grant.

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Early life

Raised on the tiny offshore island of Lamma, Chow spent his childhood in poverty. His life started to change when his actor-trainee application was accepted by the local television station, TVB.

Career

It didn't take long for Chow to become a household name in Hong Kong following his role in the hit series ) in 1983.

Although Chow continued his TV success, his ultimate goal was to become a big screen actor. However, his occasional ventures onto the big screens with low-budget movies were disastrous. Success finally came when he teamed up with a then relatively unknown director John Woo in the 1986 gangster action-melodrama , which swept the box offices in parts of Asia and established both Chow and Woo as megastars. Taking the opportunity, Chow quit TV entirely. With his new image from , he made many more 'gun fu' or 'heroic bloodshed' movies, especially those directed by Woo, such as (1992).

Chow may be best known, especially in the West, for playing honorable tough guys, whether cops or criminals, but he is a versatile performer. He has starred in comedies like ), directed by the prolific Wong Jing, in which he was by turns suave charmer, broad comedian and action hero. The film surprised many and turned out immensly popular, broke Hong Kong's all-time box office record, and spawned a series of gambling movies, as well as several more comic sequels starring Stephen Chow.

Being one of the hottest screen commodities in Hong Kong, Chow moved to Hollywood in the mid-'90s in an attempt to duplicate his success on an international scale. His first two films (1999) did better, but the success was mostly credited to actress Jodie Foster. He returned to Asia for the (2000) film , and it became a winner at both the box office and the Oscars.

Chow is still waiting for the type of success he once enjoyed in Hong Kong. He once admitted to a Hong Kong reporter that his ultimate goal is to win an Oscar as an actor. When asked what if it never comes true, he replied "I would just have to laugh about it..."

(Siu Ngou Kong Wu) (1984) - Chow Yun Fat's first and only foray in wuxia TV series, it was his first failure in Asia.