Biography:

The God of Actors. There really doesn't seem to be much need to add more. He burst onto the HK movie scene in a big way in 1986 and has never slowed down, becoming HKs most popular actor. He has now gone on to Hollywood to make films (with the intention unfortunately of not returning). He is perhaps the most charismatic male actor of our time. What needs to be noted perhaps is how long it took him to burst upon the screen. His family moved to HK in 1965 and in 1973 he answered an ad for TVB actors. His tall good looks immediately got him in - but it was a long road to stardom. He appeared in numerous TV series over the years - some of them like The Bund were great successes, but the transition to film was not so easy. In the late 70's a very slim Chow can be seen in a number of low budget exploitation films like Massage Girls that did his career little good. His first major film break was in the Ann Hui film The Story of Woo Viet (1981) in which he played a Vietnamese refugee. This led to better roles in the next few years - The Occupant (1984) and Hong Kong 1941 (1984) - but stardom seemed to be out of his grasp. Producers thought he didn't have the stuff to be a leading man and it seemed possible that his career was headed for a decline. Then in 1986 a nearly washed up director (John Woo) cast a former star whose best days were considered to be behind him (Ti Lung), an actor better known for his singing (Leslie Cheung) and Chow Yun Fat. It was a remake of a 60's film and no one had great expectations for it. A Better Tomorrow was of course a huge hit, created bullet ballet, made a success of Woo, resuscitated Ti Lung's career, got Leslie started on his way towards being a film star - and of course began the legend of Chow Yun Fat. His collaboration with Woo over the next few years produced other classics - A Better Tomorrow II, Once a Thief, Hard Boiled and The Killer - and made Chow the biggest actor not only in HK but also made him into an international star. Though in the West he was primarily known for his action shoot em ups - not only with Woo but also his work with Ringo Lam (City on Fire, Wild Search and Full Contact) - but in HK he was equally popular for his comedies, dramas and romances. Some of these would be: Fractured Follies, Diary of a Big Man, Eighth Happiness, The Greatest Lover and of course the splendid romance An Autumn's Tale.