Chow Yun-Fat

▪ 1999

      After having conquered the Asian film world, Chinese actor Chow Yun-Fat set his sights on the U.S. in 1998, making his Hollywood debut in The Replacement Killers. Starring opposite American actress Mira Sorvino, Chow played a professional assassin who refuses to complete an assignment and thus becomes a target himself. The role—that of a suave, sullen killer with a conscience—was reminiscent of ones that had made the veteran actor a screen legend to millions of Asian moviegoers. The Replacement Killers earned praise as a sophisticated, well-choreographed thriller, and critics lauded Chow's understated performance. Moreover, the movie's success at the box office seemed to indicate that Western audiences were warming to the idea of an Asian leading man in mainstream films.

      Chow was born on May 18, 1955, on Lamma Island, Hong Kong. After dropping out of high school at age 17 and holding a number of menial jobs, he began taking acting lessons. Eventually he earned a contract to perform on television, and by the mid-1970s he was a soap-opera star. His success on television landed him movie roles. His first acclaimed film was The Story of Woo Viet (1981), in which he played a Vietnamese refugee struggling to reach the U.S. He won a Golden Horse Award (the Taiwanese equivalent of an Academy Award) for best actor for his work in Hong Kong, 1941 (1984), a poignant war drama.

      In 1986 Chow teamed up with noted action-film director John Woo in A Better Tomorrow. The movie made Chow a box-office superstar in Asia and launched a series of Chow-Woo pairings that included A Better Tomorrow II (1987), The Killer (1989), Once a Thief (1990), and Hard Boiled (1992). Chow also made several popular action films with director Ringo Lam, including City on Fire (1987), Wild Search (1989), and Full Contact (1992).

      After Woo and other notable figures in the Asian film world went to work in Hollywood in the 1990s, Chow decided to follow in their footsteps. He made his last Chinese film, Peace Hotel, in 1995 and moved to the U.S. that year. Determined to be successful, he was careful about the transition. Rather than rushing into a project, he spent two years studying English, honing his acting skills, and waiting for the right script to come along. His patience paid off. After the release of The Replacement Killers, Chow was flooded with movie offers. By year's end he had begun filming a police drama and was working on a remake of the 1946 classic Anna and the King of Siam.

TOM MICHAEL

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▪ Chinese actor

born May 18, 1955, Lamma Island, Hong Kong [now in China]

      Hong Kong-born Chinese actor, who emerged in the 1980s as one of Asian cinema's most popular leading men, especially known for his roles in action films, and who later forged a successful career in the United States.

      After dropping out of high school at age 17 and holding a number of menial jobs, Chow began taking acting lessons. Eventually he earned a contract to perform on television, and by the mid-1970s he was a soap-opera star. His success on television eventually landed him movie roles. His first acclaimed film was Woo Yuet dik goo si (1981; The Story of Woo Viet), in which he played a Vietnamese refugee struggling to reach the United States. He won a Golden Horse Award (the Taiwanese equivalent of an Academy Award) for best actor for his work in Dang doi lai ming (1984; Hong Kong, 1941), a poignant war drama.

      In 1986 Chow teamed up with noted action-film director John Woo in Ying hung boon sik (1986; A Better Tomorrow). The movie made Chow a box-office superstar in Asia and launched a series of Chow-Woo pairings that include Ying hung boon sik II (1987; A Better Tomorrow II ), Dip huet seung hung (1989; The Killer), Zong heng si hai (1991; Once a Thief), and Lat sau san taam (1992; Hard-Boiled). Chow also made several popular action films with director Ringo Lam, including Lung fu fong wan (1987; City on Fire), Ban wo chuang tian ya (1989; Wild Search), and Xia dao Gao Fei (1992; Full Contact).

      After Woo and other notable figures in the Asian film world went to work in Hollywood in the 1990s, Chow decided to follow in their footsteps. He made the Chinese film Woh ping faan dim (Peace Hotel) in 1995 and moved to the United States that year. After spending two years studying English and honing his acting skills, he made his Hollywood debut in The Replacement Killers (1998), playing a professional assassin who refuses to complete an assignment and thus becomes a target himself. Although the film was a box-office disappointment, critics lauded Chow's understated performance. He next starred opposite Jodie Foster (Foster, Jodie) in Anna and the King (1999), which was based on the popular Broadway musical The King and I. In 2000 he drew accolades for his performance as a warrior in the martial-arts movie Wo hu cang long (2000; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). An international hit, it received an Academy Award for best foreign-language film. Chow's later films include Bulletproof Monk (2003) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).

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