- Damian Lau
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Damian Lau Chinese name 劉松仁 (Traditional) Chinese name 刘松仁 (Simplified) Pinyin Liú Sōngrén (Mandarin) Jyutping Lau4 Cung4jan4 (Cantonese) Ancestry Chaozhou, Guangdong Born 2 September 1949
Hong KongOther name(s) Chung-tsai (松仔) Occupation Actor, Executive producer, Film director Years active 1976 - present Official Website http://www.lauchungyan.com Awards-
TVB Anniversary Awards All-Time Most Memorable Male Leading Roles
1999 Luk Siu Fung
Damian Lau Chung-yan (born 2 September 1949) is a Hong Kong film and television actor, executive producer and film director. Lau has starred in many television drama series of various genres, produced by Hong Kong's TVB and ATV.
Contents
Biography
Early career
Lau enrolled into the actors' training class of RTV (now ATV) in 1971, where he started his early acting career. In 1976, he joined TVB on a contract and began to gain recognition for acting in television drama series produced by the TV station. In 1976, Lau rose to fame for his portrayal of the titular character in Luk Siu-fung, an adaptation of Wuxia writer Gu Long's novel series of the same title. His performance in Yesterday's Glitter also made him famous.
Partnership with Michelle Yim
Lau returned to ATV in 1980. He worked with Michelle Yim, as the male and female leading actor/actress respectively, in a number of TV series in the 1980s, including Fatherland, Chronicles of the Shadow Swordsman and Rise of the Great Wall. Since then, both of them were called "Best Onscreen Couple/Lovebirds". Lau and Yim worked together again in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (2000), playing Cheung Mo-kei's parents.
Film career
Following the rise in popularity of Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s and 1990s, Lau also started working on films in addition to television series. He was often cast as a typical silent, handsome, heroic swordsman in many Wuxia films of the 1980s and 1990s.[1] One of his first major roles was in John Woo's Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979), in which he played an assassin. In Duel to the Death, Lau's character faced Norman Tsui's character in a final duel, said to be one of the best sword duels ever in Wuxia film history.
In 2006, Lau starred in Tokyo Trial, a highly controversial film that was nominated at the Cannes Film Festival and won the 2007 Golden Rooster Awards for Best Screenplay. In the film, Lau played the historic judge Mei Ju-ao, who was able to convince ten other national judges to prosecute Japanese war criminals for their crimes against peace and humanity. The film was also saw Lau delivering most of his lines in English for the first time in his acting career.
When interviewed about his role as Mei Ju-ao, Lau said,
"Mei Ju-ao is a person with a strong sense of ethics and national pride. He represented his country at a significant international affair. He had to shoulder great responsibility as well as a lot of pressure. If he did not harbor strong emotions and a patriotic heart within his bosom, he could hardly successfully overcome the many difficulties before him and fulfill the mission given by the country. He was cool-headed and witty throughout the trial. I tried to master his inner world through these aspects. I really respect him."
Return to TVB
Lau returned to TVB in 1992 and achieved success for his performance in the The Greed of Man, in which he played an honest and cultured leader of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, who was later murdered by his childhood friend, Ting Hai (played by Adam Cheng), over a love rivalry.
In 2003, Lau starred as Chow Ming-hin in the family drama Point of No Return.[3] The following year, Lau worked on Hard Fate, a controversial TV series that received many complaints from viewers for its suicide scenes. In the series, Lau played Leung Pak-yin, a originally morally upright and ambitious company boss who became a desperate, deranged and almost insane man after experiencing many fateful incidents.[4] In 2007, Lau played a family patriarch in The Drive of Life, a 60 episodes grand production by TVB and mainland China's CCTV.
Personal life
In the 1990s, Lau married a flight attendant from Cathay Pacific, whom he met earlier on a flight to Canada. Lau is also a Catholic.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1979 Last Hurrah for Chivalry Tsing Yi / Greeno 1980 The Enigmatic Case Lo Tin-kwan Beidou Xing director and actor 1983 Zu - Warriors from the Magic Mountain Abbot Hsiao-yu Duel to the Death Ching-wan 1984 Profile in Anger 1986 The Brave and the Coward director 1988 School on Fire Wan 1990 The Story of My Son Li Tzu-liang 1991 Inspector Pink Dragon Teng Kuo-chiao 1992 The Thief of Time Shanghai Heroic Story Ngai Ting-yim She Starts the Fire cameo Royal Tramp Chan Kan-nam Royal Tramp 2 Chan Kan-nam 1993 Murder Yau Lung Holy Weapon Mo Kake "Heaven's Sword" The Magic Crane Yat Yeung-tze Executioners Inspector Lau The Heroic Trio Inspector Lau 1994 Tian Di Tai Chai-man What Price Survival / One Armed Swordman Wu An-kuo The New Legend of Shaolin Chan Kan-nam Urban Cop executive producer 1995 My Father is a Hero Yat-wah's boss Sea Eagles Liu Qingzong 1996 Best of the Best Calvin Chan Lik-yeung First Option Inspector Lau Ah Kam Lawyer 1997 Fireline Cheng Fu-shing Till Death Do Us Part 2005 New Born Living Strong Professor Vincent Yu 2006 Tokyo Trial Mei Ju-ao Nominated - Golden Rooster Awards for Best Actor 2008 Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon Cao Cao cameo 2010 14 Blades Zhao Shenyan guest star Television Year Title Role Notes 1976 Luk Siu-fung I: Mystery of the Golden Bird Luk Siu-fung Luk Siu-fung II: Before and After the Duel Luk Siu-fung Luk Siu-fung III: The Battle of Wudang Luk Siu-fung Bansheng Yuan Cheung Yue-kan 1977 The Butterfly Lovers Leung San-bak 1978 Da Heng Chu Lok-man 1979 Princess Cheung Ping Chow Sai-hin God of Sabre Ding Pang 1980 This Land is Mine Yesterday's Glitter Kam Jan-sai 1983 Swordsman Li Bai Li Bai 1984 Dadi Enqing Zhi Gudu Jinglei Chow Kai-wah 1985 Chronicles of the Shadow Swordsman Zhang Dan-fung 1986 Hero of the Time Yuen Tsang-lok Rise of the Great Wall King Or Condor in September Yip Hoi 1987 Return the Pearl to Thee Chun Tin-bo 1988 August Scent Wu Suet-yim Lay and Order Ai Bok-man 1989 Spring Comes and Goes Cheung Loi-fuk 1990 Lovers at the End of an Era Tung Sing-fan 1991 Bihai Qingtian Tin Yang Jianghu Zaijian Chow Sing-lung 1992 The Thief of Time The Greed of Man Fong Chun-sun 1994 The Great General Dik Ching ICAC Investigators 1994 Lee Tin Sight of Chivalry Chin Chiu 1995 The Unexpected Cheung Wai-chung 1996 Women's Story Kwan King-sang The Swordsman Yin Buk-fei / Yin Ku-hung King of Gamblers Li Yik 1997 Interpol Wong Ho-sui 1998 Wen Yi Duo Wen Yiduo 1999 Silver Rat Bond of Friendship Zhuang Xueren 2000 ICAC Investigators 2000 Lee Tin Monk At Thirty Lin Chong The Immortal Fugitive Rong Renjie The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber Cheung Tsui-san Ups and Downs Hong Dalong 2001 The Awakening Story Suen Hok-kei Dare to Strike Li Dechao To Where He Belongs Ko Hou-wan 2003 Scent of Love Jin Zhizhong Point of No Return Chow Ming-hin Won - Astro Award for My Favourite On-screen Father
Nominated - Astro Award for Best Actor (Top 10)
Nominated - Astro Award for My Favourite Character (Top 20)Find the Light Chan Do-yeung True Love Fok Wai-pong 2004 Only You Wang Haoran Hard Fate Leung Pak-yin 2005 Royal Swordsmen Tiedan Shenhou 2006 The Conquest King Goujian of Yue Ming Pao Magazine Best Actor award for TV series (2007) Men in Pain Hong Tin-yam Nominated - TVB Award for Best Actor
Nominted - TVB Award for My Favourite Male Character
Nominated - Astro Award for My Favourite On-screen Look (Top 5)Eight Heroes Guan Yulou 2007 The Drive of Life Wah Man-hon Nominated - TVB Award for Best Actor
Nominted - TVB Award for My Favourite Male Character
Nominated - Astro Award for Best Actor (Top 5)
Nominated - Astro Award for My Favourite Character (Top 20)2008 Catch Me Now Ko Chit, Jack Nominated - TVB Award for Best Actor Rose Martial World Jun Wuji 2009 In the Chamber of Bliss Choi Ock Nominated - TVB Award for Best Actor 2010 Growing Through Life Hai Liang Nominated - TVB Award for Best Actor A Weaver on the Horizon Feng Jiujin 2011 The Rippling Blossom Moyung Ching Lives of Omission Kung Ka-pui Startling by Each Step Kangxi Emperor Achievements
List of achievements Year Achievement Representative work Notes 1999 All-Time Most Memorable Male Leading Roles, 1999 TVB Anniversary Awards Luk Siu-fung 2006 Best Actor nomination, 2006 TVB Anniversary Awards Men in Pain My Favourite Male Character nomination, 2006 TVB Anniversary Awards Men in Pain 2007 Best Actor nomination, 2007 TVB Anniversary Awards The Drive of Life Best Actor, Ming Pao Magazine The Conquest Best Actor nomination, 2007 Golden Rooster Awards Tokyo Trial Best Actor nomination, 29th Hundred Flowers Award Tokyo Trial 2008 Best Actor nomination, 2008 TVB Anniversary Awards Catch Me Now Best Actor nomination, Ming Pao Magazine 40th Anniversary Awards Catch Me Now 2009 Best Actor nomination, 2009 TVB Anniversary Awards In the Chamber of Bliss References
External links
Awards and achievements Power Academy Awards Preceded by
Roger Kwok
for Life Made SimpleOutstanding Actor in Television
2007
for The ConquestSucceeded by
Ha Yu
for Moonlight ResonanceCategories:- 1949 births
- Living people
- Chinese Roman Catholics
- TVB actors
- Hong Kong people of Chaoshanese descent
- Hong Kong actors
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