Damian Lau

Damian Lau Chung-yan (born 14 October 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.

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.

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. 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 Chui‘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 The 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 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 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. 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, an originally morally upright and ambitious company boss who became a desperate, deranged and almost insane man after experiencing many fateful incidents. 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 devout Catholic.

Filmography Films 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 Wong Kin-hang 1986 The Brave and the Coward director1988 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 cameoRoyal 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 Swordsman 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 Senior Superintendent Lau Ah Kam Lawyer 1997 Lifeline Cheng Fu-shing Till Death Do Us Part 2005 New Born Living Strong Professor Vincent Yu 2006 The Tokyo Trial Mei Ju-ao

Television series 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 Vanity Fair 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 安乐茶饭 Anle Tea 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 The Chevaliers Zhan Zhao 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 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 FatherNominated – 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 The 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 ActorNominated – TVB Award for My Favourite Male CharacterNominated – 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 ActorNominated – TVB Award for My Favourite Male CharacterNominated – 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 ActorA Weaver on the Horizon Feng Jiujin 2011 The Rippling Blossom Moyung Ching Lives of Omission Kung Ka-pui Nominated – My AOD Favourite Award for Best Supporting Actor (Top 5)Nominated - TVB Anniversary Award for Best Supporting Actor Scarlet Heart Kangxi Emperor 2012 Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles Arthur Chung Cheuk-man Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor (Top 5)Nominated – My AOD Favourite Award for Best Actor (Top 12)Nominated – My AOD Favourite Award for Top 15 Character 2015 Limelight Years Ben Law 2017 WuXin: The Monster Killer Season 2 Mr Su - Su Tao's father Guest Star 2018 Infernal Affairs Hu Guan You Guest Star

MediaCorp TV Channel 8 series Year Drama Role Notes 2000 Dare To Strike Li Dechao Supporting Role 2015 The Dream Makers II Zheng Shouyi Supporting Role

Major achievements + List of achievements Year Achievement Representative work 1999 All-Time Most Memorable Male Leading Roles, 1999 TVB Anniversary Awards Luk Siu-fung 2007 Best Actor, Ming Pao Magazine The Conquest Best Actor nomination, 2007 Golden Rooster Awards The Tokyo Trial Best Actor nomination, 29th Hundred Flowers Award Tokyo Trial