Nicholas Tse

Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, entrepreneur and TV chef. Tse debuted as a singer in 1996 before shifting his career focus to acting. He is known for starring in the films Metade Fumaca, New Police Story (2004), Bodyguards and Assassins (2009), The Viral Factor (2012), and Raging Fire (2021), as well as the television series The Proud Twins (2005). For his role in The Stool Pigeon (2010), Tse won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, making him the first actor to have won in the three major acting categories, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best New Performer, at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Tse is the founder of Post Production Office, a Hong Kong–based special effects company. The company was acquired by Digital Domain in 2016, with Tse becoming chairman of Digital Domain in Greater China.

Early life Tse was born at St. Teresa's Hospital in Ma Tau Wai, Kowloon on 29 August 1980 to Hong Kong actor Patrick Tse and actress Deborah Lee . His younger sister is Jennifer Tse. Tse moved to Vancouver, Canada at eight. He attended St. George's School, Vancouver, where he was friends with Tablo. They were expelled together for fighting with a racist bully. Tse moved back with his family to Hong Kong, where he attended Hong Kong International School for one year before dropping out in grade 10 due to excessive media attention. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to finish his middle school, but was expelled after one year for his academic underperformance. He then moved to Vancouver before returning to Hong Kong. In 2021, Tse announced that he had applied to renounce his Canadian citizenship amid reports that ethnic Chinese celebrities holding foreign passports might face blacklisting by the Chinese government; however, it remains unclear whether his application was approved.

Career Music In 1997, partly to help clear the debts incurred by his father, Tse signed a record deal with the Fitto label, which would become Emperor Entertainment Group, and released his first album, My Attitude, to runaway success. In 2000 and 2001, Tse released two popular albums, Viva and Jade Butterfly . In 2002, Tse received the World's Best Chinese Artist award at the 2002 World Music Award for Jade Butterfly. In April 2025, Tse became the first Chinese singer to hold concerts at Kai Tak Stadium.

Acting Tse's notable films include Young and Dangerous: The Prequel (1998), Gen-X Cops (1999), New Police Story (2004), and Invisible Target (2007). Tse's performance in Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) earned him the Best Supporting Actor at the 4th Asian Film Awards. In 2011, Tse won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor for The Stool Pigeon (2010).

Tse's notable TV dramas include Aiming High (1998), The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra (2002), and The Proud Twins (2004). Tse also lent his voice to the Hong Kong versions of animation films A Bug's Life (1998) and Lotus Lantern (1999).

Tse learned martial arts for the screen from Jackie Chan and Chung Chi Li for films such as Gen-X-Cops and Invisible Target. He worked with Donnie Yen in the martial arts film Dragon Tiger Gate. Tse is a Wing Chun practitioner, trained by fellow actor and friend Philip Ng.

Cooking Tse became a TV chef in 2014, when he launched his food travelogue show Chef Nic. In 2015, he opened a cookie bakery in Hong Kong. In 2016, he launched his own lifestyle and food brand Chef Nic (鋒味). On 28 October 2016, Tse was honoured as the first "Friend of Michelin" for his positive contribution to the gastronomic scene through his work. On 30 November 2017, Tse prepared the dessert course for A Night Among the Stars, a seven course gala dinner with Michelin-star chefs Alain Ducasse, Kwong Wai-keung, Tam Kwok-fung, Fabrice Vulin, Hidemichi Seki, and Noah Sandoval. In 2025, Tse joined the Tencent cooking show The Divine Dish as a judge, which drew controversy over alleged plagiarism of the Netflix show Culinary Class Wars.

Personal life Tse’s earliest acknowledged relationship was with an Italian classmate, whom he met at the age of 15. The relationship ended the same year when Tse went to the United States to study. Heartbroken, he purchased his first second-hand guitar and began writing songs. In 1996, at the age of 16, Tse dated Irene, the daughter of a Canadian businessman; the relationship ended the next year. However, as Tse began taking singing lessons from music teacher Tai See-chung since 14, and later dated Tai's daughter, Wancy Tai, she claimed that she was Tse's first girlfriend.

In 1997, Tse began a relationship with singer Bondy Chiu, which lasted approximately three and a half years. At the end of 1999, Tse entered a relationship with singer Candy Lo, which lasted a few months. Tse had an on-and-off relationship with singer Faye Wong from 2000 to 2003, which ended when Cecilia Cheung became involved. In September 2006, Tse announced that he had married Cecilia Cheung in Pamalican, Philippines. and Quintus , born on 12 May 2010. The couple divorced in 2011 due to irreconcilable differences resulting from the Edison Chen scandal. In 2014, Tse rekindled his relationship with Faye Wong.

Controversies

Car crash cover-up In the early morning of 23 March 2002, Tse crashed his Ferrari 360 Modena in Hong Kong Central. Initially, it was claimed that Tse's driver was responsible for the crash, but further investigation by the ICAC revealed that the story was fabricated, involving three other men and a police officer. Officer Lau Chi-Wai was sentenced to six months in prison. Tse spent two weeks in prison and was sentenced to 240 hours of community service for obstruction of justice.

Assault on paparazzi Tse had his share of brush-ups with "paparazzi" in his early years. A photographer of Sudden Weekly magazine accused Tse of hitting him outside a restaurant in Taiwan, bruising his nose and elbow. Although Tse denied the assault charge, there was a settlement in July 2002.

Reckless driving In 2002, Tse was fined HK$7,000 and had his driving license suspended for a year after he pleaded guilty to two separate charges of speeding. In 2003, Tse crashed his Toyota Camry into Wan Chai train station. He was banned from driving for six months and fined HK$4,000 for reckless driving.

Discography

Cantonese albums My Attitude (1997) Horizons (1998) Believe (1999) Zero Distance (2000) Viva (2000) Senses (2001) Jade Butterfly (2001) Me (2002) Reborn (2003) One Inch Closer (2005)

Mandarin albums Grateful for Your Love '99 (1999) Understand (2000) The Prophecy (2001) Listen Up (2004) Release (2005) Last (2009) Chef Nic (2015)

Filmography

Film

Television Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 1998 Aiming High 撻出愛火花 Chiu Ka Chun TV debut 2002 The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra 齊天大聖孫悟空 Chung Kwai cameo Secretly Loving You 偷偷愛上你 Himself cameo 2003 Hearts of Fencing 當四葉草碰上劍尖時 Himself cameo 2005 The Proud twins 小魚兒與花無缺 Hua Wu Que 2007 Wing Chun 詠春 Leung Bik Big Shot 大人物 Yang Fan The Spirit of Sword 浣花洗劍錄 Hu Yan Da Zang 2012 Jian Xia Qing Yuan 劍俠情緣 Ye Fan / Gu Lang America's Next Top Model, Cycle 18 a judge and also action director in one of the episodes 2013 The Next Magic 下一個奇跡 Liang Hai En Super Boy (2013) 2013快樂男聲 one of the main judges in the Finale 2014 Chef Nic 12道鋒味 the show's on-camera chef a Chinese food travelogue show 2015 Chef Nic 2 12道鋒味 2 the show's on-camera chef a Chinese food travelogue show 2016 Chef Nic 3 12道鋒味 3 the show's on-camera chef a Chinese food travelogue show Lady Bees 蜜蜂少女队 one of the 2 coaches a women's group music cultivation reality show 2017 Chef Nic 2017 鋒味 2017 the show's on-camera chef a Chinese food travelogue show 2018 Chef Nic 2018 鋒味 2018 the show's on-camera chef a Chinese food travelogue show Celebrity Chef: East vs West 名廚爭鋒 the show's on-camera chef a Chinese food competition show Sing! China 中国好声音 one of the 4 judges The Chinese Voice 2020 Me to Us 我们的乐队 one of the 3 judges band forming reality show Sing! China 中国好声音2020 one of the 4 judges the Chinese Voice 2021 Chef Nic • People’s Palate 百姓的味道 Food Taste Officer &. Producer a Chinese food travelogue show