Tay Ping Hui

Tay Ping Hui (born 10 November 1970) is a Singaporean actor and director, known for starring in many Chinese-language television dramas in Singapore and mainland China. In 2014, Tay made his directorial debut with the basketball film Meeting the Giant.

Widely regarded as an "Ah-Ge" (阿哥, "big brother") of Caldecott Hill for being one of the most successful actors in Singapore's Chinese-language entertainment industry, Tay won his first Star Awards for Best Actor, after being nominated in that category eight times.

Early life and education Tay attended Catholic High School (Primary and Secondary) and Catholic Junior College. He was conferred a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Economics and Political Science from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the National University of Singapore.

Career

Rise to fame At 18, Tay was scouted by top Singaporean model Seraphina Fong on the streets to model, which he took as a way to pay for his university education. After he graduated from university, Tay was a general manager for Subway for five years and was planning to pursue an MBA at Harvard University before he was scouted to join Television Corporation of Singapore.

Barely a year after his debut in On the Edge - Mr Personality, Tay won the "Best Supporting Actor" award at the 1999 Star Awards for his portrayal of a gang leader in Stepping Out.

Established Leading Man

Following his Star Award "Best Supporting Actor" win, Tay quickly established himself as one of Singapore's most prominent actors, playing leading roles in both English and Mandarin productions. Tay was also recognised in Lianhe Zaobao's " Top 50 Most Popular Asian Idol" for five consecutive years.

While Tay was often cast in policeman roles in dramas such as C.I.D., Honour and Passion and C.L.I.F., it was his role as a crude Ah beng-turned-chef in Bountiful Blessings that earned him his first Star Awards for Best Actor, after being nominated in that category eight times.

In addition to his starring roles in Singapore productions, Tay also acted in Hong Kong film productions such as Summer Holiday directed by Jingle Ma, starring with Hong Kong actress Sammi Cheng, and Infernal Affairs II alongside Anthony Wong and Francis Ng. Tay also performed in stage play Butterflies are Free, handpicked by Hong Kong film director Clifton Ko as well as the mandarin stage musical Don't Forget to Say Good Bye .

Tay made his mainland Chinese production debut as Huang Feihu in the China -produced supernatural fantasy television series The Legend and the Hero alongside China Megastar Fan Bing Bing, Liu De Kai and Taiwanese Star Ma Jing Tao.

In 2013, Tay made his feature film directorial debut with a Singapore-China co-production Meeting the Giant, first of its kind in such collaboration in the local movie industry. The movie was screened in Singapore and China.

In 2018, Tay left Mediacorp and shifted his focus to acting in China. Tay signed on with Perfect World Pictures (Singapore) in 2018, a China-based agency that was subsequently renamed to GHY Culture & Media. During his time in China, Tay played prominent roles, including the roles of Genghis Khan in The Legend of the Condor Heroes and Yan Nantian in Handsome Siblings.

While Tay mostly acted in mainland Chinese productions, he still returned to Singapore to film sporadically. In March 2023, Tay joined the cast in the second season of Titoudao, a televised drama adaptation of a stageplay with the same title.

Becoming A Freelance Actor

In 2024, Tay made a significant career move by parting ways with his China-based agency GHY Culture & Media to pursue freelance acting opportunities. Expressing his aspirations for Hollywood, he unveiled his ambition to explore new horizons in the entertainment industry. Tay revealed that he had previously auditioned for a role in The Brothers Sun, but was unsuccessful.

Other Tay has also performed live numerous times on stage for events such as National Day and New Year's Day countdown and has performed alongside Taiwanese stars Wu Bai and Harlem Yu. He has also performed the theme songs of several MediaCorp series such as The Unbeatables III and Double Happiness I. His recording of Follow Me from Honour and Passion was named the Best Drama Theme Song at the Star Awards 2007.

Personal life In 2010, Tay married Edna Lim, a university lecturer.

Filmography

Television series Year Title Role Notes 1999 Are You My Brother? Liu Dongcheng Stepping Out Liu Mei Won - Best Supporting Actor, Star Awards 1999 2000 My Home Affairs Hong Guoren As You Like It Pierre The Stratagem Zhuo Lingfeng 2001 A War Diary Lim Teck Meng The Reunion Liu Yazhou The Hotel Bill Fong 2002 Fantasy Song Ziqian The Unbeatables III Luo Shenfeng/ Luo Yifeng Health Matters Jeffrey 2003 Love is Beautiful Zheng Liheng A Child's Hope Huang Junsheng Always on my Mind Tiger Li Xiaohu Brothers 4 2004 Spice Siblings Wen He The Ties that Bind Ma Yucai My Mighty In-Laws Simon Devil Blues Di Jun 2005 A Life of Hope Su Dongping Destiny Shen Jingwen 2006 C.I.D. Chen Long (Sean) 2007 Mars vs Venus Liu Yifan (Steven) Honour and Passion Bao Wenjing The Golden Path Huang Kaijie 2008 The Truth Lu Zhiwei La Femme Huang Quanhe Crime Busters x 2 Lü Daxiong 2009 The Dream Catchers Wang Zhiwei The Ultimatum Sun Jie 2010 New Beginnings Li Zihao Unriddle Zhang Yuze The Family Court Shen Xiping 2011 C.L.I.F. Zhong Yida Bountiful Blessings Xie DonghaiWon - Best Actor, Star Awards 2012 2012 Rescue 995 Huang Yixun Unriddle 2 Zhang Yuze Won - Best Supporting Actor, Star Awards 2013 Keong Saik Street Kelvin 2013 Break Free Li Tianming Start-Up! 创！ Fang Qicai 96°C Café Lao Jingfeng Love at Risk Wu Qishan 2014 World at Your Feet Hong Canghai 2015 Love? Tay Mind Game Liang Wenjie Tanglin Peter Tay Crescendo Jiang Chufan 2016 Soul Reaper Chen Haotian Hero Rice King 2017 The Lead Himself The Legend of the Condor Heroes Genghis Khan 2018 Babies On Board Sun Zhihui 2019 Mind's Eye Yiwei 2020Handsome SiblingsYan Nantian 2021 Crouching Tiger Hidden Ghost (卧虎藏鬼) Ralph Lee

Film Year Title Role Notes 2014Meeting the Giant Eagles playerAlso director and writer 2025 Magik Rompak Tan Sri Hamdan Tan 2026 Luck My LifeGu Lei

Web series Year Title Role Notes Miss Tanya Douyin miniseries

Variety and reality show Year Title Notes 2023Chu Fa Ba! Shan Guang De Ni (出发吧！闪光的你)Guest appearance 2000 Star Awards Best Actor My Home Affairs Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2001 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2002 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2003 Star Awards Best Actor Love Is Beautiful Best Theme Song The Unbeatables III Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2004 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2005 Star Awards Best Actor A Life of Hope Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2006 Star Awards Best Actor C.I.D. Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2007 Star Awards Best Actor Mars VS Venus Best Theme Song Honour and Passion Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2009 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Best ActorThe Golden Path 2010 Star Awards Best Actor The Ultimatum Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2011 Star Awards Best Actor The Family Court Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2012 Star Awards Best Actor Bountiful Blessings All-Time Favourite Artiste Favourite Male Character 2013 Star Awards Best Supporting Actor Unriddle 2 2014 Star Awards Star Awards for Most Popular Regional Artiste (China) Star Awards for Most Popular Regional Artiste (Indonesia) Star Awards for Most Popular Regional Artiste (Malaysia) Star Awards for Most Popular Regional Artiste (Cambodia) 2015 Star Awards Star Awards for Most Popular Regional Artiste (Indonesia) Star Awards for Most Popular Regional Artiste (China) Star Awards for Most Popular Regional Artiste (Cambodia) 2016 Star Awards Favourite Onscreen Couple Crescendo 2018 Star Awards Best Theme Song The Lead