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IMDbPro

Chow Yun-Fat

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Soundtrack
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Chow Yun-Fat at an event for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
The Monkey King: The Legend Begins is the re-imagined version by Hollywood of the film The Monkey King: Havoc in Heavens Palace, the origin and birthplace of The Monkey King Story.
Play trailer1:09
The Monkey King: The Legend Begins (2022)
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99+ Photos
Chow Yun Fat is a charismatic, athletically built and energetic Asian-born film star who first came to the attention of western audiences via his roles in the high-octane/blazing guns action films of maverick HK director John Woo.

Chow was born in 1955 on the quiet island of Lamma, part of the then-British colony of Hong Kong, near its famous Victoria Harbour. His mother was a vegetable farmer and cleaning lady, and his father worked on a Shell Oil Company tanker. Chow's family moved to urban Hong Kong in 1965 and in early 1973, Chow attended a casting call for TVB, a division of Shaw Bros. productions. With his good looks and easy-going style, Chow was originally a heartthrob actor in non-demanding TV and film roles. However, his popularity increased with his appearance as white-suited gangster Hui Man-Keung in the highly popular drama TV series Shanghai Beach (1980).

In 1985, Chow started receiving acclaim for his work and scored the Golden Horse (Best Actor) Award in Taiwan and another Best Actor Award from the Asian Pacific Film Festival for his performance in Hong Kong 1941 (1984). With these accolades, Chow came to the attention of Woo, who cast Chow in the fast-paced gangster film A Better Tomorrow (1986) (aka "A Better Tomorrow"). The rest, as they say, is history. The film was an enormous commercial success, and Chow's influence on young Asian males was not dissimilar to the adulation given to previous Asian film sensations such as Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. Nearly every young guy in Hong Kong ran out and bought himself a "Mark Coat," as they became known--a long, heavy woolen coat worn by Chow in the movie (although it is is actually very unsuited to Hong Kong's hot and humid climate).

Further hard-edged roles in more John Woo crime films escalated Chow's popularity even higher, and fans all over the world flocked to see A Better Tomorrow II (1987) (aka "A Better Tomorrow 2"), The Killer (1989) (aka "The Killer"), and Hard Boiled (1992) (aka "Hard Boiled"). With the phenomenal global interest in the HK action genre, Chow was enticed to the United States and appeared in The Replacement Killers (1998) with Mira Sorvino, The Corruptor (1999) with Mark Wahlberg, and, for a change of pace, in the often-filmed romantic tale of Anna and the King (1999).

Chow then returned to the Asian cinema circuit and starred in the critically lauded kung fu epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) (aka "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). His wide appeal can be seen in his "boy next door" type of personality and his ability to play such a broad spectrum of roles from a comedic buffoon to a lovestruck Romeo to a trigger-happy professional killer. A highly entertaining and gifted actor with dynamic on-screen presence, Chow continues to remain in strong demand in many film markets.
BornMay 18, 1955
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    • Agent info
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BornMay 18, 1955
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  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards

Photos337

Chow Yun-Fat, Seann William Scott, and Jaime King in Bulletproof Monk (2003)
Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat in Anna and the King (1999)
Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat in Anna and the King (1999)
Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat in Anna and the King (1999)
Chow Yun-Fat in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Chow Yun-Fat in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Chow Yun-Fat and Gaowa Siqin in Yi ma de hou xian dai sheng huo (2006)
Chow Yun-Fat in Yi ma de hou xian dai sheng huo (2006)
Chow Yun-Fat in Yi ma de hou xian dai sheng huo (2006)
Chow Yun-Fat and Gaowa Siqin in Yi ma de hou xian dai sheng huo (2006)

Known for

Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Chang Chen, and Ziyi Zhang in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
7.9
  • Master Li Mu Bai(as Chow Yun Fat)
  • 2000
Mira Sorvino and Chow Yun-Fat in The Replacement Killers (1998)
The Replacement Killers
6.1
  • John Lee
  • 1998
Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat in Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)
Curse of the Golden Flower
7.0
  • Emperor Ping
  • 2006
Chow Yun-Fat, Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin, Eriko Tamura, and Jamie Chung in Dragonball Evolution (2009)
Dragonball Evolution
2.5
  • Roshi
  • 2009

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Cold War III
    • Pre-production
  • Don't Call Me God of Gamblers
  • The Monkey King: The Legend Begins (2022)
    The Monkey King: The Legend Begins
  • Chow Yun-Fat and Aaron Kwok in Project Gutenberg (2018)
    Project Gutenberg
  • Cold War 2 (2016)
    Cold War 2
  • Chow Yun-Fat, Jacky Cheung, Nick Cheung, Andy Lau, and Carina Lau in From Vegas to Macau III (2016)
    From Vegas to Macau III
  • Chow Yun-Fat in Office (2015)
    Office
  • From Vegas to Macau II (2015)
    From Vegas to Macau II
  • Chow Yun-Fat and Tian Jing in The Man from Macau (2014)
    The Man from Macau
    • (as Yun Fat Chow)
  • Chow Yun-Fat, Aaron Kwok, and Donnie Yen in The Monkey King Havoc in Heavens Palace (2014)
    The Monkey King Havoc in Heavens Palace
  • Chow Yun-Fat in The Last Tycoon (2012)
    The Last Tycoon
  • Chow Yun-Fat in The Assassins (2012)
    The Assassins
  • Andy Lau in Beginning of the Great Revival (2011)
    Beginning of the Great Revival
  • Let the Bullets Fly (2010)
    Let the Bullets Fly
  • Gong Li, John Cusack, Chow Yun-Fat, and Ken Watanabe in Shanghai (2010)
    Shanghai
  • Confucius (2010)
    Confucius

Writer

  • Chow Yun-Fat in Peace Hotel (1995)
    Peace Hotel
  • Chow Yun-Fat in All About Ah-Long (1989)
    All About Ah-Long
    • (as Chow Yun Fatt)

Soundtrack

  • Chow Yun-Fat in Hard Boiled (1992)
    Hard Boiled

Videos38

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Clip 0:56
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Clip 0:42
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Clip 0:23
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Trailer
Trailer 3:18
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Trailer 3:51
Trailer [OV]
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Trailer 2:26
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Trailer 3:34
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Teaser Trailer
Trailer 1:09
Teaser Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:22
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 0:36
Official Trailer
Trailer [OV]
Trailer 4:34
Trailer [OV]
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:32
Official Trailer

Personal details

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    • May 18, 1955
    • Lamma Island, Hong Kong
    • May 6, 1987 - present
  • Publicity listings
    • 4 Interviews
    • 8 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Turned down the role of Morpheus in The Matrix (1999).
  • Quotes
    In the West audiences think I am a stereotyped action star, or that I always play hitmen or killers. But in Hong Kong, I did a lot of comedy, many dramatic films, and most of all, romantic roles, lots of love stories. I was like a romance novel hero.
    • Chow often is seen with a trademark toothpick in his mouth, particularly in his films with John Woo.

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