Francis Ng Chun-yu, born Ng Chi-keung in Hong Kong on 21 December 1961 and of Panyu ancestry, is an actor, director and producer. He applied several times before graduating from TVB's artiste training class in 1982, in a cohort that included Tony Leung, Stephen Chow, Waise Lee and Bobby Au-yeung. Starting out in bit parts and building up experience, he went on to lead the television dramas The Legend of Lady Qiao (1987), The Final Verdict (1987), Heart and Mind (1988) and the 1989 series in which he played the villain Tuen Yuk-lau, a role that struck a chord with audiences; he later rose to fame through the situation comedies in which he starred. He became a freelance actor in 1992 and concentrated on film. His first screen appearance was in a 1986 picture, followed by films such as The Twin Dragons (1992), The Untold Story (1993) and The Bride with White Hair (1993). In 1996 his turn as the villain Ugly Kwan in Young and Dangerous gave a familiar gangland figure a fresh, rasping comic edge, marking a turning point that established him as a serious actor; the same year he won the Hong Kong Film Critics Society's Best Actor award for Once Upon a Time in Triad Society. His range then opened up across films including Bullets Over Summer (1999), The Mission (1999), Juliet in Love (2000) and Infernal Affairs II (2003). He won Best Actor at the 37th Golden Horse Awards for his portrayal of the hot-headed bodyguard in Johnnie To's The Mission, took Best Supporting Actor at the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards for 2000 AD (2001), and was nominated for Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his role as Ngai Wing-hau in Infernal Affairs II. From 2008 he worked extensively in the mainland film industry while still taking Hong Kong roles, and he has also directed and starred in films such as 9413 (1998), Those Were the Days (2000) and Tracing Shadow (2009, co-directed with Marco Mak).
Rising from television bit parts to an acting award, Ng brought a nervy yet icy intensity that gave Hong Kong leading men a path away from the mainstream. His Ugly Kwan in Young and Dangerous and his roles in The Mission and Infernal Affairs II made him an emblematic figure of 1990s and 2000s Hong Kong crime cinema.
Achievements
- 1982 · Graduated from TVB's eleventh artiste training class, alongside Tony Leung and Stephen Chow
- 1996 · Won the Hong Kong Film Critics Society's Best Actor award for Once Upon a Time in Triad Society
- 2000 · Won Best Actor at the 37th Golden Horse Awards for The Mission
- 2001 · Won Best Supporting Actor at the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards for 2000 AD