Paul Lai Wing-keung, now known as Lai Kwun-fai, was keen on stage acting and playwriting in his school years and won an all-Hong Kong drama competition in 1971. As a junior secondary student he had already worked part-time in radio for Rediffusion and wrote scripts, later joining Commercial Radio's talent programme under the name Lai Ming. That broadcast and stage experience led him into TVB's second acting class; graduating in 1973, he began appearing on screen and took the male lead in the serial The Blundering Swordsman. A few years later he moved behind the camera as an assistant director, and while making the Wong Fei Hung television series he befriended the veteran actor Kwan Tak-hing, helping to bring the series to production and becoming Kwan's disciple in 1976. He acted in a 1974 film set below Lion Rock. In 1978-79 he worked as production manager and assistant director on several features. From Cinema City's earliest days he took part in its backstage work and made occasional cameos, serving as production manager on From Riches to Rags (1980), All the Wrong Clues (1981) and Aces Go Places (1982). Promoted to production manager in 1982, he worked on Aces Go Places II and III (1983, 1984) and other Cinema City comedies. He emigrated to Canada in 1986 and returned to film as a planner in the late 1980s, often with Clifton Ko and Raymond Wong on films such as Chicken and Duck Talk (1988) and Happy Ghost IV (1990), and was executive producer of The Magic Touch (1992). In 1996 he founded a non-profit elderly-care body in Canada named after his mentor Kwan Tak-hing, staging plays performed by film veterans.
Moving from television acting into production, Paul Lai helped organise the making of hits such as Aces Go Places during Cinema City's formative years, when tight scheduling and small teams were decisive. As Kwan Tak-hing's disciple he later carried that film community with him to Canada, founding an elderly-care body in his mentor's name.
Achievements
- 1973 · Graduated from TVB's second acting class and took the male lead in the serial The Blundering Swordsman.
- 1976 · Befriended the actor Kwan Tak-hing while producing the Wong Fei Hung television series and became his disciple.
- 1982 · Was promoted to production manager at Cinema City, working on the Aces Go Places series and other films.