Stanley Tong was born in Hong Kong on 7 April 1960 to a family from Jiangmen, Guangdong, and is a director, action choreographer, screenwriter and producer known for action films. He trained in martial arts from boyhood, studying Hung boxing, tai chi and taekwondo among other styles. He entered the industry as a stuntman at the end of 1979 and worked at Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest, TVB and RTV as a martial-arts actor, stunt double, continuity man, assistant director, producer and screenwriter, at one point doubling for stars such as Chow Yun-fat, Maggie Cheung, Cherie Chung and Leslie Cheung. In 1990 he set up his own company and financed and directed his debut feature, The Defector, which drew critical praise and an invitation to join Golden Harvest. Police Story III: Super Cop (1992) broke box-office records across several Southeast Asian markets and earned him a Golden Horse nomination for Best Action Direction. Rumble in the Bronx (1995), which he directed and choreographed, became the first Hong Kong film to open in more than 2,000 North American cinemas, set a record as the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in the United States, and is regarded as a landmark opening for the mainland's Lunar New Year releases; it won him Best Action Choreography at the 15th Hong Kong Film Awards. Police Story 4: First Strike (1996) brought him Best Action Choreography at the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards and Best Action Direction at the 33rd Golden Horse Awards. A long-time collaborator of Jackie Chan, he later directed The Myth (2005) and Kung Fu Yoga (2017), while continuing to write, choreograph, produce and direct.
Through Rumble in the Bronx, the first Hong Kong film to open in more than 2,000 North American cinemas, Tong opened Hollywood to Jackie Chan and Hong Kong-style action; his choreography won repeated Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Horse prizes, making him a key figure in the internationalisation of Hong Kong action cinema.
Achievements
- 1990 · Financed and directed his debut feature, The Defector
- 1995 · Won Best Action Choreography at the 15th Hong Kong Film Awards for Rumble in the Bronx
- 1996 · Won Best Action Direction at the 33rd Golden Horse Awards and Best Action Choreography at the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards for First Strike