Lam Tze-chung (born 16 August 1976 in Hong Kong), nicknamed 'Fatty Chung', is a Hong Kong film actor, screenwriter and director. He graduated from a secondary school in Sha Tin and joined Television Broadcasts (TVB) in 1995 as a scriptwriter, mainly working on variety and music programmes. Stephen Chow spotted him and brought him into Chow's Star Overseas company as a writer; besides film scripts he also wrote the story for the Shaolin Soccer comic, making him one of the few members of Chow's creative team to work both on the page and on screen. In 2001 he played the Sixth Junior Brother, the 'floating kung fu' specialist, in Chow's Shaolin Soccer, his exaggerated build and nimble movement making him a familiar face; he also appeared that year in Dance of a Dream and began hosting television and radio programmes. He went on to appear in films such as Cat and Mouse, the lift segment of the horror anthology Three, and Kung Fu Hustle, in which he played Bone, the companion of Chow's character, becoming a regular supporting player in Chow's comedies. In 2006, supported by Andy Lau's 'Focus: First Cuts' scheme, he directed his first feature, I'll Call You, starring Alex Fong, Lam Suet and Gordon Lam, a story about young city dwellers and their families; it was nominated to represent Hong Kong at the 8th Udine Far East Film Festival, and he later directed comedies including The Four Big Wishes and Mr. and Mrs. Gambler. In 2009 he joined the mainland television series Chinese Paladin 3, extending his work into the mainland market, and in 2017 he took part in an eight-part ViuTV reality series about modern parenting. He married his long-time girlfriend Christy, a ballet teacher, on 17 September 2012, and their son was born in 2015.
Starting as a television scriptwriter, Lam moved into acting and later directing, becoming one of the few members of Stephen Chow's comedy stable with both writing and performing experience. His Sixth Junior Brother in Shaolin Soccer became a collective memory of 2000s Hong Kong comedy, and his later move into mainland productions reflects how local comedy talent increasingly worked north of the border.
Achievements
- 1995 · Joined Television Broadcasts (TVB) as a scriptwriter
- 2001 · Became well known for playing the Sixth Junior Brother in Shaolin Soccer
- 2006 · Made his directorial debut with I'll Call You under Andy Lau's film scheme