Tony was born
on June 27, 1962. He used to be a mischievous boy before his father left the
family. Although his father was a career gambler, but he took care of his family
until the day he left them for good. During his childhood, Tony often heard his
parents' fighting for money, or his father got drunk after winning a bet. After
witness so many ill effects of gambling can do to a man, he promised to himself
that he would never get involved in any kind of gambling activities. Even to
this day, he would be reluctant to participate in a relaxing game of Majiang. He
feeling toward his father was always mixed. To him, his father was just a
stranger, if his father had stayed with the family, Tony could go to a college,
something he always dreamed of. But there was very little he can do when his
father left the family. His mother was left alone to take care of two young
kids. His parents' unhappy marriage cast a dark shadow and left a big scar on
Tony's faith toward marriage. He had trouble believing in marriage. He would
picture marriage as something that was unreliable and stressful to certain
extent.
After his father's departure, being the only man in the house, Tony felt the
need to step up and protect the women of the house. He behaved himself and grew
into a mature kid. His mother worked hard to keep him attending a private
school, but without a strong financial support, Tony quit school after age 15.
He wanted to ease the burden off his mother's shoulder. He started as a paper
boy in his uncle's grocery store, then worked other jobs, such as selling air
conditioners, fridges and washing machines. Tony was a close friend with Stephen
Chiau at the time. Stephen used to talk to Tony about TVB training school and
how he always wanted to become an actor. Tony wasn't interested initially, but
later he sent in the application to tvb following Stephen's
advice.
Early Success
After he was
admitted to the training school in 1982, his acting talents quickly caught many
directors by surprise. He gained his star status soon after a kid's show "430
Space Shuttle". Tony was a determined young man with ambition to succeed. He
knew acting was the only thing that he can do better than anybody else, and it's
the only way to make his mom proud of him. He put forth effort and made himself
the prominent star of the eighties. His popularity exploded soon after the
release of "Duke of Mount Deer" in 1984. "Police Cadet 84" was another highlight
of Tony's tvb career. His acting ability came natural for him. This was what he
said about acting, "I'm a quiet person. And then when I went to TV it all
came out; I cried and I wasn't ashamed. The audience thinks it's the character's
feelings, but really it's my feelings, all coming out in a rush. It's the only
way I can feel really good about myself. And it's the only way I can let it all
out." Indeed, what he displayed was the true emotion. Tony had excelled in
portraying various characters, and had gained the recognition as a versatile
actor, as well as being an extremely popular one.
It's also at this time, he met his sweetheart Margie Tsang. They met in tvb
batch artistes training class in 1983. They were the most celebrated young
lovers in mid 80's. Especially after "Police Cadet 85", they became the hottest
couple on the screen as well as off the screen. They had broken up three times,
each time was followed by a celebrated reunion. Their romance had kept everyone
in suspense. However, the problems started when Tony reached the ultimate
stardom after 1984. Tony's demanding schedule kept him busy on the shoot, and he
seldom had time to spend with Margie. While Margie was gaining popularity after
"Police Cadet 85", she too were busy shooting films and making new friends.
Despite it all, they were still deeply in love. In a span of 4 years, they broke
off and reunited three times, before finally calling off the relationship in
1989.
After Tony broke up with Margie the second time in 1986, he met Kitty Lai.
They co-starred "Heavenly sword and Dragon Sabre" in 1986. Soon after the
release of "Heaven", they were rumored to fall in love. Many Tony-Margie fans
weren't too happy to see that. Some were so bitter-sweet, and resent the idea of
Tony-Margie weren't able to reunite because of Kitty. They even wrote hate mails
to Kitty. Being a sweet and carefree girl, Kitty didn't fall for the traps and
loved Tony as always. Unfortunately, Tony didn't return the same kind of love
that Kitty had reserved for him. Deep down, he still loved Margie more than
anybody else.
In mid of 1988, Tony had a chance to work with Margie again on "Police Cadet
1988". To no one's surprise, they were fallen in love once again. So, where did
this leave Kitty? Tony had not given her any explanations, and hadn't dated her
for weeks. He had hoped that Kitty would understand it was a sign of breakup,
but he couldn't face her to tell the truth. In short, Tony left Kitty alone to
face the humiliation of the press. In all fairness, he had deeply hurt a very
lovely and sweet girl. Facing this agonizing defeat, all Kitty could do was to
swallow the pain and stay strong. Eventhough many people wanted to blame Tony
for this messy situation, however, they were also happy to see Tony and Margie
finally getting back together. Now with everyone's blessing, Tony and Margie
were back together for the third time, but it didn't last very long. By the end
of 1988, Tony and Margie were officially separated for the last
time.
Troubling Years
Tony became famous when he was very young. Being
famous, every bit of his mistakes were magnified 10 times greater under the
microscope. When his relationship with Kitty/Margie reached to an epic level, it
became the daily gossips of the newspaper. His stardom did not settle easy with
him, he was struggling within himself. He was leery of all the attentions he had
attracted. In short, he was living in fish bowl, paying a price for being rich
and famous. As a kid who grew up without a father, he suffered the most ill
effected self-esteem and self-abandonment. He didn't know how to deal with
success, or a love triangle. Even as his success and popularity grew, he was
still unsure of himself. Looking back, I don't think he enjoyed his fame and
wealth. His self-abandonment had reached to a degree beyond his possible
imagination. He was a tortured and miserable soul.
Early 1989, Tony was determined to leave tvb to begin his movie career. Tony
was very successful in tvb, but he was getting paid very little compared to how
much work he had put into. Only the movies offered him a better pay as well as a
higher prestige. But he was taking a big risk leaving the small screen for the
big screen.
At the end of 80's and beginning of 90's. his life was totally out of wack.
Alcohol and drugs had consumed him. He became so self-destructive that he often
drunk himself to unconsciousness. There were several reasons behind it. The most
influential fact had always been a lack of mentor. He never had anyone to
consult with when facing problems. The insecure childhood and hurt feelings that
had passed on to his adulthood. He couldn't talk about his problems to his
mother because he didn't want her to worry about him. Without anybody to
consolidate, he was confused and lost.
Tony was a very dedicated actor, but he often worked himself into exhaustion
trying to perfect his performance. He was always a perfectionist. Sometimes, he
went too hard on himself. As the pressure built up, he often released himself
into alcohol. During his darkest days, he spent days shooting movies, then
nights in the bars. He had trouble to keep himself sober. He was making a habit
of self-destruction. Alcohol had ruined everything he ever wanted to achieve. He
was losing control of his life. Those were the days of being wild. He didn't
pursue his career with same kind of aggressiveness that he had displayed in tvb.
He became a lost man without a goal in life. Many times, he failed to capitalize
his talent, and let opportunities slip by him.
His transition from tvb to movie hadn't gone smoothly. Many of his early
movies were not worth mentioning. He was often a second lead actor behind
someone else. Although he was getting paid a lot more, but he wasn't contend to
be the 2nd best, or just a supporting actor. In a spill of three years, Tony had
won two best supporting actors in HKFA. By 1992, he refused to be nominated for
the third time with his role in "Hard Boiled". He believed it was a lead role,
not supporting role as the nomination would suggest. He literally declined the
nomination by claiming it's totally unfair to him a lead actor running for the
best supporting role. He pulled himself out of the race. At the end, the HKFA
had to draw his name out of the race.
A New Beginning
Around the end of 1989, he
dated Carina after they spent hours preparing a stage show. He had known her
since "The replica" in 1984. She used to be a good friend with Margie, but after
their romance went public, Margie and Carina distanced themselves from each
other. It's understandable since it is never easy to be friend with your
ex-boyfriend's girlfriend. Carina had just came off a humiliating experience of
her own. Her ex-fiancee called off their wedding just weeks before the scheduled
wedding day. Tony had recently broken up with Margie for the 3rd time. They were
attracted to each other because they had suffered similar kind of losses. Both
had plenty rocky relationships before and experienced enough hardships in life,
Tony, a product of a broken family, and Carina, a mainlander trying to adapt in
HK. For some reason, they bonded.
From 1989 to now, Tony and Carina had been going steady, except a few minor
incidents. In 1993, Tony was rumored dating Valarie Chou after shooting a MTV
with her. One time, Carina met Valarie at a movie premiere, and she refused to
take picture with Valarie. However, eventually when the rumor cooled down,
everything was back to normal. In 1994, Carina filed a law suit against her
personal assistant for stealing her check. Her male assistant testified on the
court that he had sexual relationship with her. But later, Tony dismissed the
case by publicly going on air and said "I love Kai-Lin" on a radio show in new
year eve. Then in 1997, Carina were again involved in a complicated family
matter. Her long time friend Mr. Lo was filing for divorce.The rumor said she
was the third person in this marriage. Both Tony and Carina denied the rumor,
and defended themselves. The never ending rumor mills were targeted at Tony
again on the March of 1998, Tony was being caught on camera driving Rosemund
Kwan home. The HK East Touch Magazine took photos of Tony and Rosamund outside
of a night bar on 3/7. Apparently, they were having a good time with a group of
friends in the "97's bar". Later, Tony drove Rosamund home. Rosamund claims
there is nothing going on with Tony. She is a good friend of Carina, and Tony
simply gave her a ride home. Right after that, another rumored affair between
Carina and a Taiwanese actor hit the stand, Tony claimed the rumor was
ludicrous. All of things listed above were so-called "juicy" rumors, none had
been proven true. Tony said many times before that he intended to get married
whenever he felt like he wants to settle down. Apparently, that time hasn't come
yet. We will just have to be patient and wait for that moment.
As years wore on, a steady relationship with Carina plus a positive onlook
toward life has changed Tony. He is no longer the insecure boy who needs
parental guidance. He grew into a peaceful minded man. All the troubling past
had only made him stronger. Only a handful men could overcome what he had gone
through. That's what made him so special. There is an intelligent soul behind
the pretty face. Now at the age of 36 and with a distinguished career behind him
which includes A City of Sadness, Hard Boiled, Cyclo, Days of Being Wild, Ashes
of Time, Chungking Express, and Happy Together, he had earned the ultimate
prestige that he always wanted. He was honored twice as the best actor in HKFA,
and gained the international recognition in several film festivals. As a fan, I
can only hope to see him excel on all phases of life and continue to push
himself to achieve more. He has yet to scratch the surface of his potential. I
hope his best film is always the next one he ought to
make.
The Man Himself
Here is a list of things that I think make this man
stands out above the rest, and has made him so interesting to follow. More than
anything else, his intriguing personality separates him from his contemporary
artists. He is truly a remarkable man with an uncanny sense of artistry.
Tony has a split personality.
He is often into one of his chronicle depressions. That's neither sad nor bad
for him. It's his way of dealing with himself. Tony is a very complex
individual. Even today, sometimes he is so passive and depressed that he just
wants to hide out. He is unusually quiet, can lock himself in a room for days if
necessary, so called staying in the shell for the dark days. He is moody, and he
will admit that.
He enjoys life. This man can be as miserable as he chooses to at times, yet
he found joys in simple things. Such as enjoying a book, taking a flower bath,
walking in the rain, or surfing on the ocean, he will find a beauty inside.
There is a very feminine side of him that nobody seems noticed.
He rarely expresses himself in public. The only time he expresses himself is
in the movies. That's him. All the emotions and all the feelings that's on the
screen is him. He let his anger, frustration, lost, and abundance all spill out
in a rush on the screen. In a most public setting, yet it's the most private
place for him to display his inner feelings. No wonder we all being attracted to
this man, because what he acts is real. There are real emotions behind the
unreal scenes.
He loves to read. Reading gives him a sense of fulfillment. He is also an
extremely sensitive person.
He is a very obedient son. He loves his mother dearly. His mother is the one
he thinks constantly and cares deeply.
That's all Folks!
I have received lots of requests on translating the Romance
section. For some reason, I feel compelled to write an entire biography on Tony
to let people truly understand him. I am trying to make a fair and quantitative
assessment that's totally based on what I know about this man, his life, and his
thoughts. Yet I have to remind everyone that what you are reading is my
judgement of this man. I will try to be as unbiased as possible, but if you find
something that you can't agree with, please bear in mind, this is my opinion.
Thank you for your understanding.