Michael Wong (actor)
Encyclopedia
Michael Fitzgerald Wong aka Wong Man-Tak ' onMouseout='HidePop("51011")' href="/topics/Troy,_New_York">Troy, New York
, 16 April 1965) is a Chinese-American and a Hong Kong
based actor
, director, singer and producer.
He is fluent in English
, but not so in Chinese
, which is reflected in many of the characters he has portrayed. His most notable film
is the 1998 film Beast Cops
which won a Hong Kong Film Award with Wong in the lead role. As of 2004, he has appeared in over fifty films in twenty-one years, often in very minor roles.
, the son of restaurateur William Wong and American artist of Dutch and French descent, Connie Van Yserloo. After finishing high school, he left for Hong Kong to try his luck at acting. His brothers Russell Wong
and Declan Wong would also become actors in the Hong Kong film industry.
There were a number of significant factors working against Wong's eventual success in the Hong Kong film industry including an inability to speak Cantonese
, no formal training in acting and no background in martial arts. He also lacked an entry into the tightly knit Hong Kong film industry.
His debut was in 1983's Invincible Obsessed Fighters, which was a kung fu film. His next significant film was Royal Warriors aka In the Line of Duty, which established his dominant image for the first part of his career as a naive but tough outsider. In 1986, he starred in Legacy of Rage
alongside Brandon Lee
(son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee
) in his only Hong Kong movie. He also starred alongside Jackie Chan
in Thunderbolt
(1995) and Brandon Lee's sister Shannon Lee
in Enter the Eagles (1998).
Wong starred in a 1996 Canadian
TV production Once A Thief directed by John Woo
. He made his English language movie debut in Tsui Hark
's Knock Off
in 1998. His starring role in Beast Cops, which won a 1998 Best Film prize at the Hong Kong film awards, further consolidated his position.
In 2000, Wong made his debut as a director in Miles Apart, which he also produced and starred in. He continues to enjoy steady film work even though he has to learn his Chinese lines phonetically. In 2006, Wong re-entered the music scene by performing "big band" music accompanied by a 10 piece band with the likes of "Come Fly with Me
".
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, 16 April 1965) is a Chinese-American and a Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
based actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, director, singer and producer.
He is fluent in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, but not so in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, which is reflected in many of the characters he has portrayed. His most notable film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
is the 1998 film Beast Cops
Beast Cops (film)
Beast Cops is a 1998 Hong Kong action film co-directed by Gordon Chan and Dante Lam which stars Anthony Wong Chau-Sang and Michael Wong...
which won a Hong Kong Film Award with Wong in the lead role. As of 2004, he has appeared in over fifty films in twenty-one years, often in very minor roles.
Early career
Michael Wong grew up in Troy, New YorkTroy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, the son of restaurateur William Wong and American artist of Dutch and French descent, Connie Van Yserloo. After finishing high school, he left for Hong Kong to try his luck at acting. His brothers Russell Wong
Russell Wong
Russell Girard Wong is an American actor and photographer, as well as the brother of actor/model Michael Wong.-Biography:...
and Declan Wong would also become actors in the Hong Kong film industry.
There were a number of significant factors working against Wong's eventual success in the Hong Kong film industry including an inability to speak Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
, no formal training in acting and no background in martial arts. He also lacked an entry into the tightly knit Hong Kong film industry.
His debut was in 1983's Invincible Obsessed Fighters, which was a kung fu film. His next significant film was Royal Warriors aka In the Line of Duty, which established his dominant image for the first part of his career as a naive but tough outsider. In 1986, he starred in Legacy of Rage
Legacy of Rage
Legacy of Rage is a 1986 Hong Kong action film starring Brandon Lee in his film debut, Michael Wong, Regina Kent, Chung Lam and a cameo appearance by Bolo Yeung who had appeared in Lee's father Bruce Lee's last film Enter the Dragon. It was directed by Ronny Yu and made in Cantonese...
alongside Brandon Lee
Brandon Lee
Brandon Bruce Lee was an American actor and martial artist. He was the son of martial arts film star Bruce Lee...
(son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
) in his only Hong Kong movie. He also starred alongside Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
in Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt (1995 film)
Thunderbolt is a 1995 Hong Kong action film, directed by Gordon Chan and starring Jackie Chan. In some early North American releases, it was known as Dead Heat....
(1995) and Brandon Lee's sister Shannon Lee
Shannon Lee
Shannon Emery Lee is an American actress. She is the daughter of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee and Linda Lee Cadwell, and the younger sister of Brandon Lee.-Personal life:...
in Enter the Eagles (1998).
Later career
Final Option, released in 1994, would make Wong a major star in the Chinese film industry. Playing the role of a police officer, he established a tougher image and the character reappeared in a prequel First Option in 1996. He would reprise the role of Stone Wong in the 2002 movie New Option.Wong starred in a 1996 Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
TV production Once A Thief directed by John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
. He made his English language movie debut in Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...
's Knock Off
Knock Off
Knock Off is a 1998 Hong Kong action thriller film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lela Rochon, Michael Wong and Rob Schneider.-Plot:...
in 1998. His starring role in Beast Cops, which won a 1998 Best Film prize at the Hong Kong film awards, further consolidated his position.
In 2000, Wong made his debut as a director in Miles Apart, which he also produced and starred in. He continues to enjoy steady film work even though he has to learn his Chinese lines phonetically. In 2006, Wong re-entered the music scene by performing "big band" music accompanied by a 10 piece band with the likes of "Come Fly with Me
Come Fly with Me (song)
"Come Fly with Me" is a 1957 popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn."Come Fly with Me" was written for Frank Sinatra, and was the title track of his 1958 album of the same name...
".
Filmography
- Triple TapTriple Tap-Cast:* Louis Koo – Kwan Yau-bok* Daniel Wu – Chong Tze-wai* Charlene Choi – Ting* Li Bingbing – Anna* Alex Fong – Miu Chi-shun* Lam Suet – Fong Chi-wo* Chapman To – Pang To-External links:* at the Hong Kong Cinemagic...
(2010) - The Blood BondThe Blood BondShadowguard: The Blood Bond Saga is a 2010 action film directed by Michael Biehn and Bey Logan. Written by Bey Logan. Starring Michael Biehn...
(2010) - OverheardOverheard (film)Overheard is a 2009 Hong Kong crime thriller film written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong, and produced by Henry Fong and Derek Yee. The film stars Lau Ching-Wan, Louis Koo and Daniel Wu as a trio of police officers conducting surveillance on a public company...
(2009) - Drive of Life (2007)
- The Counting House (2006)
- PTU File: Death Trap (2005)
- Seven SwordsSeven SwordsSeven Swords is a 2005 Hong Kong wuxia film adapted from Liang Yusheng's novel Qijian Xia Tianshan. It was produced and directed by Tsui Hark, and starred Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Charlie Yeung, Sun Honglei, Lu Yi and Kim So-yeon...
(2005) - House of FuryHouse of FuryHouse of Fury is a 2005 Hong Kong martial arts-action film directed by the film's co-star Stephen Fung. Jackie Chan was one of the executive producers .-Plot:...
(2005) - Magic KitchenMagic KitchenMagic Kitchen is a 2004 Hong Kong film, directed by Lee Chi-Ngai.-Synopsis:Yau is the proprietor of a successful restaurant/cafe. However, her personal life is very sad. During a television show, she meets her ex-lover Chuen, who announces that he is going to marry her best friend...
(2004) - Women from Mars (2002)
- Partners (2002)
- The New Option (2002)
- Calmi Couri Appassionati (冷靜與熱情之間, 2001)
- At the Threshold of an EraAt the Threshold of an EraAt the Threshold of an Era was a Hong Kong epic drama series broadcast by TVB Jade Channel from October 11, 1999 to December 18, 1999 and March 13, 2000 to May 26, 2000, and was extensively promoted by TVB as its cross-milliennium, one-hundred-episode-long epic...
(1999) - Beast Cops (1998)
- Enter the Eagles (1998)
- Lost and FoundLost and Found (1996 film)Lost and Found is a 1996 Hong Kong film written and directed by Lee Chi-Ngai. It stars Kelly Chan, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Michael Wong.-Synopsis:...
(1996) - ThunderboltThunderboltA thunderbolt is a discharge of lightning accompanied by a loud thunderclap or its symbolic representation. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, or, as Plato suggested in Timaeus, of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies,...
(1995) - City Hunter (1993)
- The VineyardThe Vineyard (film)The Vineyard is a 1989 horror film written by James Marlowe and Douglas Kondo and directed by James Hong and William "Bill" Rice. It stars James Hong, Michael Wong, Sherri Ball and Playboy Playmate Karen Witter.-Plot:...
(1989) - Legacy of RageLegacy of RageLegacy of Rage is a 1986 Hong Kong action film starring Brandon Lee in his film debut, Michael Wong, Regina Kent, Chung Lam and a cameo appearance by Bolo Yeung who had appeared in Lee's father Bruce Lee's last film Enter the Dragon. It was directed by Ronny Yu and made in Cantonese...
(1986) - Invincible Obsessed Fighters (1983)