Tony Leung and Chow Yun Fat reunited for director’s birthday celebration

HONG KONG: Iconic Hong Kong superstars Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung made a rare public appearance to celebrate director Johnnie To’s birthday. The Star reported that the party, held at a restaurant in Hong Kong’s Central District, saw them both join Leung’s wife, actress Carina Lau, for a memorable picture, which Lau later posted on her Instagram account.

Leung, Chow, and Lau acted together way back in 1985 in the police drama “Police Cadet“, and Chow and Leung didn’t team up in another movie until 1992, when they did the intense action flick, “Hard Boiled“.That was the last time the two starred in a film together.

Long friendship

The gathering for To’s birthday seemed like a blast. Actor Anthony Wong and singer-actress Sammi Cheng also attended the party. Lau also reflected on their long friendship by sharing a photo of herself, Leung, To, and To’s wife, Wong Po Ling.

In 1982, Leung, 63, debuted as an actor. He is considered as one of Asia’s most renowned and internationally acclaimed actors. His partnerships with Wong Kar-wai are especially well-known. They worked in seven films together, including “In the Mood for Love,” for which he won the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Actor prize.

Humble beginnings

Seventy-year-old Chow started from humble beginnings. Prior to joining the Hong Kong show business with TVB in 1974, Chow worked a variety of jobs, including shoeshine boy, office assistant, parcel delivery worker, hotel staff, and taxi driver. It was those TVB shows that made Chow a star. Think of hits like “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and “The Bund” – everyone was watching them back then.

Chow has had an incredible career, and he has the awards to prove it. He has snagged a couple of Golden Horse Awards for being the best actor and even three Hong Kong Film Awards. In 2023, they named him the Asian Filmmaker of the Year at the Busan Film Fest. He’s only the second Hong Kong actor to get that, after Tony Leung.

A big deal

Lau, who’s 60 now, started acting way back in 1984. She became a huge star pretty fast in the ’80s with all those drama series everyone was watching. It was not just limited to local stuff.

On top of all that movie fame, the international stuff with films like Wong Kar-wai’s “2046” and the “Infernal Affairs” sequels put her on the map globally. She’s a big deal! Oh, and something else interesting – back in 2008, she married Leung.

Successful director

At 17, To started his career as a messenger for TVB. He later went on to be an executive producer and director for TV shows starting in 1973.

To began his career at age 17 as a messenger for TVB, later advancing to executive producer and director for TV shows starting in 1973. He made his debut as a film director in 1978, but he didn’t stop working in television.

In 1983, the director To actually helmed and helped write this super famous TV show called “The Legend of the Condor Heroes.” Apparently, it was based on this martial arts book by Jin Yong—sounds pretty epic, right? Years later, in May 2011, he was even on the jury at the Cannes Film Festival! Then, his movie “Life Without Principle” was a big deal too—it was even picked to represent Hong Kong at the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film.