Stephen Chow

Stephen Chow ({{zhstp|s=周星驰|t=周星馳|p=Zhōu Xīngchí}}; Cantonese Romanization: Chow Sing Chi) (born June 22 1962) is a highly popular Hong Kong actor and director, whose expertise in the comedic field led him to be dubbed the "king of comedy" by the Hong Kong entertainment media.

Professional Career

He learned his trade at the Shaw Brothers TVB acting school, and co-hosted a popular Hong Kong children's program, 430 Shuttle, alongside future star Tony Leung Chiu Wai. His early film career was largely centred on dramatic roles, but his performance in Jeff Lau's smash-hit All For The Winner (1990) (賭聖) launched him almost exclusively into comedy films.

Related Topics:
Shaw Brothers - TVB - Hong Kong - 430 Shuttle - Tony Leung Chiu Wai - Jeff Lau

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His subsequent films built on this success, developing his distinct brand of humour called "mo lei tau" (無厘頭) (approximately meaning "nonsense" or "no brained") which makes frequent use of euphemism and double entendres in Cantonese slang. He regularly demonstrated his talent for improvisation, suggesting gags to directors to enhance the comedy, often leading to rewrites of the script. By 1994 he was writing and directing some of his own films.

Related Topics:
Mo lei tau - Euphemism - Double entendres - Cantonese

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The films themselves often followed a similar template: portraying an underachiever who beats the odds or an arrogant overachiever who is humbled and learns a lesson. Fight Back to School (1991), From Beijing With Love (1994) (國產零零漆) and God of Cookery (1996)) are notable examples. Sometimes his films would have a period setting, but still exhibit the same style of contemporary humour, for instance in Justice, My Foot (1992) (審死官)) and Flirting Scholar (1993).

Related Topics:
Fight Back to School - God of Cookery - Flirting Scholar

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Occasionally Chow would break from this mould: one of his more serious films is A Chinese Odyssey (1994), loosely based on the classic Chinese story Journey to the West. Although still essentially a comedy, Chow himself was able to develop his character more seriously than usual. It was a box-office smash in Hong Kong and has developed a cult following in Mainland China.

Related Topics:
A Chinese Odyssey - Journey to the West - Mainland China

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Recent films have begun to focus on comedic action and special effects sequences instead of verbal humour, to appeal to a wider international audience. The film which launched him in the West is Shaolin Soccer (2001), which makes heavy use of CGI and is directed by Chow himself. Kung Fu Hustle (2004) is also directed by Chow and in February 2005 went on to surpass Shaolin Soccer as the highest grossing domestic movie in Hong Kong.

Related Topics:
Shaolin Soccer - CGI - Kung Fu Hustle

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Chow attempted to take Canadian citizenship, but he was denied by Canadian immigration due to his possible links to triads in Hong Kong.

Related Topics:
Canadian - Triads - Hong Kong

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