Early life

Leung was born in Hong Kong. Leung's early childhood was punctuated with parents' quarrels and arguments about money. A mischievous boy in his early years, Leung's personality changed when his father, a chronic gambler, left the family when he was eight; he and his younger sister were brought up by their mother.

Leung was a reticent, quiet child. He has said that his childhood experiences paved the way for his acting career, which allows him to openly express his feelings: "You don't know what happened, just one day your pop disappears. And from that day on I try not to communicate with anyone. I'm so afraid to talk to my classmates, afraid that if someone says something about family I won't know what to do. So I became very isolated. So that's why I love acting, because I can express all my feelings the way I couldn't for so long." . "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."

Leung went to private school, but he quit at the age of 15 due to financial difficulties. He was a well-behaved teenager who was very close to his mother. During an interview on the making of Hero, he says that he sees his mother as his definition of a "hero" for having brought up two children alone.

Television career

After quitting his studies, Leung worked in a variety of jobs, first as a grocer's runner at his uncle's shop, then a showroom salesman in a Hong Kong shopping centre. He met actor and comedian Stephen Chow who influenced his decision to become an actor and remains a good friend.

In 1982, he passed the training courses of television channel TVB. Due to his boyish looks, TVB cast him as host of a children's programme, 430 Space Shuttle. Leung enjoyed comedies during his television years; it was for these he became well known. So, in the 1980s, he was named as one of "TVB's Five Tigers" (their five up-and-coming male TV stars) along with Andy Lau, Felix Wong, Michael Miu and Kent Tong. Leung starred in the highly successful Police Cadet TV serial in 1984 (later named Police Cadet 84 to distinguish it from subsequent sequels). He played an outgoing young man who decides to become a police officer; Maggie Cheung, who also started her career at the same time, played a shy bookworm, Leung's upstairs neighbour and love interest. Since then they have worked together on The Yang's Saga (1985), Days of Being Wild (1991), Ashes of Time (1994), In the Mood for Love (2000), Hero (2002), and 2046 (2005). Interviewed by Wong Kar Wai, Leung said that he considered Maggie to be his alter ego. "Maggie is a truly formidable partner - one to waltz with. We do not spend a lot of time with each other, as we like to keep some mystery between us. Whenever I see her, I discover something new about her".

Film career

Many consider Leung's role in director John Woo's 1992 action film Hard Boiled in which he co-starred with Chow Yun-fat, as his breakthrough role. However, Leung first gained international exposure in Hou Hsiao-Hsien's 1989 film A City of Sadness, which won the Venice Golden Lion.

Leung often collaborates with director Wong Kar-wai and has appeared in many of his films. His most notable roles include the lonely policeman in Chungking Express (1994), a gay Chinese expatriate living in Argentina in Happy Together (1997), and a self-controlled victim of adultery in In the Mood for Love (2000) for which he won the Best Actor award at Cannes. He trained for five years in wing chun to prepare for his role as Yip Man in Wong's The Grandmaster. He is considered by many to be one of the finest actors of his generation in Hong Kong. Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt are admirers of his work, and Leung has been called Asia's answer to Clark Gable.

Leung also has an on-and-off Cantopop and Mandarin pop singing career and sang the theme song of Infernal Affairs with Andy Lau.

During the late 1990s, it was difficult for him to break into Hollywood because he would not take on any roles that degrade his character and image in Hong Kong. To date, he has not done a Hollywood film, but is primed to appear in one after signing on with an American film agent.

In addition to Cantonese, English, and Spanish, Leung speaks Mandarin (accented) and some Japanese (as heard in Tokyo Raiders). Lust Caution is the first film where he has a Mandarin-speaking role in which he used his own voice. (His Mandarin dialogue in Hero was dubbed by someone else.)

During the promotion of the film Hero, some politicians and commentators in Hong Kong attacked Leung for expressing the view that the Tiananmen Square demonstration crackdown was necessary to maintain stability. Under constant political pressure and boycott threats, Leung made a single statement that he may have been quoted out of context but refused to retract his statement in the magazine. However, the movie magazine editor maintained that the original statement was not out of context and challenged people to read the complete interview.

In 2014 he was selected as a member of the jury for the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.

Relationship and marriage with Carina Lau

Leung has dated Carina Lau since the end of 1989. He had known her since The Replica in 1984 as she had been good friends with Margie Tsang, his previous girlfriend. He worked on-screen with Lau in Replica (1984), Duke of Mount Deer (1984), Police Cadet (1984, 1985, 1988), The Yangs' Saga (1985), Days of Being Wild (1991), He ain't heavy, he's my father (1993), Ashes of Time (1994), and 2046 (2005).

In 1990, during the filming of Days of Being Wild, Lau was abducted for several hours. Wong Kar-wai said, "Originally, there were plans for Days of Being Wild I and II, and the sequence featuring Leung was meant to be the opening scene of the second movie. But two things happened, one of which was that Days of Being Wild didn't do well in Hong Kong, so the producers said, "No Part 2." The other reason was Carina Lau's kidnapping.

On 21 July 2008, the couple got married in Bhutan in royal fashion. The wedding created a media frenzy in Hong Kong, with companies spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue the wedding party.

According to Ming Pao Daily News, Faye Wong and her husband actor Li Yapeng had taken them to India in 2007 to visit the 17th Karmapa. The Karmapa's counsel helped them to resolve a crisis in their relationship, and he also suggested Bhutan as a wedding venue.

Religion

Tony Leung is a Buddhist. He has done many things to show his Buddhist beliefs such as giving donations to Buddhist constructions, performing a marriage in a Buddhist ceremony, attending Buddhist gatherings and doing the Buddhist palm greetings.

Awards and nominations

• Asian Film Awards
  • 2008 Won Best Actor (Lust, Caution)
• Cannes Film Festival
  • 2000 Best Actor (In the Mood for Love)
• Golden Horse Film Festival
  • 2007 Best Actor (Lust, Caution)
  • 2004 Nominated Best Actor (2046)
  • 2003 Best Actor (Infernal Affairs)
  • 2000 Nominated Best Actor (In the Mood for Love)
  • 1994 Best Actor (Chungking Express)
• Hong Kong Film Awards
  • 2013 Nominated Best Actor(The Silent War)
  • 2009 Nominated Best Actor (Red Cliff)
  • 2007 Nominated Best Actor (Confession of Pain)
  • 2005 Won Best Actor (2046)
  • 2003 Won Best Actor (Infernal Affairs)
  • 2001 Won Best Actor (In the Mood for Love)
  • 1999 Nominated Best Actor (Longest Nite)
  • 1998 Won Best Actor (Happy Together)
  • 1995 Won Best Actor (Chungking Express)
  • 1993 Nominated Best Supporting Actor (Hard-Boiled)
  • 1990 Won Best Supporting Actor (My Heart Is That Eternal Rose)
  • 1988 Won Best Supporting Actor (People's Hero)
  • 1987 Nominated Best Actor (Love Unto Waste)

(9 Best Actor Nominations, 3 Best Supporting Actor Nominations)

• Golden Bauhinia Awards
  • 2005 Won Best Actor (2046)
  • 2003 Won Best Actor (Infernal Affairs)
  • 1998 Won Best Actor (Happy Together)
• Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
  • 2005 Best Actor (2046)

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Mad, Mad 83
1985	Young Cops	Leung Siu-bo
	Fascinating Affairs
1986	The Lunatics	Doggie
	Love Unto Waste	Tony Cheung	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
	You Will I Will
1987	People's Hero	Sai	Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Happy Go Lucky
1988	I Love Maria	Chong Chi-keung
1989	My Heart is that Eternal Rose	Cheung	Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
	A City of Sadness	Wen Ching
	Seven Warriors
	Two Painters
1990	Bullet in the Head	Ben / Ah B
	The Royal Scoundrel	beach boy
1991	The Banquet	Wai Jai
	A Chinese Ghost Story III	Little Monk Sap-fong
	Days of Being Wild	Pat-cheung
	Don't Fool Me	Chiang Ho-chie
	Fantasy Romance	Stupid Shing
	Great Pretenders	Snake Wai
	The Tigers	Tau-pi
1992	Come Fly the Dragon	Miu Wai-man
	The Days of Being Dumb	Fei
	Hard Boiled	Alan Kong Leung	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Lucky Encounter	Wai
1993	Butterfly and Sword	Mang Sing-wan
	He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father	Chor Yuen
	The Eagle Shooting Heroes	Au-yeung Fung
	End of the Road	Fan Lung
	Hero - Beyond the Boundary of Time	Wai Siu-bo
	The Magic Crane	Ma Kwan-mo
	Three Summers	Wai
	Tom, Dick, and Hairy	Chan Dai-man
	Two of a Kind	Lam Dai-chi
1994	Always Be the Winners	Third Master Sha
	Ashes of Time	Blind Swordsman
	Chungking Express	Cop 633	Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Golden Horse Award for Best Actor
	The Returning	Chung
1995	Cyclo	Poet
	Mack the Knife	Doctor Mack Lau
	Heaven Can't wait	Wong Dai-fung
	Tomorrow
1996	Blind Romance	Wing
	War of the Underworld	Hung Fei
1997	97 Aces Go Places
	Chinese Midnight Express	Ching On
	Happy Together	Lai Yiu-fai	Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor
1998	Flowers of Shanghai	Wang Lianshang
	The Longest Nite	Inspector Sam	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
	Timeless Romance	Lau Yat-lo
	Your Place or Mine	Cheung Suk-wai
1999	Gorgeous	Albert
2000	Healing Hearts	Lawrence
	In the Mood for Love	Chow Mo-wan	Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Actor Cannes Film Festival for Best Actor Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
	Tokyo Raiders	Lin
2001	Fighting for Love	Tung Choi
	Love Me, Love My Money	Richard "Bastard" Ma
2002	Chinese Odyssey 2002	Li Yilong
	Infernal Affairs	Chan Wing-yan	Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Golden Horse Award for Best Actor Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor
	Hero	Broken Sword
2003	Infernal Affairs III	Chan Wing-yan
	My Lucky Star	Lai liu po
	Sound of Colors	Ho Yuk-ming
2004	Super Model
	2046	Chow Mo-wan	Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Actor
2005	Seoul Raiders	Agent Lam
2006	Confession of Pain	Detective Lau Ching-hei	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
2007	Lust, Caution	Mr. Yee	Golden Horse Award for Best Actor Asian Film Awards for Best Actor
2008	Red Cliff: Part 1	Zhou Yu	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
2009	Red Cliff: Part 2	Zhou Yu
	Ashes of Time Redux	Blind Swordsman
2011	The Great Magician	Chang Hsien
2012	The Silent War	He Bing	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
2013	The Grandmaster	Yip Man	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Awards For Best Actor
	1905	Yan Yunlong	Production cancelled February 2013
2015	The Ferryman
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	The Young Heroes of Shaolin	Shaolin monk
1982	Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils	monk, episode 44
	The Legend of Master So	waiter
	Manager & Messenger	general manager
	Hong Kong '82
	Wut Lik Sap Yat	Hung Kwok-choi
	Soldier of Fortune	Ying Chi-him
	The Emissary	brother
1983	The Superpower	Kwok Hak-chung
	Beyond the Rose Garden	Tin-yau
	Encounter with Fortune
	Angels and Devils	Kong Ho-man
1984	The Clones	Cheung Ka-wai / Chiang Ka-wai
	The Duke of Mount Deer	Wai Siu-bo
	It's a Long Way Home	Yau Ga-kei
	Police Cadet '84	Cheung Wai-kit
	No Regrets for Our Youth	Frankie
1985	The Rough Ride	Chow Kim-hung
	Police Cadet '85	Cheung Wai-kit
	The Yang's Saga	Yeung Yin-chi (Yeung Chat-long) / Duke of Thunder
1986	New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre	Cheung Mo-kei
1987	The Grand Canal	Cheung Sam-long
1988	Police Cadet '88	Cheung wai-kit
	Behind Silk Curtains	Lin Kar-yip
	Everybody's Somebody's Favourite
	Two Most Honorable Knights	"Little Fishie" Kong Siu-yu
1989	Ode to Gallantry	Shek Po-tin / Shek Chung-yuk

Discography

• Raining Night (朦朧夜雨裡) (1986)
• Who Wants (1988)
• Love Day by Day (1993)
• One Life One Heart (1994)
• Trapped by Love (1994)
• Day and Night (1994)
• Cannot Forget Collection (1995)
• The Past and the Future (1995)
• Too Affectionate (1995)
• Tony Leung Greatest Hits (June 2000)
• In the Mood for Love (November 2000)
• Wind Sand (2004) (reissued January 2006)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]