Hong Kong movie stars Francis Ng and Anthony Wong and their careers in the 1990s: comedy, crime and character acting
- Francis Ng and Anthony Wong are established film stars today, famed for their character acting, comedic skills and unconventional styles
- Back in the 1990s, when they gained popularity at the end of the ‘hero’ movie era, they put their own stamp on the often villainous characters they played
Francis Ng Chun-yu and Anthony Wong Chau-sang are established veterans of Hong Kong cinema. But back in the mid-1990s when they both came to prominence, Wong and Ng were a breath of fresh air.
The “hero” era of Hong Kong cinema, personified by alpha males like Chow Yun-fat, had run out of steam, and audiences were drawn to the pair’s eccentric qualities; they were not all-powerful supermen, but local “characters” with foibles, troubles and imperfections.
Both Ng and Wong generally played villainous roles, and explored the darker side of humanity. But both also had a talent for comedy that sometimes surfaced in unexpected places.
“I started as a TV actor in farcical sitcoms,” Ng told the Far East Film Festival. “When they wanted someone to play the bad guy, I did it. But I always like to keep a comedy element in my performances.”
