Hong Kong’s ‘star factory’: without TVB’s artist training course, would Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Stephen Chow and other Canto-pop and film idols have launched their showbiz careers?
- Other grads include Carina Lau, Aaron Kwok and the ‘Five Tiger Generals’: Lau, Leung, Michael Miu Kiu-wai, Kent Tong Chun-yip and Felix Wong Yat-wah
- Director Ringo Lam was a classmate of actor Chow Yun-fat, while fellow directors Johnnie To and Stanley Kwan graduated in the next two years
Hong Kong has produced a surprising number of Asia’s biggest film stars, considering that the city has a population of less than eight million. Many of these beloved and award-winning A-listers started their careers in television – mostly with Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) – and entered showbiz after taking the channel’s artist training course.
It is no exaggeration to describe this acting boot camp as a “star factory”, at least during the 1970s and 1980s – although most of its graduates became much bigger stars after parting ways with the TV station and moving into film.
The first training course began in 1971 in collaboration with Shaw Brothers Pictures, with TVB running it on their own starting from 1978. The course content was comprehensive: besides acting, it also covered dancing, martial arts, screenwriting theory, hair and make-up, photography and more, though the exact topics and course durations varied from year to year.
The all-star graduate list is jaw-dropping, with internationally renowned actors such as Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Stephen Chow Sing-chi all having taken TVB’s course at a time when they had little or no prior acting experience.
Others completing the course included actor/singers Andy Lau Tak-wah and Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, actors Ng Man-tat, Simon Yam Tat-wah, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Sean Lau Ching-wan, and actress Carina Lau Ka-ling, to name a few. Martial artist Donnie Yen Ji-dan was also part of the class of 1988.
The course’s teachers were stalwarts of the local entertainment industry with the very first taught by directing and acting veteran Chung King-Fai, and directors Lau Fong-gong and Jimmy Cheng Yau-kwok.