Before BTS and K-drama, Andy Lau, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung were Asia’s hottest stars – who were the leading men of Hong Kong cinema’s golden age?
Wong Kar-wai and John Woo are among the directors who helped make these award-winning actors and Canto-pop stars famous in classic 80s and 90s films such as Hard Boiled, Days of Being Wild, Bullet in the Head, Infernal Affairs and Farewell, My Concubine
The modern Korean Wave of shiny K-pop stars in boy bands like BTS and dreamy TV drama idols like Gong Yoo and Kim Soo-hyun may be all the rage these days, but once upon a time it was stars from Hong Kong who dominated popular culture in Asia.
From the early 1980s, concurrent with the rise of Canto-pop and Hong Kong cinema’s golden age, the city’s stars were world-famous and icons throughout Asia. Hong Kong’s silver screen beauties were famous not just for their stunning looks but for their undeniable talent, too, and the same is true of their male counterparts who were adored for their good looks and respected for their acting ability.
Here are seven of the most notable icons from this era.
