Acting

Leslie Cheung

Born 1956-09-12 · Hong Kong, British Crown Colony

Cheung Kwok-Wing (Chinese: 張國榮, English name: Leslie, September 12, 1956 – April 1, 2003) was a Hong Kong Canadian singer and actor. Born in Hong Kong, Leslie Cheung moved to the United Kingdom in 1971, settling in Leeds, where he enrolled at university to study fashion design. After completing his studies, he returned to Hong Kong and, in 1977, took part in an amateur singing competition—the ATV Asian Music Contest—where he won second prize. The following year, he released his first album, I Like Dreaming. He soon began appearing on television and quickly landed his first film role in Erotic Dreams of the Red Chamber (1978), an erotic production that Cheung himself later described as a “shameful disaster.” Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent pioneers that shaped the identity of Cantopop during the 1980s. His studio albums Summer Romance (1987) and Most Beloved (1995) each sold over 300,000 copies and are among the best-selling albums of all time in the territory. In addition to music, Cheung achieved pan-Asian fame with such films as A Better Tomorrow (1986) and A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). He won the Best Actor at the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Days of Being Wild (1990). His venture into acting in the 1990s was recognized for his portrayal of queer characters in the then-conservative film industry, he was one of the few Hong Kong actors willing to take on gay roles—such as in Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together—or to play a cross-dressing opera performer in Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1993. Leslie Cheung died by suicide on April 1, 2003, at the age of 46, by jumping from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. In the note he left behind, he stated that he had been suffering from depression.

Acting credits

7.9

In an epic tale of theater, gender, love and class, two Beijing opera actors navigate political turmoil as their friendship evolves over decades.

Farewell My Concubine

1993

7.4

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

A Better Tomorrow

1986

7.3

A naïve young tax collector for the imperial government winds up spending the night in a haunted temple. There he falls in love with a beautiful woman who, unfortunately, is dead. With the aid of a powerful Daoist Swordsman, he must defeat undead hordes, overcome a sinister Tree Demoness, and descend to the pits of hell, to fight for the spirit he loves.

A Chinese Ghost Story

1987

7.3

Yuddy, a Hong Kong playboy known for breaking girls' hearts, tries to find solace and truth after discovering the woman who raised him isn't his mother.

Days of Being Wild

1990

6.8

Struggling director Sing is forced to make a Category III film for a triad boss who wants his girlfriend to star, leading to conflicts over artistic integrity, nudity, and his relationship with his own girlfriend.

Viva Erotica

1996

6.8

Three orphans grow up to become art thieves under the tutelage of a crime boss. Romance complicates matters when the trio are double-crossed.

Once a Thief

1991

7.1

A restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter.

A Better Tomorrow II

1987

6.8

After escaping false imprisonment, Ling Choi-San crosses paths with a pair of rebellious women. Though mourning the loss of his ghostly love, his broken heart must heal in a hurry in order to face a new series of paranormal encounters and adventures.

A Chinese Ghost Story II

1990

6.6

Within a few years, petty crook Chiu rises to gang leader. But his professional ambitions are actually quite different: he wants to leave illegality behind and make a career for himself and his lover in Canada... as a chef. However, this craft must first be learned and Chiu's talent in the field of cooking leaves much to be desired.

The Chinese Feast

1995

7.6

A couple travels from Hong Kong to Argentina to revive their relationship but experience turbulence when both men's lives drift in separate directions.

Happy Together

1997

7.1

Ouyang Feng is a heartbroken and cynical man who spends his days in the desert, connecting expert swordsmen with those seeking revenge and willing to pay for it. Throughout five seasons in exile, Ouyang spins tales of his clients' unrequited loves and unusual acts of bravery.

Ashes of Time

1994

7.1

A power struggle between the Queen's treasonous lover and a princess occurs amid musical numbers, slapstick battles, and martial arts acrobatics.

The Eagle Shooting Heroes

1993

6.4

Old Mr. Lo has three sons and the youngest one Lo Kung is his favorite. However, Kung does nothing but fool around all day long. Old Mr. Lo is very annoyed about this. The relationship between father and son is thus affected. So on Kung's birthday, his two brothers decide to play a joke on him. They trick him into believing he has won the lottery. Kung is so happy that he spends a tremendous amount of money. When he realizes he is in huge debt, he pretends to go insane and the whole family believes him.

All's Well, End's Well '97

1997

7.1

Three brothers living with their father fib and play pranks to win parental approval for themselves and their romances.

All's Well, Ends Well

1992

7.4

Amid the opulent teahouses of 1930s Hong Kong, a humble courtesan and the wayward scion of a wealthy family fall in love and embrace death by suicide pact. Fifty years later, her ghost returns to find him, drawing a young contemporary couple into her quest to rekindle a passion that may be as illusory as time itself.

Rouge

1987

6.5

Rick Pang, an IPSC champion who is also a gun expert who tinkers with his pistols to perfect his technique known as 'double tap' which is the terminology where a shooter can place two exact shots in the same spot to maximize marksmanship.

Double Tap

2000

6.5

The sensitive swordsman Cho Yi-Hang is tired of his life. He is the unwilling successor to the Wu-Tang clan throne and the unsure commander of the clan's forces in a war against foreign tribes and an evil cult. One day, he meets the beautiful Lien, a killer for the evil cult who is equally unsatisfied with her situation, but their love angers both the Wu-Tang clan and the evil cult.

The Bride with White Hair

1993

5.8

Hui Man Keung is washed up on a beach near Shanghai. He is taken in by Ding Lik, a kindly beggar who is in love with Fung Ching Ching, the daughter of a prominent gangster. It isn't long before Ding Lik rises through the underworld ranks to become one of the city's most powerful gangsters.

Shanghai Grand

1996

6.7

Set in the decadent 1920s, Temptress Moon tells the very complicated story of a wealthy family living on the outskirts of Shanghai. Their youngest daughter, Ruyi, is brought up as a servant to her opium-addicted father and brother. Meanwhile, her brother-in-law Zhongliang has a successful, if illegal, career seducing and blackmailing married women in the city. When he comes to Ruyi's home the two fall in love, and trouble ensues.

Temptress Moon

1996

7.0

Wing is a devoted fan of popular singer Rose who is involved in a topsy-turvy relationship with her charismatic producer Sam. Willing to go to any length to meet Rose, the willowy Wing disguises herself as a man, and with a twist of fate is chosen to be the next budding star for the record company.

He's a Woman, She's a Man

1994

5.8

Developer Tsang Siu Chi and his agent have bought two of a group of four properties. Rival developer Boss Hung has secured the other two. Both aim to buy all four so they can knock them down and build hotels.

The Banquet

1991

6.2

Chow Tung is a licentious man who was arranged to get married along with his ugly sister Gut to partners not of their choice. Chow, being a filial son, agrees to go along with his mother's plans. The plot thickens when Chow meets the beautiful Snow White and decides to marry her of which Matriarch Chow agrees whole-heartedly.

All's Well End's Well, Too

1993

5.8

Music producer Sam and his cross-dressing protege Wing have finally professed their love for another, but now what?

Who's the Woman, Who's the Man?

1996

6.8

Hitomi still mourns her fiance who died in a car crash. One day, during a visit to Hong Kong, she bumps into Karbo who looks uncannily like him. Karbo, however, is a fugitive from the police.

Moonlight Express

1999

Behind the camera

7.0

He's a Woman, She's a Man

1994

6.2

In 1936 China, a nearly bankrupt drama troupe starts performing in a burned-out theater where the great actor Song Danping was killed. One of the actors, Wei Qing, starts seeing strange apparitions that could revive his troupe and deliver him to the same fate as Song Danping.

The Phantom Lover

1995

7.0

A dad and a mom, who both devote themselves to working, turn to smoking as the only way to release the emotional pressure. Their kid gets surrounded by second-hand smoke every day and eventually gets cancer.