Wong was born Anthony William Perry on 2 September 1961[5] to a Hong Kong Chinese mother Wong Juen-yee,[6] and an English father, Frederick William Perry, who served with the Royal Air Force during World War II and later as a colonial officer. Frederick Perry walked out on the family when Wong was four,[6] so he lived with his mother "in the staircase of a pre-war building in Wan Chai" until he was sent to live with various relatives for two years while his mother "held down three jobs."[6] He kept in touch with his father through letters until they lost contact when he was 12 years old, and he knew that he had three older half-siblings from his father's marriage.[7] He met his half-brothers in 2018.[6]
In his acting career, Wong's established a reputation for openly critiquing the Hong Kong film industry and its practices, actors' performances and pop culture in interviews and his personal microblog. In some of those critiques, he revealed his experiences of being bullied and discriminated against—for being a "mixed race foreigner" and "during the 1960s, English-Chinese mixed race people like me were regarded as bastards" and for being born outside Hong Kong—while growing up in Hong Kong and during the early years of his acting career.[8][9]
During his late teens, Wong moved to the United Kingdom to attend a college of further education.[9] He returned to Hong Kong to attend a training course in hairdressing until he quit to join Asia Television's (ATV) training programme when he was 21.[8]
Career
After completing ATV's training programme, he continued his training at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.[9] He had stated in an interview that his mixed ethnicity initially caused him to be typecast as a villain, due to institutionalised racism in the Hong Kong film industry during this period.[10] He, however, won a Hong Kong Film Award for his performance as the real-life serial killer Huang Zhiheng, who made meat buns from his victims' flesh, in The Untold Story in 1993.
In the following years, Wong appeared in a wide range of genre films including Rock n' Roll Cop, Hard Boiled, The Heroic Trio, Infernal Affairs, The Mission and The Medallion. He had also several appearances in the popular Young and Dangerous film series as Tai Fei; a rival Triad gangster to Ekin Cheng's character Chan Ho-nam, an ambitious Triad gangster, whom Tai Fei eventually befriends.
In 1995, Wong made his directorial debut with The New Tenant.
In 2014, Wong made his culinary debut in Dinner Confidential, where he would prepare one dish out of a table d'hote candle-lit dinner menu for guests.[citation needed]
In 2015, Wong became the first Hong Kong actor to have won the best lead actor role award in TV and movies when he won 2015 TVB Anniversary Awards for Best Actor and Best Drama for Lord of Shanghai, marking his triumphant return to TVB. He also became the first Hong Kong actor to have won Best Actor awards in films, stage theatre and TV. He also became the first Hong Kong actor to ever win TVB's Best Actor award on his first nomination.
In May 2020, Wong travelled to Taiwan for his role in the Public Television Service (PTS) drama Heaven on the Fourth Floor.[11]
Personal life
Wong married Jane Ng Wai-zing in 1996 and they have two sons, Wong Yat-yat (born 1996) and Ulysses Wong (born 1998).[7] Wong is taking care of his mother who now has dementia,[12] while his sons now live outside of Hong Kong. In June 2018, it was revealed that he had a son named William (born 1998), with a woman known only as "Joyce" who is the niece of veteran actor and producer John Shum.[13]
In March 2018, Wong met his half-brothers, twins John William and David Frederick Perry, after a BBC story[14] on Wong's search for his family was published.[15] He also has a half-sister, Vera Ann. His father died in 1988 in Australia, where he and his first family settled after they left Hong Kong. His half-siblings did not know of Wong's existence until the BBC story was produced.[6]
In a 2005 interview with Star eCentral, Wong stated that amongst his prolific output during the 1980s and the 1990s, a considerable number of films he appeared in were "terrible."[16] However, he does not regret making those films, as he needed the money to support his family.[16]
Wong is a supporter of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, a series of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.[17] This has reportedly led to limited acting opportunities for him in mainland China.[17][18] He has also voiced support for the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.[19][20]
Wong travelled to Taiwan in May 2020, which fuelled speculation that he was moving to the island. However, Wong later revealed he was there for a filming commitment, nonetheless describing Taiwan's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as "excellent" and expressing interest in staying long term.[11][21] On 18 April 2021, Wong was approved for an Employment Gold Card, allowing him to work in Taiwan without needing to apply in advance. It also allows him to receive tax incentives and National Health Insurance.[22]
^Daniel O'Brien Spooky Encounters: A Gwailo's Guide to Hong Kong Horror 2003 -- Page 155 "The biggest 'star' to work in this disreputable field is undoubtedly Anthony Wong Chau-sang. Best known to Hong Kong action fans as the lead villain in John Woo's Hard Boiled, Wong gave an award-winning performance in The Untold Story, ."
^Botang Zhuo, Tong Cheuk Pak Hong Kong New Wave Cinema: (1978-2000) - 2008 Page 194 "Cheung, a senior police, is actually a traitor, working in complicity with Anthony Wong. ... Besides being in complicity with Anthony Wong, he also frequently made use of his position to interfere with Lee Sau-yin's movements, in order to enable ..."
^Gina Marchetti Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs: The Trilogy -2007 Page 151- "Anthony Wong plays Tung who bridges both sides of the law in Gordon Chan and Dante Lam's Beast Cops (1998), and he won the 1999 Hong Kong Film Award for best actor for that role. Thus, the revelation that SP Wong is literally in bed ...
^Linda Williams The erotic thriller in contemporary cinema 2005- Page 389 "A prolific action figure such as Anthony Wong, for instance, is able to star in the exemplary Cat III violent shocker The Untold Story (a Sweeny Toddesque tale of everyday cannibalism - he even got a Hong Kong Film Award for the role) or the ..."
^"香港電影評論學會大獎 張繼聰首奪影帝 鄭秀文隔22年再封影后" [Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Zhang Jicong won Best Actor for the first time, Sammi Cheng won Best Actress again after 22 years]. HK01 News. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anthony Wong.
