Taiwanese actor, director and writer
Dick Wei (Chinese: 狄威, born Tu Jilong 涂吉龍; born April 15, 1953) is a Taiwanese actor, director and writer who specializes in martial arts and action films.
Early life and career
Dick Wei was born Tu Jilong in the town of Pingtung in southern Taiwan.[1] He is of Hakka ancestry. He began studying martial arts in Junior High School, going on to win numerous competitions.[2] He later served in the Taiwanese army, attaining the rank of captain, and was an instructor in unarmed combat, especially Tae Kwon Do.[3] Prior his movie career, he also worked as a combat instructor for the Taiwanese police force.[4] His first films were made while he was still in the army; most were low budget Taiwanese productions. His earlier movie appearances tended to be quite brief and he often played supporting or tertiary roles.
Discovery
While operating a martial arts studio in Taipei, he was spotted by Chang Cheh who persuaded him to have a screen test which was shown to Sir Run Run Shaw. Impressed with the footage, Shaw signed him with the Shaw Brothers and he relocated to Hong Kong in 1977. Under the stage name "Tu Lung", he made several martial arts films with the studio including Five Deadly Venoms (1978), The Avenging Eagle (1978), Kid with the Golden Arm (1979), and The Kid With a Tattoo (1980).
In the early 1980s, he moved to Golden Harvest where he joined Sammo Hung's team of actors and stuntmen. Starring in films many of which were helmed by Hung, Dick Wei became known for playing villainous roles such as Suen in The Prodigal Son (1981), pirate king Lor Sam Pau in Project A (1983), and mountain bandit number 6 in Millionaires Express (1986). He also trained actresses Joyce Godenzi for her role in Eastern Condors, and Michelle Yeoh when the latter first began making martial arts movies.
Later roles and directing
In 1989, Wei starred in and was action director for the film Dragon Fight.[5] In 1991, he made his directional debut with the action film Visa to Hell and then, in 1994, directed the crime film, A Killing Order.[6][7] He starred in and choreographed both projects.
Dissatisfied that he was constantly typecast as villains by Hong Kong film companies and directors, Dick Wei eventually returned to Taiwan where he turned his hand to directing and producing. He continued to work in Taiwanese television and starred in a number of movies, including some made-for-television. The early to mid-2000s saw a rapid decline in his film appearances and eventually, a complete stop altogether. It would not be until 2013 that he would star in another major film project, Hung Yan-yan's 7 Assassins, appearing alongside several veteran actors from the Golden Generation of Hong Kong cinema such as Felix Wong.[8] The following years saw Dick Wei's steady return to filmmaking in which he starred primarily in action or martial arts films from Taiwan and mainland China, some of which were exclusively streamed via online platforms. He would also return to directing; in 2016, he directed and starred alongside Tony Liu and Chen Kuan-tai in a loose reboot of the 1980 film Encounters of the Spooky Kind.[9] As of 2023, his most recent appearance was in the 2020 martial arts film, Chinese People The Soul of Wushu.
