Sean Lau


Sean Lau Ching-wan is a Hong Kong actor who has acted in both films and television series. He won Best Actor in the 2007 and 2015 Hong Kong Film Awards and in the 2000 and 2007 Golden Bauhinia Awards.

Career

Lau was born in Hong Kong in 1964. He joined the TVB acting classes in 1983 and made his first appearance on television in the following year in the drama Draw Out the Rainbow. Dark-skinned with no matinee-idol look, he struggled with minor roles until the immensely popular stock market drama The Greed of Man, where he first achieved his leading man status, and acted opposite Adam Cheng. His wife, Amy Kwok, who won the Miss Hong Kong Pageant in 1991, is also a well-known former television actress and co-starred with him on The Greed of Man. Lau starred in two series with ATV in 1991 and again in 2000.
Lau made his film debut in 1986 and since then has been cast in numerous roles. His critically acclaimed roles include acting opposite Anita Yuen as a down-and-out musician in C'est la vie, mon chéri and in a number of cop thrillers, such as Big Bullet, Full Alert, The Longest Nite, Running out of Time, Running Out of Time 2 and Mad Detective. He is considered one of Hong Kong's most versatile actors, known for his comedic roles as well, such as in La Brassiere and Three of a Kind.

Filmography

Television series

Film

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleRoleNotes
1986Silent Love聽不到的說話Kelly Mak
1988Set Me Free!我要逃亡
1988Police Story 2警察故事續集CID in restaurant
1989Live Hard鐵膽雄風Fai / Chief
1989My Dear Son我要富貴Maddy
1991The Roar of the Vietnamese越青Fan Wan-tin
1992Angel Hunter女校風雲之邪教入侵Jack Chow Man-kit
1992The Happy Massage Girls快樂按摩女郎
1992Tulips in August八月鬱金香
1992The Shootout危險情人Liu
1993Thou Shalt Not Swear七月十四Chow's sidekick
1993C'est la vie, mon chéri新不了情Kit
1993Executioners現代豪俠傳Tak
1993The Gods Must Be Crazy IV香港也瘋狂 / 非洲先生Johnalternative title: Crazy Hong Kong
1993'水滸傳之英雄本色Tso Wu
1993Pink Bomb人生得意衰盡歡Daniel
1994'拆彈專家寶貝炸彈Peter Chan
1994I Wanna Be Your Man!!!神探磨轆 / 聰明笨探Liu Che-mo
1994The Most Wanted龍虎新風雲Black Cat / Ho Chi-yung
1994Don't Shoot Me, I'm Just a Violinist!山雞變鳳凰Mozart
1994Oh! My Three Guys三個相愛的少年Ching Yu-hoi
1994Beginner's Luck運財童子 / 狂賭一族出頭天Mark
1994Tears and Triumph昨夜長風Xie Shi-wen
1994The Tragic Fantasy - Tiger of Wanchai醉生夢死的灣仔之虎Deealternative title: The Tragic Fantasy - Tiger of Waichai
1994Return to a Better Tomorrow新英雄本色Lobster Tsui
1994Shanghai Fever股瘋Alan Tam
1994The Third Full Moon正月十五之一生一世Inspector Lau
1994Hello! Who Is It?喂，搵邊位？Officer Ma Fai
1994I've Got You, Babe!!! 播種情人Charcoal Lau
1994It's a Wonderful Life大富之家Hou Chung
1995Sea Root海根 / 後現代男女Sea Root
1995The Golden Girls山水有相逢Chun Wai
1995Romantic Dream追女仔95之綺夢Hung Chi-lung
1995Loving You無味神探Lau Chun-hoi
1995Once in a Lifetime終身大事Kei-on
1995Happy Hour歡樂時光Chong Tsang
1995Tricky Business整蠱王Ko Hing
1995Mother of a Different Kind不一樣的媽媽Cheung Hung
1995Mack the Knife流氓醫生Chiualternative title: Dr. Mack
1995Only Fools Fall in Love呆佬拜壽 / 新威龍闖天關—傻瓜與野丫頭Chiu Ford
1995New Tenant新房客JoeCameo
1995The World of Treasure富貴人間Lion Dancer
  • alternative title: Land of Treasure
  • Cameo
1996Viva Erotica色情男女 / 聲色男女Yee Tung-sing
1996Black Mask黑俠Shek Wai-ho
1996Muto Bontie摩登菩呢提 / 錯體陽謀Lam Chak-chi
1996Big Bullet衝鋒隊─怒火街頭 / EU衝鋒隊Sergeant Bill Chualternative title: EU Strike Force
1996Tristar大三元Lau Ching-fatt
1996Beyond Hypothermia攝氏32度Long
1997Full Alert高度戒備Inspector Pao
1997Too Many Ways to Be No. 1一個字頭的誕生Kau
1997Final Justice最後判決Father Li Chi-ho
1997Lifeline十萬火急 / 烈火雄心119Chief Yau Sui
1997My Dad Is a Jerk!對不起，多謝你Li Lap-cheong
1998A Hero Never Dies真心英雄Martin
1998Expect the Unexpected非常突然Sam
1998Step Into the Dark夜半無人屍語時Dr. Care Kwan
1998The Longest Nite暗花 / 暗花之殺人條件Tonyalternative title: The Longest Night
1999The Victim目露凶光Manson Ma
1999The H.K. TriadO記三合會檔案Hoalternative title: The Hong Kong Triad
1999Where a Good Man Goes再見阿郎Michael Cheung
1999Running Out of Time暗戰Inspector Ho Sheung-sang
2001Lunch with Charles與查理斯午餐Tong
2001Running Out of Time 2暗戰2Inspector Ho Sheung-sang
2001La Brassiere絕世好BraJohnny
2002Fat Choi Spirit嚦咕嚦咕新年財Ching Wan
2002Mighty Baby絕世好BJohnny Hung
2002My Left Eye Sees Ghosts我左眼見到鬼Ken Wong / Sam Wong
20031:99 Shorts1:99 電影行動 / 一比九十九電影行動alternative title: 1:99 Short Film Series
2003Lost in Time忘不了Hale
2003Good Times, Bed Times戀上你的床Magistrate Raymond
2003Colour of the Truth黑白森林7 Up
2004Three of a Kind煎釀三寶Frankie
2004The Attractive One身驕肉貴Hugo
2004Driving Miss Wealthy絕世好賓 / 窈窕淑女Mario
2004Itchy Heart七年很癢 / 7年很癢Poon Chi-man
2004Fantasia鬼馬狂想曲Director Man
2005Himalaya Singh喜馬拉亞星Panic
2006The Shopaholics最愛女人購物狂 / 購物狂Choosey Lee Kan-yan
2006My Name is Fame我要成名Poon Kar-fai
2007Mad Detective神探Chan Kwai-bun
2009Overheard竊聽風雲Johnny Leungalternative title: Wiretap
2009Written By再生號Tony Tong
2009Poker King撲克王Uno
2011Life Without Principle奪命金Pantheralternative title: Death of a Hostage
2011Overheard 2竊聽風雲2Manson Lo Man-sang
2012The Fairy Tale Killer追凶 / 完美童話 / 索命童話Inspector Wong Wai-hanalternative title: Perfect Fairy Tale
2012The Great Magician大魔術師General Lei
2012The Bullet Vanishes消失的子彈Inspector Song Donglualternative title: Ghost Bullets / Disappeared Bullets / Lost Bullets
2013Out of Inferno逃出生天 / 逃出生天3DMak Tai-kwanalternative title: Inferno 3D
2013The White Storm掃毒 / 變役Ma Ho-tinalternative title: Metamorphosis / The Cartel War
2014Overheard 3竊聽風雲3Luk Kam-keung
2015Insanity暴瘋語Fan Kwok-sang
2015Tale of Three Cities三城記Fang Daolong
2015The Vanished Murderer消失的兇手Song Donglualternative title: The Bullet Vanishes 2 / The Murderer Vanishes
2016Call of Heroes危城 / 危城殲霸Yang Kenanalternative title: The Deadly Reclaim
2016Heartfall Arises驚心破 / 驚天破Calvin Che
2017Dealer/Healer毒。誡Chan Wah
2019'My Pet is an Elephant我的寵物是大象Qi WeiPost-production
2019Integrity廉政風雲 煙幕Chan King-Chi
TBDWarriors of Future明日戰記Post-production
TBDSons of the Neon Night風林火山Post-production
TBDCold Detective神探大戰Post-production
TBDShock Wave 2''拆彈專家2Tung Cheuk-manPost-production

Dubbing

Lau has also done voiceover work for films:
YearEnglish titleOriginal titleRoleNotes
1994Over the Rainbow, Under the Skirt記得香蕉成熟時II初戀情人Narratoralternative title: Yesterday You, Yesterday Me II
1997Yesterday You, Yesterday Me記得…香蕉成熟時3為妳鍾情Yeung Shing-bo at 32Voice
1999Toy Story 2Buzz LightyearHong Kong version
2002'黑俠 IIWolf
  • alternative title: Black Mask II
  • Cantonese voice
2003Finding NemoMarlinHong Kong version
2004'GarfieldHong Kong version
2006GarfieldHong Kong version
2007The Secret of the Magic Gourd寶葫蘆的秘密 / 魔法小葫蘆Magic Gourdalternative title: The Magic Gourd
2009Garfield's Pet ForceGarfieldHong Kong version
2010Toy Story 3Buzz LightyearHong Kong version
2011The Lost Bladesman關雲長Cao CaoHong Kong version
2016Finding DoryMarlinHong Kong version
2017The Lego Batman MovieBruce Wayne / BatmanHong Kong version

Host

YearEventNotes
201635th Hong Kong Film AwardsMaster of ceremonies

Awards and nominations

Lau has won Best Actor Awards at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards in 1997, 2001, 2011, 2014 and the Golden Bauhinia Awards in 1999 and 2007. He also won his first Best Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2007 for his performance in the film, My Name is Fame. He won his first Golden Horse Award in 2012 for his performance in Life Without Principle.
YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
199414th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorThou Shalt Not Swear
199414th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorC'est la vie, mon chéri
199616th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorBig Bullet
199717th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorFull Alert
1997Hong Kong Film Critics Society AwardsBest ActorFull Alert
199818th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorThe Longest Nite
199919th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorThe Victim
199936th Golden Horse AwardsBest ActorThe Victim
1999Golden Bauhinia AwardsBest ActorThe Victim
1999Golden Bauhinia AwardsBest ActorWhere a Good Man Goes
2001Hong Kong Film Critics Society AwardsBest ActorLa Brassiere
200323rd Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorLost in Time
200626th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorMy Name is Fame
2006Golden Bauhinia AwardsBest ActorMy Name is Fame
200727th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorMad Detective
200929th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorOverheard
201131st Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorLife Without Principle
201131st Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorOverheard 2
201249th Golden Horse AwardsBest ActorLife Without Principle
201255th Asia Pacific Film FestivalBest ActorLife Without Principle
201451st Golden Horse AwardsBest ActorThe White Storm
201521st Hong Kong Film Critics Society AwardsBest ActorOverheard 3
201534th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorOverheard 3
201534th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest ActorInsanity