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"Anthony Wong...he's quite possibly the angriest man in Hong Kong." -- Simon Yam
Wong Chau-Sang was born on September 2, 1961. He never did all that well in school, mostly because he was constantly teased about being "only" half-Chinese. Despite his bad grades, he did graduate high school in 1982 and went to a radio and television actor's school, making 25 TV appearances (mostly in small roles) in the two years he studied there. Next, he attended the Hong Kong Artist School, leaving in 1988 to go back to television. Wong got his first starring role in 1990, which led to film offers.
Since then, Anthony Wong has become one of Hong Kong's most popular and versatile actors, noted for his ability to metamorphize into radically different roles. Unlike many actors, Wong is not very worried about his personal appearance and will go to many extremes (such as shaving his head, wearing unflattering makeup or gaining up to 30 pounds, as he did for Armageddon) to give a more realistic portrayal of the characters he plays.
Probably best known in the west for his role as Johnny Wong in John Woo's Hard-Boiled, Wong has made quite a few movies playing either cops or gangsters. But he is also known by many as "The King of Category III" because of his roles in many controversial ultra-violent films, such as The Untold Story (for which he won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor). Like many other popular HK stars, Wong has also tried his hand at directing, with 1994's New Tenant. Wong is also an accomplished musician; his band has made two albums, though due to their lyrical content, they have been banned in China and most of Hong Kong.
In 1997, it looked as if Wong was going to retire from acting (rumors were wildly circulating that he was either sick, had marital problems, or was going to concentrate more on his music career) but he made a triumphant return to the screen with 1998's Beast Cops.