Michael Wong (actor)
American actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Fitzgerald Wong a.k.a. Wong Man-tak (Chinese: 王敏德; pinyin: Wáng Mǐndé; born 16 April 1965) is a Chinese-American actor based in Hong Kong.
Michael Wong | |
|---|---|
Michael Wong in 2013. | |
| Born | Michael Fitzgerald Wong April 16, 1965 Troy, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Agent | Shaw Brothers Studio (2018–present) |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Spouse |
Janet Ma (m. 1992) |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Russell Wong (brother) |
He is fluent in English, but not in Chinese, which is reflected in many of the characters he has portrayed. His most notable film is the 1998 film Beast Cops which won a Hong Kong Film Award with Wong in the lead role. As of 2004, he has appeared in over fifty films in twenty-one years, often in very minor roles.
Michael Wong was born and raised in Troy, New York, the son of restaurateur, William Wong, and an American artist of Dutch and French descent, Connie Van Yserloo. His brothers, Russell Wong and Declan Wong, would also become actors in the Hong Kong film industry. After finishing high school, he left to go to Hong Kong to try his luck in acting.
There were a number of significant factors against Wong's eventual success in the Hong Kong film industry including an inability to speak Cantonese Chinese, no formal training in acting and no background in martial arts. He also lacked an entry into the tightly knit in the Hong Kong film industry.
His debut was in 1985's City Hero, then in 1986 he was cast in his first major role, Legacy of Rage alongside Brandon Lee. His next significant film was Royal Warriors a.k.a. In the Line of Duty, which established his dominant image for the first part of his career as a naive but tough outsider.
He made his English language movie debut in James Hong's The Vineyard in 1989.
Final Option, released in 1994, would make Wong a major star in the Chinese film industry. Playing the role of a police officer, Stone Wong, he established a tougher image.
In 1995, he starred alongside Jackie Chan in Thunderbolt.
In 1996, he reappeared as Stone Wong in the prequel First Option for which he would be nominated for both a Hong Kong Film Award[1] and a Golden Horse Award.[2] Also that year, Wong starred in the Canadian TV production Once A Thief directed by John Woo.
His starring role in Beast Cops, which won a 1998 Best Film prize at the Hong Kong film awards, further consolidated his position. Also that year he acted with Shannon Lee in Enter the Eagles, and played the role of a detective in the Jean-Claude Van Damme film, Knock Off.
In 2000, Wong made his debut as a director in Miles Apart, which he also produced and starred in. He has continued to work in the Hong Kong film industry, though more often as a supporting player rather than a leading man, in productions such as Cold War, Skiptrace and Triple Threat.
In the 2002 movie New Option, he reprised the role of Stone Wong.
In 2006, Wong re-entered the music scene by performing "big band" music accompanied by a 10 piece band with the likes of "Come Fly with Me".
Wong married Hong Kong supermodel Janet Ma in 1992 and they had two daughters, Kayla Wong and Irisa Shannon Wong, and one son, Kadin Miles Wong.
Wong is a keen helicopter enthusiast, having held a pilot's license since 1998.[3] In 2008, he was serving a term as President of the Hong Kong Helicopter Club.[4]
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