5 Greatest Hong Kong TV Stars
When thinking about television across the world, most people’s minds go straight to Hollywood, but there are plenty of countries worldwide that have been able to establish a strong television presence. This includes Hong Kong, which has produced a lot of memorable shows and characters over the years that fans have come to know and love.
Through networks including RTV and TVB, there have been a lot of television stars in Hong Kong through all genres of entertainment. Let’s take a look at some of the stars that have been produced, picking out the very greatest that Hong Kong has had to offer. While some have had major careers in film, they’re still known as fantastic TV stars.
Charmaine Sheh
Charmaine Sheh is thought to be one of Hong Kong’s greatest television actresses of her time. Sheh has starred in a ton of Chinese television series since her contract with TVB began in 1998.
She’s known for her role in series such as Return of the Cuckoo, War and Beauty, Maiden’s’ Vow, Can’t Buy Me Love, and most recently The Legend of Xiao Chuo. She has been nominated for countless awards, winning three times for favorite female character at the TVB Anniversary Awards.
Maggie Shiu
Born in 1965, Maggie Shiu rose to popularity in the mid-1980s when she joined TVB and immediately started landing roles in shows including “Take Care, Your Highness!” and continued to be a big name throughout the rest of the decade and into the 1990s and beyond. Some of her most recognizable work throughout her career in television has included “New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre”, “Crime Fighters” and “Virtues of Harmony” just to name a few.
Shiu has been nominated for several awards throughout her career, including TVB Anniversary Awards for favorite television character and best actress. Shiu has even received plenty of film work throughout her career, too, starring in movies such as “Eye in the Sky”, “Breaking News” and “Election”, all of which earned her nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress.
Anthony Wong
Anthony Wong is mostly known for his cinematic roles in films that include “The Untold Story”, “Beast Cops” and “Still Human” (all of which have earned him the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor), though he has spent plenty of time on the small screen. Born as Anthony Perry in Hong Kong in 1961 to a British father and Hong Kong native mother, he adopted the name Anthony Wong prior to his acting career.
Wong made his television debut in 1989 with the production of “War of the Dragon”, and over the next few years had several smaller roles. It wasn’t until the 2000s when his film career had taken off that he started landing more prominent TV roles. Some of his more recent work on the small screen include “Kung Fu Soccer”, “Eight Heroes” and “Lord of Shanghai”, while also earning a win at the Asian Television Awards for Best Actor for “The Republic”.
Roger Kwok
Hong Kong-born Roger Kwok is one of the most successful television actors to come out of Hong Kong. Well known for his work with the TVB station in television series like Square Pegs, The Royal Swordsmen, The Season of Fate, Black Heart White Soul, and most recently Big White Duel ll.
Thanks to Square Pegs, Kwok quickly rose to stardom after years in the business. His work on Square Pegs, Black Heart White Soul, and Life Made Simple allowed him to become one of three talented actors to have been nominated and won the award for Best Actor three times at the TVB Anniversary Awards.
Daniel Wu
Though he was born in the United States (Berkeley, California specifically), Daniel Wu is based almost entirely out of Hong Kong. While in his mid-20s, Wu made his acting debut in the 1998 film “Bishonen” and has gone on to star in more than five dozen films. This includes American productions including “Tomb Raider” and “Geostorm” in recent years.
As for his television career, Wu is best known for starring in the series “Into the Badlands”. Since then, he has starred in shows including “Skylanders Academy”, “Westworld” and “American-Born Chinese”. It has been a fascinating career for Wu, who has been nominated for (and won) several awards for his work in Hong Kong and China, including Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Horse Awards.