Stephen Chow (周星馳; Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōu Xīngchí; Cantonese Romanization: Chow Sing Chi) (born June 22 1962) is a Hong Kong actor and director, and considered to be a king of comedy.

Stephen Chow was born in Shanghai, China. Before he launched his career in film, he was a host of a popular children's programme in Hong Kong, 430 Space Shuttle.

He is famous for a brand of humour called "mo lei tau" (無厘頭), which approximately means "nonsense" or "no brained".

His movies often portray an underachiever (All of a Winner (賭聖), Fight Back to School, From China With Love (國產零零漆) and The God of Cookery (食神)). He also uses contemporary humour in a period setting (Flirting Scholar (唐伯虎點秋香); Justice, My Foot (審死官)).

He makes frequent use of euphemism and double entendres in the Cantonese language, and thus some of his earlier films may be less enjoyable to a non-Cantonese speaker. Recent films have begun to focus on comedic action and special effects sequences instead, to appeal to a wider international audience.

One of his more serious films is A Chinese Odyssey (大話西遊), loosely based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. It was a box-office smash hit when it was shown in Hong Kong's cinema, it has developed a cult following in Mainland China.

One of his best-known films is Shaolin Soccer, which makes use of special effects and is directed by Chow himself. Kung Fu Hustle, released at the end of 2004, is also directed by Chow and in February 2005 surpassed Shaolin Soccer as the highest grossing Hong Kong-made movie in Hong Kong.

Trivia

• There is always an ugly cross dressing character in cameo appearance in his films, and the role is always portrayed by Lee Kin-yan (李健仁), a personal friend.
• Chow often collabrated with Lee Lik-chee (李力持) and Vincent Kok (谷德昭), both actors and directors, in the early stage of his career.
• Chow is a big fan of Bruce Lee, and his films often contain references and homages to the martial artist star.

Quote

• "一個字 — 絕!" (One word — Wordless!)
• "你估我唔到!" (You cannot be able to guess my moves!), from the God of Cookery (食神)
• "你睇我唔到!" (You cannot be able to see me!), from All In a Winner (賭聖)

Filmography, as actor, includes

• Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
• Shaolin Soccer (2001)
• The Tricky Master (1999)
• The King of Comedy (1999)
• Gorgeous (1999)
• The Lucky Guy (1998)
• Lawyer Lawyer (1997)
• All's Well, Ends Well 1997 (1997)
• God of Cookery (1996)
• Forbidden City Cop (1996) (USA)
• Sixty Million Dollar Man (1995)
• Out of the Dark (1995)
• From Beijing with Love (1994)
• Hail the Judge (1994)
• King of Destruction (1994)
• A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella (1994)
• A Chinese Odyssey (1994)
• Mad Monk (1993)
• Flirting Scholar (1993)
• Fight Back to School III (1993)
• My Hero 2 (1993)
• All's Well, Ends Well (1992)
• Royal Tramp II (1992)
• Royal Tramp (1992)
• Justice, My Foot (1992)
• Fight Back to School II (1992)
• King of Beggars (1992)
• Fist of Fury 1991 II (1992)
• God of Gamblers II (1991)
• Top Bet (1991)
• (1991)
• The Gods Must Be Crazy III (1991)
• Magnificent Scoundrels (1991)
• Fight Back to School (1991)
• Tricky Brains (1991)
• Fist of Fury II (1991)
• Triad Story (1990)
• Legend of Dragon (1990)
• Lung Fung Restaurant (1990)
• Look Out, Officer! (1990)
• Love Is Love (1990)
• When Fortune Smiles (1990)
• My Hero (1990)
• All for the Winner (1990)
• Sleazy Dizzy (1990)
• Curry and Pepper (1990)
• The Unmatchable Match (1989)
• Thunder Cops II (1989)
• Tragic Heroes (1989)
• Dragon Fight (1988)
• Final Justice (1988)
• Faithfully Yours (1988)
• 430 Space Shuttle (1983)

See also

• Cinema of Hong Kong
• Cinema of mainland China
• Cinema of the Republic of China

External links

• Stephen Chow at the Hong Kong Movie Database