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Biografi
Sammo Hung (born January 7, 1952) is a
Hong Kong actor,
martial artist,
producer and
director, known for his work in many
kung fu films and
Hong Kong action cinema. He has been a
fight choreographer for, amongst others,
Bruce Lee,
Jackie Chan,
King Hu, and
John Woo.
Hung is one of the pivotal figures who spearheaded the
Hong Kong New Wave movement of the 1980s, helped reinvent the martial arts genre and started the vampire-like
Jiang Shi genre. He is widely credited with assisting many of his compatriots, giving them their starts in the Hong Kong film industry, by casting them in the films he produced, or giving them roles in the production crew.
In East Asia, it is common for people to address their elders or influential people with familial nouns as a sign of familiarity and respect. Jackie Chan, for example, is often addressed as "Dai Goh" (
traditional Chinese:
大哥;
pinyin:
dà gē;
jyutping: daai6 go1), meaning Big Brother. Hung was also known as "Dai Goh", until the filming of
Project A, which featured both actors. As Hung was the eldest of the kung fu "brothers", and the first to make a mark on the industry, he was given the nickname "Dai Goh Dai" (
traditional Chinese:
大哥大;
pinyin:
dà gē dà;
jyutping: daai6 go1 daai6), meaning, Big, Big Brother or Biggest Big Brother.
[1]
The early years
Hung's ancestral hometown is
Ningbo,
Zhejiang Province. Born
Hung Kam Po in
Hong Kong, both of his parents worked as wardrobe artists in the local film industry and guardianship was thrust upon his grandparents. His grandmother was archetypal martial-arts actress
Chin Tsi-ang[2] and his grandfather was film director
Hung Chung-Ho.
Hung joined the China Drama Academy, a
Peking Opera School in Hong Kong, in 1961. He was enrolled for a period of 7 years, beginning at the age of 9, after his grandparents heard about the school from their friends.
[3] The opera school was run by Master
Yu Jim Yuen and as was customary for all students, Hung adopted the given name of his
sifu as his family name whilst attending. Going by the name
Yuen Lung, Hung became the foremost member of the
Seven Little Fortunes (七小福) performing group
[4], and would establish a friendly rivalry with one of the younger students,
Yuen Lo. Yuen Lo would go on to become international superstar
Jackie Chan. At the age of 14, Hung was selected by a teacher who had connections to the Hong Kong film industry to perform stunts on a movie. This brief foray into the industry piqued his interest in film and he took particular interest in the operation of film cameras.
[3] As the eldest of the troupe, Hung would give his opera school brothers pocket money from his earnings, endearing him greatly to his young friends
[5] Shortly before leaving the Academy at the age of 16, Hung suffered an injury that left him bedridden for an extended period, during which time his weight ballooned. After finding work in the film industry as a
stuntman, he was given a nickname after a well-known Chinese cartoon character,
Sam-mo (三毛; Three Hairs).
Many years later, in 1988, Hung starred in
Alex Law's
Painted Faces, a dramatic re-telling of his experiences at the
China Drama Academy. Among the exercises featured in the film are numerous acrobatic backflips, and hours of handstands performed against a wall. Despite some of the more brutal exercises and physical punishments shown in
Painted Faces, Hung and the rest of the
Seven Little Fortunes consider the film a toned-down version of their actual experiences.
Film career
1960s and 1970s
Hung appeared as a child actor in several films for
Cathay Asia and
Bo Bo Films during the early 1960s. His film debut was in the 1961 film
Education of Love.
[4] In 1962, he made his first appearance alongside Jackie Chan in the film
Big and Little Wong Tin Bar, followed by a role in
The Birth of Yue Fei[6], in which he played the ten year old
Yue Fei, the historical figure from the
Song Dynasty who would go on to become a famous Chinese general and
martyr. The majority of Hung's performance was alongside another actor portraying
Zhou Tong, Yue's elderly military arts tutor. In 1966, at the age of just 14, Hung began working for
Shaw Brothers Studio, assisting the
action director Han Yingjie, on
King Hu's film
Come Drink with Me. Between 1966 and 1974, Hung worked on over 30
wuxia films for Shaw Brothers, progressing through the roles of
extra, stuntman,
stunt co-ordinator and ultimately, action director.
In 1970, Hung began working for
Raymond Chow and the
Golden Harvest film company.
[4] He was initially hired to choreograph the action scenes for the very first Golden Harvest film,
The Angry River (1970).
[7] His popularity soon began to grow, and due to the quality of his choreography and disciplined approach to his work, he again caught the eye of celebrated
Taiwanese director, King Hu. Hung choreographed two of Hu's films,
A Touch of Zen (1971) and
The Fate of Lee Khan (1973).
In the same year, Hung went to
South Korea to study the martial art
Hapkido under master
Ji Han Jae.
Also in 1973, he was seen in the
Bruce Lee classic,
Enter the Dragon. Hung was the
Shaolin student Bruce faces in the opening sequence.
Toward the late 1970s, Hong Kong cinema began to shift away from the
Mandarin-language, epic martial arts films popularised by directors such as
Chang Cheh. In a series of films, Hung, along with
Jackie Chan, began reinterpreting the genre by making comedic
Cantonese kung fu. While these films still strongly featured martial arts, it was mixed with a liberal dose of humour.
In 1977, Hung was given his first lead role in a Golden Harvest production, in the film
Shaolin Plot. His next film, released the same year, was also his directorial debut,
The Iron-Fisted Monk, one of the earliest kung fu comedies.
[4]
In 1978, Raymond Chow gave Hung the task of completing the fight co-ordination for the re-shoot of
Game of Death, the film Bruce Lee was unable to complete before his death in 1973.
In 1979, Hung directed his second film, the comedy
Enter the Fat Dragon, for
H.K. Fong Ming Motion Picture Company. He also played the lead role in, a character who idolises and impersonates Bruce Lee.
[4] Hung has impersonated Lee on film twice more - in the final fight scene against
Cynthia Rothrock in
Millionaire's Express (1986).
[7], and throughout the 1990
Lau Kar Wing film
Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon.
After Jackie Chan's success with
Drunken Master (1978), Hung was scheduled to make a similar film featuring
Drunken Master's "Beggar So" character played by
Yuen Siu Tien (aka Simon Yuen). As his elder, Sammo's films were expected to surpass Chan's in popularity. The film was
Magnificent Butcher (1979), which Hung co-directed with
Yuen Woo-ping. However, during filming Yuen Siu Tien died of a heart attack. He was replaced by
Fan Mei Sheng and Yuen's absence may have led to low ticket sales.
1980s
As Hung's fame grew, he used his newly-found influence to assist his former China Drama Academy classmates, as well as the former students of "rival" school,
The Spring and Autumn Drama School. Aside from regular collaborations with Chan, others such as
Yuen Biao,
Yuen Wah,
Lam Ching-Ying and
Mang Hoi also began to make regular appearances in his films.
In 1978 and 1981, Hung made two films that contain fine examples of the
Wing Chun style. The first,
Warriors Two was the most significant role to date for
South Korean super kicker
Casanova Wong, who teamed up with Hung in the final fight. The second film was
The Prodigal Son, in which the Wing Chun fighting was performed by Lam Ching-Ying. The release of
The Prodigal Son, along with another film directed by and co-starring Hung,
Knockabout (1979) also shot his fellow Opera schoolmate
Yuen Biao to stardom.
Hung's martial arts films of the 1980s helped reconfigure how martial arts were presented on screen. While the martial arts films of the 1970s generally featured highly-stylised fighting sequences in
period or fantasy settings, Hung's choreography, set in modern urban areas, was more realistic and frenetic - featuring long one-on-one fight scenes. The fight sequences from several of these films, such as those in
Winners and Sinners (1982) and
Wheels on Meals (1985) came to define 1980s martial arts movies.
In 1983, the collaboration between the triumverate of Hung, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao began with Chan's
Project A. Hung, Chan and Yuen were known as the 'Three Dragons' and their alliance lasted for 5 years. Although Yuen continued to appear in the films of Hung and Chan, the final film to date starring all three was 1988's
Dragons Forever.
Hung was also responsible for the
Lucky Stars comedy film series in the 1980s. He directed and co-starred in the original trilogy,
Winners and Sinners (1983),
My Lucky Stars (1985) and
Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985). These first three films featured Chan and Biao in supporting roles. Hung also
produced and played a supporting role in the fourth film,
Lucky Stars Go Places (1986), and made a cameo appearance in the sixth and final film,
How to Meet the Lucky Stars (1996).
During the 1980s, Hung was instrumental in the creating the genre of
Jiang Shi (
traditional Chinese:
僵屍 or 殭屍; literally "stiff
corpse"), the Jiang Shi being hopping re-animated corpses - a Chinese equivalent to Western vampires. Two landmark films,
Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980) and
The Dead and the Deadly (1983) feature Jiang Shi who move in standing jumps towards their victims, as well as
Taoist priests with the ability to quell these vampires (and at times, each other) through magical spells and charms. These films meld
Chinese folklore with special effects and kung fu action to create a genre that is uniquely Chinese. Hung's Jiang Shi films would pave the way for films such as the popular
Mr. Vampire (1985), which he also produced, and its sequels. He revitalised the sub-genre of female-led kung fu films, producing cop films such as
Yes, Madam aka
Police Assassins (both 1985), which introduced stars
Michelle Yeoh and
Cynthia Rothrock.
1990s
Film
After some relatively poor performances at the domestic box-office, Hung had a dispute with studio head, Raymond Chow. Hung had produced the thriller
Into the Fire (1989), but Hung felt Golden Harvest had withdrawn the film from cinemas too soon. The disagreement led to Hung parting company with Golden Harvest in 1991, after 21 years with the company.
Whilst continuing to produce films through his own company
Bojon Films Company Ltd, Hung failed to equal his early successes. His fortunes improved somewhat as the helmer of "
Mr. Nice Guy" (1997), a long-awaited reunion with Chan.
In 1994, Hung coordinated the fight sequences in
Wong Kar-Wai's
wuxia epic,
Ashes of Time.
Television
In 1998, US television network
CBS began to broadcast
Martial Law (1998–2000) on Saturday nights, a comedy-drama built around Hung. The hour-long shows were a surprise success and installed Hung as the only East Asian headlining a
prime time network series. The
television series was executive produced and occasionally directed by
Stanley Tong, and co-starred
Arsenio Hall. Hung reportedly recited some of his
English dialogue phonetically.
2000s
Film
During 2000-2001, Hung expressed interest in creating a film adaptation of the video game
Soulcalibur. The production agreement for the film was made around April 2001 with an estimated budget of $50 million. Hung had the idea of producing a martial arts epic with
Jackie Chan in the lead role, but the film was never made. Hung's plans were detailed on his website, but after a year the announcement was removed. The film rights have since been acquired by Warren Zide, the producer of
American Pie and
Final Destination.
Hung found renewed success in Hong Kong film industry in the 2000s, beginning with
The Legend of Zu (2001), the long-awaited sequel to the 1983 hit
Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain. In 2004,
Stephen Chow's
Kung Fu Hustle was released. Though
Yuen Woo-ping was credited for the martial arts choreography on
Kung Fu Hustle, Hung actually did the preliminary work but left the film midway through, and Yuen filled in to complete it. Because of his departure from the film, there was tabloid speculation that he and Chow had strong differences over the film, resulting in their separation. Chow has since responded that Hung left for personal reasons and not because of speculated tensions. In 2004, Hung again worked with Jackie Chan, in a brief but notable appearance in
Disney's
Around the World in 80 Days as the legendary folk hero
Wong Fei Hung, a character which, curiously, had been played by Chan himself in the
Drunken Master series.
In 2005, Hung was involved in
Daniel Lee's
Dragon Squad and
Wilson Yip's
SPL: Sha Po Lang (aka
Kill Zone). In the latter, Hung played a villain for the first time in over 25 years, and had his first ever fight scene against
Donnie Yen. One of the key relationships in
SPL had been Hung's role as the adoptive father of
Wu Jing's character. However, these scenes were dropped from the final film as the director couldn't find a way to fit them into the film. In response to this, a prequel film was planned. Hung appeared alongside Wu Jing again in 2007's
Twins Mission with stars, the
Twins. In early 2008, Hung starred in
Fatal Move, in which he and
Ken Lo played a pair of rival
triad gang leaders.
[1] He also starred in, and performed action choreography for,
Daniel Lee's
Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon, with
Andy Lau and
Maggie Q. The film, was based on the book
Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Anthony Szeto's film,
Wushu, which stars Hung premiered in Beijing in October, 2008. The film was unveiled by
Golden Network at the
2008 Cannes Film Festival. Jackie Chan was the film's
executive producer, and worked on the film in an advisory capacity, assisting with marketing and casting.
[8] Hung then worked again with director Wilson Yip and star Donnie Yen, as the action director for the 2008 film
Ip Man.
Television
In between films and special appearances, Hung has appeared in several East Asian TV series. In 2003 he was in two
Mainland China series' -
Undercover Cop with
Fan Bing-Bing, followed by
The Valley of Lost Vengeance (aka
End Enmity Hollow). More recently, he played a master con-artist in the
Taiwanese series
Coming Lies and Wing Chun master
Wong Wah-bo in
Wing Chun (2007 tv series), reprising the role he played in
The Prodigal Son over 20 years earlier. He co-starred in the series alongside
Yuen Biao,
Nicholas Tse and his youngest son,
Sammy Hung.
[9]
Hung appeared as a guest judge on the
China Beijing TV Station reality television series
The Disciple, which aird in Mainland China and was produced by, and featured, Jackie Chan. The aim of the program was to find a new star, skilled in acting and martial arts, to become Chan's "successor", the champion being awarded the lead role in a film. It concluded on June 7, 2008, with the series winner announced in
Beijing.
[10]
Another Mainland series is also due,
Shaolin Temple: Monks and Marines, set during the
Ming dynasty, in which Hung will play Big Foot, a Shaolin warrior monk joining General Qi Ji Guang's marines to help defend the nation against Japanese pirates. Sammy Hung also has a role, as Big Foot's disciple.
[1]
Future
Forthcoming film roles for Hung include starring roles in another Daniel Lee film, entitled
Duel and in
Vincent Kok's horror comedy,
V for Vampire. These will be followed by a co-starring role alongside
Bruce Liang in
He Who Would Be King produced by
Ju Long's new film studio
[11] and
Kevin Munroe's
War Monkeys for Dark Horse Indie, a branch of
Dark Horse Entertainment.
[12] Hung is also expected to work once again with
Stephen Chow, playing a role in the director's forthcoming wuxia comedy film. The film is currently in the script-writing phase and is as-yet unnamed.
[13]
Hung has also directed and starred in another martial arts epic entitled
Howling Arrow. According to Hung's official website, it stars
Aaron Kwok, Wu Jing, and
Zhou Xun and was filmed for
Tsui Siu-Ming’s
Sundream Motion Pictures. Filming began in 2007, and sources noted that the film was in post-production in 2008, but the film appears to have been delayed indefinitely.
Hung will appear in (and presumably choreograph)
Ip Man 2. His role will be that of a Hung Gar master who challenges Ip Man.
Filmography
Hung has starred in 75 films, and worked on over 230, beginning as a child actor whilst still attending the
China Drama Academy. Upon leaving the opera school, he worked as an extra and stuntman, and progressed through other roles including fight choreographer, stunt co-ordinator, action director, actor, writer, producer and director.
Film production
Gar Bo Motion Picture Company
In 1978 Sammo Hung formed
Gar Bo Motion Picture Company, a subsidiary of
Golden Harvest,
[14] with director
Karl Maka and former actor-choreographer
Lau Kar Wing (brother of actors
Lau Kar-leung and
Gordon Liu). The company's name consists of the "Gar" sound from Lau
Kar Wing and Karl Maka (Mak
Kar), and "Bo" from Hung Kam
Bo.).
[15] The company disbanded in 1980, when Maka moved on to form
Cinema City & Films Co. with
Raymond Wong and
Dean Shek.
[16] Gar Bo released two films, both starring Hung and Lau:
Bo Ho Film Company Ltd
The company logo for
Bo Ho Films.
1980 saw Raymond Chow pull one of Hung's films from local cinemas after just two weeks. Hung responded by starting his own production company
Bo Ho Film Company Ltd, allowing him to have greater control to produce Hong Kong films.
[17][18] Whilst Bo Ho produced, Golden Harvest still operated as distributors. In all, 40 films were released by Bo Ho, several of which starred Hung:
D&B Films Company Ltd
The company logo for
D&B Films.
In 1983, Hung co-founded another production company,
D&B Films Company Ltd, with
Dickson Poon and
John Shum.
[7] The company operated until 1992 and produced a total of 77 Hong Kong films:
[19]
Bojon Films Company Ltd
The company logo for
Bojon Films.
In 1989, Hung formed a new production company,
Bojon Films Company Ltd.
[20] The company produced 5 films, all of which starred Hung:
Personal life
- Hung's grandmother was martial-arts actress Chin Tsi-ang, who starred in almost 80 films between 1941 and 2002. His grandfather was film director and writer Hung Chung Ho, who directed over 40 films between 1937 and 1950.
- Hung's younger brother, Lee Chi Kit, has worked on almost 40 films, many of which Hung was also involved with. Lee also worked on Hung's Martial Law series. He works primarily as a supporting actor and action director.[21]
- He has three sons and a daughter, Timmy Hung (born 1974), Jimmy Hung (born 1977), Sammy Hung (born 1979) and Stephanie Hung (born 1983) with Jo Yun Ok, whom he grew up with in martial arts training school. He divorced Yun Ok in 1994 and married model and actress Joyce Godenzi in 1995.[22] Godenzi appeared in several of his films including The Haunted Island, Eastern Condors (both 1986), and Paper Marriage (1988) prior to the pair becoming a couple. She also appeared in Mr. Nice Guy (1997).
Hung's star, hand prints and autograph on the Avenue of Stars
- Timmy Hung has appeared alongside his father in SPL: Sha Po Lang and Legend of the Dragon, as well as having a recurring role in Sammo's series, Martial Law.
- Sammy Hung appeared as the nemesis to Nicholas Tse's character in the 2007 television series Wing Chun, a remake of the original series broadcast in 1994, and the subsequent film Wing Chun. The series also starred Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.[9]
- Hung is one of the celebrities honoured on the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong.
- Hung is known for his large frame. Despite this, he is a surprisingly agile and formidable martial artist.
- He has a circular scar on the right-hand side of his face, just above his lip. In the early days of his film career, Hung was involved in a street fight outside a Kowloon nightclub, and was stabbed with a broken cola bottle.
- On 5 August 2009, Hung became unwell during the filming of Ip Man 2 in the Guangdong province of Foshan. He was admitted to hospital and underwent a heart surgery operation. He was discharged and returned to work within days. He cited a combination of his weight, his love of cigars and long filming hours resulting in fatigue and irregular meals as the cause.[23]
In popular culture
- A pop band from Wales named themselves Sammo Hung after the actor.[24]
- Master Elehung Kinpo, from Juken Sentai Gekiranger, is named after him. Coincidentally, Yū Mizushima, the voice actor for Elehung Kinpo, did the dubbing for Sammo Hung.
- A martial artist named Samohan Kinpou is frequently referred to in the anime Negima?!
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