Actor, singer, lyricist and film producer, Andy Lau Tak-wah was born in Hong Kong. He graduated from TVB’s actors’ training class in 1981 and appeared in a dozen drama series between 1981 and 1986. In 1982, he won acclaims by playing a Vietnamese young rebel in Ann Hui’s award-winning Boat People and rose to stardom with the hit melodrama, The Unwritten Law in 1985. Between 1988 and 1992, he appeared in more than sixty films, among which the most  memorable were Wong Kar-wai’s As Tears Go By and A Moment of Romance, produced by Johnnie To.

Lau launched his singing career in 1984 and since then, have received numerous musical awards, including the Most Popular Male Singer Award by TVB for six years since 1991. Hailed as one of the four Kings of Canto-Pop, he also gained huge popularity throughout Asia.

In 1991, he founded Teamwork Motion Pictures Limited (recently renamed as Focus Films) and produced more than ten films, including Fruit Chan’s groundbreaking independent production, Made in Hong Kong and Johnnie To’s megahit, Fulltime Killer, a Hong Kong-Japanese co-production. In April 2005, he launched and financed the ‘Focus: First Cuts’ project, a series of feature films shot on High-Definition and directed by six young filmmakers from Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malaysia and Taiwan.

 In 1999, he won his first Best Actor Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards with Johnnie To’s Running Out of Time. In 2003, his portrayal of a monk-turned-gymnast in Johnnie To’s Running on Karma won him two more best actor awards given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society and the Hong Kong Film Awards. In 2004, he won the Best Lead Actor Award at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Awards with Infernal Affairs III. In April 2005, the Hong Kong International Film Festival organised a tribute to him and his films.

One of the most beloved and revered performing artists in Hong Kong, Lau has also helped a number of important young filmmakers launch their directorial careers. His dedication to the performing arts and his serious professionalism have served as a model for all young artists. His contribution to the Hong Kong film and music industry is significant.