
Acting
Community Rating
6.5
TMDB estimate
Born
June 22, 1962 (age 63)
Born in
Hong Kong, British Crown Colony [now China]
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi (Chinese: 周星馳) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, actor, and producer. Stephen Chow was born in Hong Kong on 22 June 1962 to Ling Po Yee, an alumna of Guangzhou Normal University, and Chow Yik Sheung, an immigrant from Ningbo, Zhejiang. Chow has an elder sister named Chow Man Kei and a younger sister named Chow Sing Ha. Chow's given name "Sing-chi" derives from Tang dynasty Chinese poet Wang Bo's essay Preface to the Prince of Teng's Pavilion.After his parents divorced when he was seven, Chow was raised by his mother. Chow attended Heep Woh Primary School, a missionary school attached to the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China in Prince Edward Road, Kowloon Peninsula. When he was nine, he saw Bruce Lee's film The Big Boss, which inspired him to become a martial arts star. Chow entered San Marino Secondary School, where he studied alongside Lee Kin-yan. After graduation, he was accepted to TVB's acting classes. Chow began his career as an extra for Rediffusion Television. He later joined TVB in 1981. He was drawn to attention hosting the TVB Jade children's program 430 Space Shuttle. Chow made his film Final Justice in 1988, which won him the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 25th Golden Globe Awards. Chow shot to stardom in The Final Combat. The following decade, he appeared in more than 40 films. Fight Back to School became Hong Kong's top-grossing film of all time. In 1994, he began directing films, starting with From Beijing with Love. In the latter half of the 1990s, Chow becomes very famous in China, he became a legend and the Stephen Chow Phenomenon. In 2001, his film Shaolin Soccer grossed over US$50 million worldwide. Chow won Best Director and Best Actor at the 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards, and the film went on to garner additional awards including a Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and the Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Picture and Best Director. It was the highest-grossing Chinese film in Hong Kong at the time, grossing $46 million in the Asia region. In 2004, his film Kung Fu Hustle grossed over US$106 million worldwide. Chow also won Best Director at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards and Best Picture of Imagine Film Festival as well as over twenty international awards. Critics as well as film stars such as comedian Bill Murray said that the film was the supreme achievement of modern comedy that had outshone any preexisting form of American comedy, including Murray's directorial work. His film CJ7 began filming in July 2006 in the eastern Chinese port of Ningbo. In August 2007, the film was given the title CJ7, a play on China's successful Shenzhou manned space missions—Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6. CJ7 became the highest-grossing film of all time in Malaysia. For his work in comedy, he has received praise from notable institutions such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, who called him the King of Comedy. Stephen Chow has directed multiple classic films since the 1990s. In 2013, his film Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons became the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time. In 2016, his film The Mermaid broke numerous box office records, and became the highest-grossing film of all time in China.

Hong Kong Hustle: The Chinese Cinema Odyssey Of Stephen Chow
Archival Footage
2024

CJ7: The Cartoon
2010

CJ7
Ti Chow
2008

Kung Fu Hustle
Sing
2004

Shaolin Soccer
Mighty Steel Leg / Sing
2001
周星馳系列

The Tricky Master
Master Wong
1999

Gorgeous
Policeman with Dog
1999

King of Comedy
Wan Tin Sau
1999

The Lucky Guy
Ho Kam Sui
1998

Lawyer Lawyer
Chan Mon Gut
1997

All's Well, End's Well '97
Lo Kung
1997

The God of Cookery
Stephen Chow
1996

Forbidden City Cop
Ling Ling Fat
1996

Sixty Million Dollar Man
Lee Chak-Sing
1995

Out of the Dark
Leon
1995

A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella
Joker / Monkey King
1995

A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box
Joker / Monkey King
1995

From Beijing with Love
Ling Ling Chat
1994

Hail the Judge
Pao Lung Sing
1994

The New King of Comedy
Director
2019

The Mermaid
Director
2016

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons
Director
2013

CJ7
Director
2008

Kung Fu Hustle
Director
2004

1:99 Shorts
Director
2003

Shaolin Soccer
Director
2001

Shaolin Women's Soccer
Director

King of Comedy
Director
1999

The God of Cookery
Director
1996

Forbidden City Cop
Director
1996

From Beijing with Love
Director
1994