Leslie Cheung

Leslie Cheung Headshot

Actor • Singer

Birth Date: September 12, 1956

Death Date: April 1, 2003

Birth Place: Hong Kong

Leslie Cheung broke records, barriers, and hearts. He helped usher in the sub-genre of Hong Kong triad movies with John Wood and Chow Yun-Fat with his suave performance as Kit in the uber-violent "A Better Tomorrow." He starred in the films of Hong Kong's most talented directors, including Wong Kar-Wai, Tsui Hark, and Kaige Chen. In "Farewell My Concubine," he was the first Hong Kong star ever to perform in a Mainland Chinese movie. In no small part due to his moving turn as artist Cheng Dieyi in the film, "Farewell My Concubine" was also the first Chinese movie to win the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Cheung was at the leading edge of not just film, but also the music industry. A talented and incredibly popular singer, he led so-called "Cantopop" (Cantonese popular music) into the Golden Age of the 1980s with hits like "Silence is Golden." And yet Cheung was a brave leader not just in his career, but also in his personal life. He came out as a bisexual and introduced the world to his long-time partner, Daffy Tong Hok-Tak, whom his fans eventually embraced affectionately as "Tong Tong." In films like the gay-themed "Happy Together," Cheung also highlighted the reality of romance between two men on the big screen. As a film star and a pop singer, Cheung made a habit of blazing new trails, making his suicide in 2003, brought on by clinical depression, all the more tragic and shocking.

Credits

The Bride With White Hair

Actor
Show
2015

Aces Go Places V

Actor
Brother
Show
2011

Ashes of Time Redux

Actor
Ouyang Feng
Movie
2008

Inner Senses

Actor
Jim Law
Movie
2002

Okinawa Rendez-vous

Actor
Jimmy Tong
Movie
2000

Double Tap

Actor
Rick Pang
Movie
2000

Moonlight Express

Actor
Tatsuya Misawa/Shek Karbo
Movie
1999

The Kid

Actor
Wing
Movie
1999

Ninth Happiness

Actor
Ma Lun Cheung / Tok Choi
Movie
1998

Anna Magdalena

Actor
Editor
Movie
1998

Happy TogetherStream

Actor
Ho Po-wing
Movie
1997
84%

Historia de un Encuentro

Actor
Movie
1997

이소라의 프로포즈

Guest
Show
1996

Temptress Moon

Actor
Yu Zhongliang
Movie
1996

Yang & Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema

Actor
Movie
1996

Tri-Star

Actor
Father Zhong Guoqiang
Movie
1996

Shanghai Grand

Actor
Hui Man Keung
Movie
1996

Viva Erotica

Actor
Sing
Movie
1996

Who's the Woman, Who's the Man

Actor
Sam Koo Gai Ming
Movie
1996

He's a Woman, She's a Man

Actor
Sam Koo Gai Ming
Movie
1995

The Chinese Feast

Actor
Chiu
Movie
1995

The Phantom Lover

Actor
Song Danping
Movie
1995

The Eagle-Shooting Heroes: Dong Cheng Xi Jiu

Actor
HuangYao-shih
Movie
1994

Long and Winding Road

Actor
Lam Chiu-Wing
Movie
1994

It's a Wonderful Life

Actor
Francis
Movie
1994

Ashes of Time

Actor
Ou-yang Feng
Movie
1994

All's Well, Ends Well Too

Actor
David Copper Feel
Movie
1994

Bawang Bie Ji

Actor
Cheng Dieyi
Movie
1993

Farewell My Concubine

Actor
Cheng Dieyi (segment "Douzi")
Movie
1993

Bai Fa Mo Nu Zhuan

Actor
Cho Yat-Hang
Movie
1993

The Bride With White Hair

Actor
Zhuo Yi-Hang
Movie
1993

The Bride With White Hair II

Actor
Movie
1993

All's Well, Ends Well

Actor
Shang So
Movie
1992

Once a Thief

Actor
James
Movie
1991

Days of Being Wild

Actor
Yuddy
Movie
1991

A Chinese Ghost Story II

Actor
Ning Choi San
Movie
1990

A Chinese Ghost Story II

Actor
Ling Choi Sin
Movie
1990

Rouge

Actor
Chan Chen-Pang
Movie
1988

A Better Tomorrow II

Actor
Kit Sung/Billie
Movie
1987

Histoires de fantômes chinois

Actor
Ling Choi Sin
Movie
1987

Sindicato del Crimen

Actor
Movie
1986

A Better Tomorrow

Actor
Kit Sung
Movie
1986

Yuen Fan

Actor
Paul
Movie
1984

Double Decker

Actor
Movie
1984

Little Dragon Maiden

Actor
Movie
1983

Teenage Dreamers

Actor
Movie
1982

Crazy Romance

Actor
Movie
1982

Energetic 21

Actor
Movie
1982

The Nomad

Actor
Louis
Movie
1982

Job Hunter

Actor
Movie
1981