
Andy Lau (real name 劉德華 Liu Dehua) is a
Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer with a prolific cinematic career.
Born in 1961, Lau began his acting career in the early 1980s, with a lead role in the TVB series
The Emissary and, in 1983, in the feature film
On the Wrong Track. While his early fame was mostly due to his good looks and he was often typecast in gangster roles, he proved his acting talent by playing in art-house movies like
Wong Kar Wai's
As Tears Go By in 1988 and
Days of Being Wild in 1990. He earned name recognition among international audiences with
The Infernal Affairs Trilogy and
House of Flying Daggers; he has also played the title character of
Detective Dee, and starred in a Chinese remake of
What Women Want.