Hawick Lau Hoi-wai (Chinese:劉愷威; born 13 October 1974) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. He was named as one of the "Five Fresh Tigers of TVB" and is best known for his performances in the series A Kindred Spirit (1995), Virtues of Harmony (2001) and My Family (2005).[1]
He then expanded his career into mainland China, acting in several notable series. His notable appearances include Sealed with a Kiss (2011), A Clear Midsummer Night (2013), The Wife's Secret (2014), Lady & Liar (2015) and Chronicle of Life (2016).
Early life
Lau grew up in Hong Kong. He is the son of the Hong Kong actor Lau Dan and his wife Lee Fuk-ying (李馥瑩). Lau studied architecture at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Career
Lau debuted in the 1995 drama A Kindred Spirit. He starred alongside his father Lau Dan, coincidentally portraying father and son. The same year, he signed on with Hong Kong's Sony Music as a singer.[2]
In 1997, he released his first Chinese album LALA I Love You. In 1998, he released his first Cantonese album A Boy's Story.[2]
Lau continued acting in Hong Kong dramas and started to gain fame locally. In 2000, he starred in the youth romance drama Aiming High with Nicholas Tse. He also had a supporting role in the financial thriller At the Threshold of an Era. From 2001 to 2002, he starred in the historical sitcom Virtues of Harmony with his father and later its sequel Virtues of Harmony II in 2003.[3] In January 2005, he starred in modern comedy drama My Family, in his first leading role.[2][4]
TVB named him as one of the 5 Fresh Tigers – a group of promising young actors that the network pushed to become stars.
In 2005, after having a significant amount of success at TVB, he left the company and traveled to mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore, where he participated in some productions. He filmed his first Mainland production The Hui Merchants of Qing (which aired in 2007). He also starred in the Mediacorp production Destiny; following which he participated in the Taiwanese drama Letter 1949.[5]
In April 2006, Lau signed with ATV, the other main television station and production studio in Hong Kong for one year. In November 2006, Lau's first series with ATV, No Turning Back began airing.
In order to fully immerse himself into the Chinese market, Lau insisted on speaking Mandarin Chinese instead of Cantonese for his media appearances. He started to gain attention from the Chinese audiences for his appearance in the 2008 drama Royal Embroidery Workshop, which also starred Li Xiaoran.[6]
In 2009, he starred in the republican drama Niang Qi, which won him the Best Actor Award at the Jiangsu TV Drama Awards.[7]
In 2011, Lau gained mainstream popularity after starring in the romance melodrama Sealed With a Kiss, gaining recognition from his portrayal of Mo Shaoqian, who was likened to the Asian version of Christian Grey.[8] Lau also starred alongside Wallace Chung in drama Under The Bodhi Tree.
In 2012, Lau starred in the romantic comedy film Holding Love alongside Yang Mi. The movie was released on the day of Qixi Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, and topped the box office charts.[9] He again worked with Yang in the period epic drama Ru Yi, which gained attention prior to its premiere due to his and Yang's public relationship at that time.[10]
Lau then established his personal studio, and took on the role of a producer for the first time in the contemporary romance drama A Clear Midsummer Night. The drama aired in 2013 and quickly became popular with the audience, becoming the first drama in 2013 to surpass 100 million views.[citation needed] In April, he starred in the television adaptation of the 2012 hit movie Painted Skin: The Resurrection.[11] His performance in the series won him the Best Actor in the Ancient Drama genre at the 13th Huading Awards. He then returned to TVB, filming the Hong Kong-China joint production Master of Destiny, which aired in 2015.[12]
In 2014, he starred opposite Zhao Liying in the romance drama The Wife's Secret.[13]
In 2015, Lau paired up with Tiffany Tang in the period romance drama Lady & Liar, which broke records to become the most viewed republic era period drama online.[14] His character Bai Zhengqing was popular with the audience, and gained him a large number of fans.[15] Following Lady & Liar, Lau then starred in another period drama The Cage of Love, written by famed writer Tong Hua.[16] Lau also Co-starred with Wang Likun in Twice Bloom the Flower that year.
In 2016, Lau starred in period romance drama Chronicle of Life, portraying Kangxi Emperor. The series gained popularity upon its premiere, placing #1 in ratings nationally and topping online views.[17] In April, the second production by Lau's studio, entitled Road to the North premiered on CNTV.[18] He then starred in the television adaptation of Gu Long's novel The Legend of Flying Daggers.[19]
In 2017, Lau starred in the family drama, Full Love[20] and the legal drama Heirs.[21]
In 2018, Lau took the lead role in the fantasy wuxia drama The Legend of Jade Sword.[22]
In October 2019, it was confirmed that Lau's contract with Jaywalk Studio had expired and he did not renew.[23]
In 2020, Lau starred with Chen Duling in The Invisible Life a modern drama about women struggle in work place.
Personal life
Lau announced his relationship with Chinese actress Yang Mi on 8 January 2012 through Weibo. The two had previously co-starred in Ru Yi, Holding Love and A Clear Midsummer Night.
On 8 January 2014, Lau and Yang got married in Bali, Indonesia.[24] On 1 June 2014, Yang gave birth to their daughter nicknamed Little Sticky Rice (小糯米) in Hong Kong.[25]
On 22 December 2018, Hawick Lau and Yang Mi issued a joint-statement announcing their divorce through their agency.[26]
Liu Tao is a Chinese actress from Nanchang, Jiangxi. She is known for her roles in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (2003), Madame White Snake (2006), Mazu (2012), To Elderly With Love (2013), Nirvana in Fire (2015), Legend of Mi Yue (2015), Ode to Joy (2016), and The Advisors Alliance (2017).
Yang Mi is a Chinese actress and singer. She received recognition for her roles in TV dramas The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006), Chinese Paladin 3 (2009), and The Dream of Red Mansions (2010). She achieved her breakout success starring in the time-travel TV drama Palace 1 (2011), followed by the surprise hit Mysterious Island (2011), for which she was credited with ushering China's entertainment industry into the "fan economy." Her other notable credits include TV dramas Beijing Love Story (2012), Swords of Legends (2014), The Interpreter (2016), Eternal Love (2017), Legend of Fuyao (2018), Novoland: Pearl Eclipse (2021), Fox Spirit Matchmaker (2024), as well as the film series Tiny Times (2013-2015).
Jiang Xin, also known by her English name Rulu Jiang, is a Chinese actress.
Liu Yan, also known as Ada Liu, is a Chinese actress, hostess and singer. She won the "Best New Artist" at the 2nd Top Chinese Music Awards and the "Best Promising Host" at the 3rd Zongyi Award, in 2010 the Most Influencing Host of China named she on their list of the 10 Greatest hosts in Television.
Sun Yizhou, also known as Sean Sun, is a Chinese actor.
Yang Yang is a Chinese actor. He made his acting debut in the Chinese television drama The Dream of Red Mansions (2010). Since then, he has received recognition for his roles in television dramas The Lost Tomb (2015), The Whirlwind Girl (2015), Love O2O (2016), Martial Universe (2018), The King's Avatar (2019), You Are My Glory (2021), Glory of Special Forces (2022), Who Rules The World (2022), Fireworks of My Heart (2023) and films The Left Ear (2015), I Belonged to You (2016), Once Upon a Time (2017), Vanguard (2020).
Wang Likun, also known as Claudia Wang, is a Chinese actress and dancer. She is best known for her roles in television series Seven Swordsmen (2006), Beauty's Rival in Palace (2010), Beijing Youth (2012), Miss Assassin (2013), Qing Mang (2013), Twice Blooms the Flowers (2015); as well as the movies Ex-Files (2014) and Somewhere Only We Know (2015).
Yang Rong is a Chinese actress of Bai origin. She is best known for her roles in Cosmetology High and Memory Lost.
Wang Qianyuan is a Chinese actor who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama. He won Best Actor at the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival for his role in the movie, The Piano in a Factory.
Jin Dong is a Chinese actor. He is known for his television roles in Legend of Entrepreneurship (2012), The Disguiser (2015), Candle in the Tomb (2016), Surgeons (2017) and The First Half of My Life (2017).
Qin Junjie is a Chinese actor. He made his debut in the 2006 film Curse of the Golden Flower. He is best known for his starring roles in the TV series Noble Aspirations (2016), Legend of Dragon Pearl (2017), Peace in Palace, Peace in Chang’an, and Listening Snow Tower (2019).
Johnny Zhang Junning is a Chinese actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the Chinese television drama, Five Star Hotel (2007), and achieved popularity in China.
Legend of Fuyao is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel Empress Fuyao by Tianxia Guiyuan. It stars Yang Mi and Ethan Juan. The series aired on Zhejiang TV from June 18 to August 13, 2018.
Ying Er is a Chinese actress. Her real name is Liu Ying (刘颖). She is best known for her roles in the television series Sealed with a Kiss, Xiao Ju's Spring Day, and Decoded.
Chen Yuqi, also known as Yukee Chen, is a Chinese actress. She is known for her lead role as Zhao Min in Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre.
Zheng Yecheng is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, majoring in Chinese opera.
Wang Yanlin, also known as Ian Wang, is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his works in Wu Xin: The Monster Killer (2015), The Starry Night, The Starry Sea (2017). He also starred in the film Operation Red Sea (2018) and The Rescue . In 2019, he became a cast member of the popular variety program, Keep Running, for the new season.
Yuan Bingyan is a film and television actress in Mainland China graduated from Shanghai Theater Academy. At the age of six, she began to learn Guzheng and then dance at the Shanghai Dance School. After being spotted by her dance teacher, she joined the Shanghai Oriental Friends Art Troupe. In 2020, she won widespread attention by playing the heroine Chu Xuanji in the fairy tale drama Love and Redemption. In April 2022, "Good Wishes" was broadcast on the IQIYI platform. After the broadcast, the popularity of "Good Wishes" reached 8247 on iQiyi. As of June, it is the fifth highest heat value in this station.
Zhang Meng, also known as Alina Zhang, is a Chinese actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She is most well known as the winner of the Miss Universe China 2004 and for her role as the Fire Princess in 2016 television hit series Ice Fantasy.
Kan Qingzi is a Chinese actress. She graduated from the Beijing Film Academy.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
