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]

Hawick Lau
Lau in 2017
Born (1974-10-13) 13 October 1974 (age 50)
Alma materRyerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
  • producer
Years active1993–present
Agent(s)Hawick Lau Studio (2019−present)
Jay Walk Studio (2015 - 2019)
Spouse
(m. 2014; div. 2018)
Children1
Parents
  • Lau Dan (father)
  • Lee Fuk-ying (mother)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese劉愷威
Simplified Chinese刘恺威
Hanyu PinyinLiú Kǎiwēi
JyutpingLau4 Hoi2 Wai1

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

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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

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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

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Lau announced his relationship with Chinese actress Yang Mi on January 8, 2012 through Weibo. The two had previously co-starred in Ru Yi, Holding Love and A Clear Midsummer Night.

On January 8, 2014, Lau and Yang got married in Bali, Indonesia.[24] On June 1, 2014, Yang gave birth to their daughter nicknamed Little Sticky Rice (小糯米) in Hong Kong.[25]

On December 22, 2018, Hawick Lau and Yang Mi issued a joint-statement announcing their divorce through their agency.[26]

Filmography

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Film

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Year English title Chinese title Role Notes
2000 龙凤斗智蟠龙坊 Jin Kezhong
2003 Bless the Child 某年某月某日 Wong Yong
The Spy Dad 神勇铁金刚 Hotel employee
Honesty 绝种好男人 Ah Chong
2009 Irreversi 回路 Liu Zhiming [27]
2012 Holding Love HOLD住爱 Tao Xiaolei
2013 Love in Summer
TBA 梦瑜伽 Special appearance[28]

Television series

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Year English title Chinese title Role Notes
1995–1999 A Kindred Spirit 真情 Lee Tian An
1997 Mystery Files 迷離檔案 Cheung Wai Episodes 7–9
1999 Untraceable Evidence II 鑑證實錄II Yeung Chi-lun
1999–2000 At the Threshold of an Era 創世紀 Yip Wing-chak
2000 Aiming High 撻出愛火花 Cheung Wing-leung
2001 Law Enforcers 勇探實錄 Lee Lap-ming
2001–2002 Virtues of Harmony 皆大歡喜 Yuen Sau
2004-2005 Virtues of Harmony II 皆大歡喜 Lau Ka-sing
2004 Hard Fate 翡翠戀曲 Mok Hei-man
Shades of Truth 水滸無間道 Ben Fai
ICAC Investigators 2004 廉政行動2004 Cheung Lap-san
2005 My Family 甜孫爺爺 Freeman Man
Destiny 梦在手里 Fan Yijie
2006 灯火阑珊 Luo Jiahui
2006–2007 Relentless Justice 义无反顾 Aaron Yip
2007 换子成龙 Chen Tianhong
The Hui Merchants of Qing 大清徽商 Chen Yuanliang
Shun Niang 顺娘 Chen Wuqiu
2008 East Hegemon 江湖往事 Xiao Tang
Royal Embroidery Workshop 凤穿牡丹 Huo Dongqing
One Thousand Teardrops 一千滴眼泪 Jiang Haotian
2009 The Single Mother 单亲妈妈 Tai Songping [29]
Letter 1949 我在1949,等你 Lin Xiang
Niang Qi 娘妻 Gao Yaozhong
2010 Happy Mother-in-Law, Pretty Daughter-in-Law 欢喜婆婆俏媳妇 Tie Changsheng [30]
Who Knows the Female of the Women 谁知女人心 Zhao Anhua [31]
重生门 Lian Chengwen [32]
Spell of the Fragrance 国色天香 Xiang Haoyu [33]
2011 Under the Bodhi Tree (Linden) 菩提树下 Long Wusheng [citation needed]
大唐女将樊梨花 Xue Dingshan [34]
Sealed With a Kiss 千山暮雪 Mo Shaoqian
Love in the War Time 烽火儿女情 Fang Junjie [35]
2012 Ru Yi 如意 Tan Mingkai
Sealed With a Kiss Sequel 千山暮雪续集 Mo Shaoqian Mini series[36]
战火西北狼 Lieutenant Long Douyun [37]
In Love with Power 山河恋·美人无泪 Hong Taiji [38]
2013 A Clear Midsummer Night 盛夏晚晴天 Qiao Jinfan also producer
Painted Skin 2 画皮之真爱无悔 General Wang Ying
Bloodbath Island 喋血孤岛 Agent Mike [39]
2014 The Four Scholars of Jiangnan 江南四大才子 Tang Bohu [40]
The Wife’s Secret 妻子的秘密 Li Minglang
2015 Lady & Liar 千金女賊 Bai Zhengqing
The Cage of Love 抓住彩虹的男人 Jiang Yu
Master of Destiny 縱橫天地 Cho Chi-yuen
The Double Life of Veronique 两生花 Qin Mo (Chen Bin) [41]
你的传奇之危机四伏 Mr Mo Guest appearance
You Are My Sisters 你是我的姐妹 Shi Tianming [42]
Hummingbird Attack 蜂鸟 Luo Shaoqing [43]
2016 Chronicle of Life 寂寞空庭春欲晚 Kangxi
Road to the North 一念向北 Lu Xiangbei also producer
First Love 柠檬初上 Zuo Zaijun [44]
The Legend of Flying Daggers 飞刀又见飞刀 Li Huai
2017 Full Love 周末父母 Yu Zhiyuan
Heirs 继承人 Zheng Hao
2018 The Legend of Jade Sword 莽荒紀 Ji Ning
Our Glamorous Time 你和我的倾城时光 Li Zhiqian Special appearance[45]
2019 Diplomatic Situation 外交风云 Qian Xuesen Special appearance[46]
2020 That's life/Invisible life 這就是生活 Guan Yīhe [47]
TBA Deep Sea 深海 Tang Baihao

Variety and reality show

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Year English title Chinese title Notes
2022 Call Me by Fire 披荊斬棘 Season 2

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2014 3rd Asia Rainbow TV Awards Outstanding Leading Actor A Clear Midsummer Night Won [48]
13th Huading Awards Best Actor (Ancient Drama) Painted Skin 2 Won [49]
2017 AATFF Festival Golden Oak Award Best Actor Heirs Won [50]

References

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  1. ^ "刘恺威:从股票交易员到制片人 "财道"猜不到". Phoenix Television (in Chinese). 4 January 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "回顾刘恺威演艺道路:少年成名 曾进军歌坛(图)". People's Daily (in Chinese). 12 January 2012.
  3. ^ "刘恺威官二代背景曝光 老爸是TVB老牌演员刘丹(全文)". Netease (in Chinese). 13 January 2012.
  4. ^ "一剧催红龙套哥刘恺威". Netease (in Chinese). 16 November 2011.
  5. ^ "《我在1949等你》开播 刘恺威为情所动". Sohu (in Chinese). 16 May 2011.
  6. ^ "格雅表新代言人刘恺威 现场爆拼搏经历(组图)". Netease (in Chinese). 26 April 2012.
  7. ^ "刘恺威获最佳男演员 意外获封"江苏第一姑爷"". Netease (in Chinese). 23 February 2011.
  8. ^ "《千山暮雪》催红刘恺威 龙套哥终于尝到红滋味". Tencent (in Chinese). 16 November 2011.
  9. ^ "《Hold住爱》票房夺冠 周秀娜开比基尼派对". Sina (in Chinese). 27 August 2012.
  10. ^ "《如意》定妆照曝光 杨幂刘恺威演绎多角情(图)". Sina (in Chinese). 10 June 2011.
  11. ^ "《画皮之真爱无悔》开播 刘恺威遭颖儿白冰哄抢". Sohu (in Chinese). 5 July 2013.
  12. ^ "接拍《风云天地》 刘恺威:拍TVB剧不等于回巢". Netease (in Chinese). 26 March 2014.
  13. ^ "《妻子的秘密》湖南将播 刘恺威讲述"守护爱情"". Netease (in Chinese). 25 February 2014.
  14. ^ "民国剧最强!《千金女贼》网络播放超40亿". Phoenix Television (in Chinese). 4 March 2015.
  15. ^ "刘恺威演《千金女贼》被赞"言情三巨头"之一". ifeng (in Chinese). 30 January 2015.
  16. ^ "《抓住彩虹的男人》刘恺威郑爽华丽定妆". Sina (in Chinese). 20 May 2014.
  17. ^ "《春欲晚》网播量30亿破新高 超高收视完美收官". Phoenix Television (in Chinese). 14 February 2016.
  18. ^ "《一念向北》刘恺威再任制片 与张俪演绎相爱相杀". Sina (in Chinese). 10 August 2017.
  19. ^ "新《飞刀》曝全阵容 刘恺威杨蓉相爱相杀". Sina (in Chinese). 19 August 2015.
  20. ^ "刘恺威露加班族心声 《周末父母》演活双拼奶爸". Tencent (in Chinese). 13 February 2017.
  21. ^ "《继承人》首曝海报 刘恺威蒋欣演绎悬疑爱恋". Tencent (in Chinese). 1 March 2017.
  22. ^ "刘恺威《莽荒纪》新疆开机 奇怪自己很喜欢吊威亚". Netease (in Chinese). 19 October 2016.
  23. ^ "Hawick Lau Does Not Renew Contract with Jaywalk Studio". Dramapanda. 25 October 2019.
  24. ^ "Yang Mi, Hawick Lau hold wedding in Bali". People's Daily. 9 January 2014.
  25. ^ "Yang Mi gives birth to baby girl". Today Online. 2 June 2014.
  26. ^ "Chinese star Yang Mi and HK actor Hawick Lau announce divorce, will raise their daughter together". AsiaOne. 23 December 2018.
  27. ^ "惊悚电影《回路》20日公映 再现豪门连环谋杀". Mtime (in Chinese). 18 February 2009.
  28. ^ "《梦瑜伽》开机". Weibo (in Chinese). 1 January 2019.
  29. ^ "《单亲妈妈》惹争议 陈松伶刘恺威多角恋闹荧屏". Sina (in Chinese). 30 November 2009.
  30. ^ "《欢喜婆婆俏媳妇》将播 刘恺威演绎"双面胶"". Sina (in Chinese). 21 January 2011.
  31. ^ "刘恺威《谁知女人心》演绎帅气传奇大师傅(图)". Sina (in Chinese). 14 August 2009.
  32. ^ "《重生门》刘恺威内地拍戏 声音充满磁性". Sohu (in Chinese). 3 December 2009.
  33. ^ "《国色天香》登陆上海 叶璇刘恺威默契传情". Phoenix Television (in Chinese). 23 December 2010.
  34. ^ "电影团队打造电视剧《大唐女将樊梨花》". Qianjiang Evening News (in Chinese). 5 November 2011.
  35. ^ "《烽火儿女情》卫视首播 刘恺威戴娇倩时代浓情". Sohu (in Chinese). 6 May 2013.
  36. ^ "《千山暮雪》续集". xsdys (in Chinese). 10 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  37. ^ "《战火西北狼》将播 重现西北野战军历史". Netease (in Chinese). 4 September 2012.
  38. ^ "刘恺威《美人无泪》虐恋初见端倪 腹黑却痴心". Sohu (in Chinese). 9 December 2012.
  39. ^ "《喋血孤岛》开播 刘恺威婚后荧屏首秀". Sina (in Chinese). 16 January 2014.
  40. ^ "《江南四大才子》开机 刘恺威迟帅领衔". Sina (in Chinese). 10 October 2012.
  41. ^ "刘恺威化身"大白"猛追王丽坤 自曝小糯米喊不好妈妈". People's Daily (in Chinese). 2 June 2015.
  42. ^ "《你是我的姐妹》刘恺威奶爸变型男". Sina (in Chinese). 26 August 2014.
  43. ^ "刘恺威"蜂鸟出击"演爱国医生 挑战双重身份". Netease (in Chinese). 19 March 2015.
  44. ^ "刘恺威《柠檬初上》温柔小港普格外苏". Sina (in Chinese). 11 May 2016.
  45. ^ "《你和我的倾城时光》首曝片花 赵丽颖化身精英". Tencent (in Chinese). 15 November 2017.
  46. ^ "刘恺威来烟台了!在烟台山取景拍《外交风云》!". Weibo (in Chinese). 25 October 2018.
  47. ^ "电视剧这就是生活". Weibo (in Chinese). 23 April 2019.
  48. ^ "刘恺威获亚洲彩虹奖优秀男主角". Sina (in Chinese). 27 June 2014.
  49. ^ "第13届华鼎奖中国百强电视剧颁奖盛典完美收官". Netease (in Chinese). 28 August 2014.
  50. ^ "AATFF Festival: Golden Oak Award". aatfalliance. 27 October 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
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