Tony Leung bags Lifetime Achievement Award at #VeniceFilmFestival—career, filmography, accolades
What's the story
Hong Kong actor Tony Leung was honored with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement award at the ongoing Venice International Film Festival on Saturday night (local time). The 61-year-old was visibly choked with emotions as he received the award, while the audience stood up in his honor. Let's look at Leung's successful, inimitable career, immortal films, and frequent collaborations with ace filmmaker Wong Kar-wai.
Twitter Post
Leung gets emotional after receiving award
TONY LEUNG, who starred in Chungking Express, In The Mood For Love and many other amazing films, gets emotional after receiving golden lion for lifetime achievement award at the 80th Venice film festival.
— Emir Han (@RealEmirHan) September 2, 2023
pic.twitter.com/IU84vbIORo
Beginnings
Difficult childhood, was brought up by his mother
Leung was born in Hong Kong and was majorly raised by his mother after his father left their home when he was eight years old. In later interviews, he called his mother a "heroine" and also expressed gratitude toward acting for helping him overcome shyness. "I'm a quiet person... When I went to TV it all came out; I cried and I wasn't ashamed."
Collaborations with Wong Kar-wai
Wong and Leung made masterpieces together
Leung has been the muse in seven movies directed by celebrated filmmaker Wong. These are In The Mood for Love, Chungking Express, Happy Together, 2046, The Grandmaster, Days of Being Wild, and Ashes of Time. Out of these, In The Mood for Love remains his most popular and earned him the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor in 2000.
Other movies
You might remember him from 'Shang-Chi'
Apart from the films with Wong, Leung has been a part of A City of Sadness, Cyclo, and Lust, Caution—all of which bagged the Venice Film Festival's top prize, the Golden Lion. Hero, Hard Boiled, My Heart is that Eternal Rose, Mack the Knife, The Longest Nite, and more recently, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are some of his noteworthy movies.
Praise and accolades
He'll next be seen in 'The Goldfinger'
Touted as one of the most famous and acclaimed Asian actors, CNN earlier listed him in the list of "Asia's 25 Greatest Actors of All Time." A seven-time awardee at the Hong Kong Film Awards, he has also crooned a few songs in Mandarin and Cantonese. He will next be seen in the crime thriller The Goldfinger, written and directed by Felix Chong.