Legends including Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung make rare appearance at director Johnnie To's 70th birthday
Carina Lau (centre) posted a photo with (left) Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Chow Yun Fat on social media on April 22.
Lim Ruey Yan
The Straits Times
April 24, 2025
Hong Kong film-maker Johnnie To's birthday celebration not only assembled several A-listers who have collaborated with him, but their presence also took fans down memory lane.
To, who turned 70 on April 22, marked the occasion at a restaurant in Hong Kong's Central District.
It was reportedly a star-studded affair akin to an awards ceremony, with Hong Kong actors such as Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Anthony Wong, as well as singer Sammi Cheng, in attendance.
Chow, 69, and Leung, 62, made a rare appearance together with Leung's wife, actress Carina Lau, in a group photo she posted on Instagram.
The trio starred in Hong Kong broadcaster TVB's police drama Police Cadet '85 (1985), the second instalment of the Police Cadet trilogy series (1984 to 1988). They were TVB actors before they moved into films.
Chow collaborated with To on movies like The Eighth Happiness (1988), All About Ah Long (1989) and The Fun, The Luck & The Tycoon (1990). Leung worked with To on The Royal Scoundrel (1991) and Lucky Encounter (1992).
The last film Chow and Leung co-starred in was action thriller Hard Boiled (1992), directed by Hong Kong film-maker John Woo.
Lau, 59, also posted a photo of her and Leung with To and his wife Wong Po Ling. "We have known each other for 40 years and met through TV series The Duke Of Mount Deer," Lau wrote in Chinese. "Happy birthday, Sir To."
Carina Lau (second from right) posted a photo with (from left) Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Johnnie To and Wong Po Ling on social media on April 22. PHOTO: CARINALAU1208/INSTAGRAM
To started his career at TVB's artiste training programme before moving behind the scenes. He was one of the directors of The Duke Of Mount Deer (1984), a TVB drama serial adapted from late Hong Kong writer Louis Cha's serial novel The Deer And The Cauldron (1969 to 1972).
The period drama starred Leung as the illiterate but smart protagonist Wei Xiaobao, a friend of the Kangxi Emperor. Lau played Fang Yi, one of Wei's seven wives.
Meanwhile, Anthony Wong posted a photo on Instagram of himself with Hong Kong actors Lam Suet and Roy Cheung, his co-stars in the crime action film The Mission (1999). "The brothers of The Mission meet again," Wong, 63, wrote.
The Mission, directed by To, also starred Francis Ng and Simon Yam. To won Best Director and Ng bagged Best Actor for the film at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards in 2000.
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