Mr Kenneth Tsang

1934-

Actor

A heartthrob in the 1960s, Kenneth Tsang Kong – birth name Tsang Koon Yat – made his debut in the Mandarin film Tragedy of Vendetta (1955). He then left Hong Kong to study architecture in the US, returning to the city in the 1960s to work as an architect before becoming an actor three years later. His first films were The Big Circus (1964) and Mimi-Private Eye (1965), directed by Chun Kim, his brother-in-law. Tsang joined Hong Kong Film Company in 1965, and appeared in martial arts movies such as A Brave Young Girl’s Spirit (1965), and the two-part Paragon of Sword and Knife (1967 & 1968). In 1967, Tsang left the studio and appeared alongside teen idols Josephine Siao Fong Fong and Connie Chan Po Chu in youth dramas and movie musicals such as Teddy Girls (1969). A prolific and versatile actor, Tsang was credited with 80 films in an assortment of genres in just four years. From the late 1970s, Tsang extended his repertoire to television, starring in 50 serial dramas and 200 films. Among his notable television works are The Legend of the Condor Heroes (1983), The Smiling, Proud Wanderer (1984) and The Final Verdict (1988), and more recently Four Amigos Bon Voyage (2015). His most high-profile films include Peking Opera Blues (1986), A Better Tomorrow (1986), Au Revoir, Mon Amour (1991), Once a Thief (1991), Overheard 2 (2011), Overheard 3 (2014) and Chasing the Dragon (2017). Overheard 3 saw him scoop Best Supporting Male Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards. To Western audiences, Tsang is best known for his roles in Hollywood films such as Die Another Day (2002) and Memoirs of a Geisha (2005).