Tony Leung always makes a strong impression. Often considered as one of the all-time greats in East Asian cinema, the Hong Kong acting legend has always had the range. As well as the ability to convey so much through saying so little, he also has the rare ability to drift between genres as comfortably as anyone.
With an illustrious career spanning four decades, he has performed in everything from thrillers like early John Woo action flicks Hard Boiled and Infernal Affairs to period dramas like Flowers of Shanghai to the wuxia film Hero. Leung has also honed his ability to convey “sad boy” energy during his decades of collaboration with Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai.
Most recently, he added another career highlight to his long roster of credits as he won the prestigious Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the 80th Venice Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese actor to receive the high honor. If you’ve been smitten by the icon’s acting prowess and want to see more of his work, we’ve got you covered.
Ahead, we list down our top picks of his films that we think every budding cinephile should watch.
Hard Boiled (1992)
There are action films and then there’s Hard Boiled. The story follows a tough cop teaming up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew. It’s the excellent performance and credibility of Leung that gives a special touch to Hard Boiled, also supported by the great chemistry that hero Chow Yun Fat and Leung have together.
Chungking Express (1993)
Chungking Express tells two love stories, one of which focuses on Leung’s character, a cop who’s been unlucky in love until he sparks the interest of local cafe worker Faye (Faye Wong). Leung’s portrayal of a silent and tough man who’s afraid to express his feelings is in some ways a reflection of his career as he takes on multi-layered characters. Each scene in the film is captured with frantic motion, blurs of colours and dreamlike sequences blended with songs that will stay stuck in your head.
Happy Together (1997)
Leung, alongside another icon of Hong Kong cinema Leslie Cheung, plays a couple traveling to Argentina in search of a new beginning, yet instead find themselves drifting ever further apart. Like some of Kar Wai’s others, Happy Together is a melancholy yet hopeful one, perfectly capturing the feeling of being surrounded by crowds but feeling entirely isolated.
Flowers of Shanghai (1998)
Featuring a collection of stories centered around a group of brothels in late 19th-century Shanghai, Flowers of Shanghai is beautifully shot and paced, and the score is gracefully melodic. Leung, as expected, is able to magnetise your gaze to him with effortless skill.
In The Mood For Love (2000)
In the Mood for Love serves as an introduction to Asian cinema, and for good reason – it’s a story of lonely people on the verge of a forbidden romance, set in 60s Hong Kong, suffocated by the conservative nature of cultural expectations. Leung is at his most earnest, portraying Chow as a doe-eyed romantic with a longing gaze that shoots the shot his words can’t.
Internal Affairs (2002)
Internal Affairs settles down as a solid, twist-filled, 70s-style crime thriller. Hong Kong heartthrobs, Leung and Andy Lau star as two men who internalize the good-cop, bad-cop ethos to unhealthy extents and fall deeper into identities that are no longer their own. Leung’s effortless style allows him to wear his character as comfortably as an old sweater.
Hero (2002)
Martial-arts epic Hero is the perfect wuxia film. A stunningly vibrant colour palette set against the magical mystique of ancient China conjures a unique world on screen. This time as a formidable swordsman, Leung nails it like he always goes with this quiet young man persona.