1. Stephen Tung Wai is a Hong Kong action choreographer, actor, and film director.
50 Facts About Stephen Tung
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Stephen Tung won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography seven times with Downtown Torpedos, Purple Storm, The Accidental Spy, Seven Swords, Bodyguards and Assassins, Kung Fu Jungle, Operation Mekong, and Bursting Point, making him the most awarded individual in this category.
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Stephen Tung directed the horror film Magic Cop and the action film Hitman, and is best known for his leading roles as Fong Sai-yuk and Lam Ping-chi in the martial arts series The Young Heroes of Shaolin and The Smiling, Proud Wanderer respectively.
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Stephen Tung was born on 2 February 1954 in Shanghai, China.
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Stephen Tung was smuggled to Hong Kong with his grandmother at the age of four.
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Stephen Tung was only enrolled in primary school at the age of eleven, upon his aunt's request, but his grandfather withdrew him after the third year to support their livelihood.
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Stephen Tung starred in the war film Squadron 77 as a child actor in 1965 and began working as a stunt double when he was sixteen.
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Stephen Tung followed actor and action choreographer Han Ying-chieh to Taiwan to pursue a career in action choreography in the 1970s.
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Stephen Tung dedicated several years to researching action choreography, drawing inspirations from Hong Kong and Japanese action films.
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Stephen Tung became a stunt coordinator in 1974, making his debut with the action film Golden Mask Killer.
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Stephen Tung returned to Hong Kong in 1981 and joined TVB as a contracted actor.
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Stephen Tung starred as Ding Siu-bak, alongside Adam Cheng and Angie Chiu, in the drama series The Hawk, and as martial artist Fong Sai-yuk in the martial arts series The Young Heroes of Shaolin, in the same year.
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Stephen Tung's performance impressed producers Yau Ka Hung and Lee Ting-leun, and was offered a lead role in the drama series The Restless Trio and portrayed Lam Ping-chi in the martial arts series The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.
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In 1986, Stephen Tung served as the action choreographer for John Woo's A Better Tomorrow and Tsui Hark's Peking Opera Blues.
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Stephen Tung maintained good relations with Woo, and the duo collaborated closely in the future, but Stephen Tung and Tsui had a falling out and dropped out of the project midway.
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Stephen Tung continued to work as a choreographer in the horror comedy film Mr Vampire III and action film Magnificent Warriors the following year.
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In 1988, Stephen Tung participated in Wong Kar-wai's crime drama film As Tears Go By.
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Stephen Tung acknowledged Wong's creativity and boldness in producing action scenes, and the duo continued a close collaboration as well.
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In 1989, Stephen Tung choreographed Lam Ching-ying's horror film Vampire vs Vampire and the horror comedy film Vampire Buster.
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Stephen Tung admitted that he did not enjoy directing as he struggled with interpersonal relationships and chose to remain focused on action choreography.
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Stephen Tung returned to collaborate with Wong Kar-wai in the drama film Days of Being Wild in 1990 and with John Woo in the action thriller film Hard Boiled in 1992.
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In 1995, Stephen Tung served as the action choreographer for Tsui Hark's martial arts film The Blade.
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Stephen Tung joined The Blade only in the last two weeks of filming, when Tsui thought of asking Stephen Tung to help out in the final stages.
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In 1997, Stephen Tung choreographed Teddy Chan's action film Downtown Torpedoes, which earned Stephen Tung his first award for Best Action Choreography in the 17th Hong Kong Film Awards.
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In 1998, Stephen Tung directed and choreographed the action film Hitman, which received a nomination for Best Action Choreography in the 18th Hong Kong Film Awards.
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Stephen Tung received a nomination for the thriller film Hot War in the same year in the 18th Hong Kong Film Awards.
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In 1999, Stephen Tung served as the action choreographer for Teddy Chan's action film Purple Storm, for which he won Best Action Choreography in both the 36th Golden Horse Awards and the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards.
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Stephen Tung won Best Action Choreography in the 21st Hong Kong Film Awards again for the 2001 action film The Accidental Spy.
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In 2003, Stephen Tung went to Hollywood and choreographed the American action comedy film Bulletproof Monk, directed by Paul Hunter.
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Stephen Tung collaborated with Wong Kar-wai in the 2004 romantic drama film 2046.
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In 2005, Stephen Tung assumed the role of action choreographer in Tsui Hark's Chinese-Hong Kong wuxia film Seven Swords.
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Stephen Tung joined Seven Swords in the final month of filming, describing his involvement in the project as "trouble-shooting".
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Stephen Tung won Best Action Choreography in the 42nd Golden Horse Awards and received a nomination in the 25th Hong Kong Film Awards for his work on the film.
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Stephen Tung substituted Dion Lam and joined Chen Kaige's Chinese epic fantasy film The Promise during the production period.
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Stephen Tung continued to choreograph the Chinese fantasy film Painted Skin, which garnered a nomination in the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards, and was involved in the Hong Kong action thriller film Beast Stalker in 2008.
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Stephen Tung collaborated with Teddy Chan in the 2009 historical action film Bodyguards and Assassins, for which Stephen Tung won in the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards and received a nomination in the 47th Golden Horse Awards.
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Stephen Tung continued to choreograph the 2009 Chinese historical film Empire of Silver and the 2010 Chinese wuxia film Reign of Assassins, the latter earning him a nomination in the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards.
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In 2014, Stephen Tung choreographed Teddy Chan's Chinese-Hong Kong action thriller film Kung Fu Jungle, for which he won Best Action Choreography in the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards and received a nomination in the 51st Golden Horse Awards.
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Stephen Tung received a nomination for his work in the Chinese wuxia film The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom in the Hong Kong Film Awards in the same year.
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Stephen Tung proceeded to participate in the 2015 Chinese-Hong Kong war film A Tale of Three Cities and the 2016 Chinese-Hong Kong action thriller film Operation Mekong, with the latter winning in the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards.
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In 2017, Stephen Tung landed a lead role as Cheung Fuk-wai, the alcoholic father of Ng Siu Hin's character who divorced his wife, in the drama film In Your Dreams, which was a project of Hong Kong's First Feature Film Initiative.
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Stephen Tung continued to choreograph in the Chinese-Hong Kong war film Our Time Will Come in 2017 and the Chinese action film The Rookies in 2019.
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Stephen Tung earned a nomination for Best Action Choreography in the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards with the Chinese fantasy film Double World.
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Stephen Tung collaborated with Tsui Hark in the Chinese war film The Battle at Lake Changjin in 2021 and returned in the sequel The Battle at Lake Changjin II in 2022, with the latter receiving a nomination in the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards.
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Stephen Tung won Best Action Choreography in the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards with the action drama film Bursting Point, marking his seventh win and tying with the Jackie Chan Stunt Team as the most awarded recipients in the category.
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Stephen Tung returned to acting and starred in a lead role as Sam Lee, a washed-up action director pursuing a comeback, in the 2024 action film Stuntman, another project of the First Feature Film Initiative.
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Stephen Tung served as the head of the Hong Kong Stuntmen Association.
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Stephen Tung invited Japanese action choreographer Kenji Tanigaki, who was working as a cast extra, to join the Association and enter the stunt industry in 1994.
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Stephen Tung discovered British actor Scott Adkins and cast him in the 2001 action film Extreme Challenge, which marked the beginning of his acting career.