Eric Tsang

Eric Tsang (born April 14, 1953, in Hong Kong) is a well-known Hong Kong film and television actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and entertainment industry executive. He received his early education in Hong Kong and completed secondary school at St. Francis Xavier's College. As a youth he joined the Hong Kong youth football team and, at 16, represented Hong Kong in the Korea Youth Cup. Through football he met Lau Kar-leung and Sammo Hung, which helped pave his way into the film industry.

In 1974 Tsang ended his professional football career and entered the Hong Kong entertainment industry. He began as a martial arts stuntman and worked as a stunt double in numerous films, including productions by Chang Cheh’s Longbow Film Company such as Nezha (哪吒) and Shaolin Five Ancestors (少林五祖). Early in his career he was thin and had a more delicate bearing, so he was mainly assigned dangerous stunt-doubling work. In 1977 he co-starred with Leung Siu-lung and Tang Jing in the action-comedy Li Sanjiao Wei Zhen Diyu Men (李三脚威震地狱门), gradually coming into the public eye.

Tsang’s experience in film is extensive: he not only acted actively but also began working as a screenwriter and director. In 1978 he wrote the script for Bo Ming Dan Dao Qi Ming Qiang (搏命单刀奇命枪), and the following year he directed a film starring David Chiang (Jiang Dawei) titled Ti Guan (踢馆). In 1981 he joined Cinema City and became one of the company’s noted group of creatives, and he directed the Hong Kong box-office milestone Best Partners (最佳拍档), the first Hong Kong film to exceed HK$20 million in box office, marking a major achievement in his career. He later directed the sequel Best Partners 2: Great Display of Magic (最佳拍档2：大显神通) and demonstrated diverse talents in planning, directing, and performing.

In 1986 his work Fuxing Gaozhao (福星高照) earned him the Best Supporting Actor award at the 8th Hong Kong Film Awards. In 1990 he won the Best Actor award at the 11th Hong Kong Film Awards for his leading role as the boy "Chi-wai" in the film Double Cities Story (双城故事), establishing him as a respected dramatic actor. The following year Tsang joined Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), where he hosted a number of variety programs and major events, creating widely popular cultural phenomena.

His acting career continued to expand. In 1996 he starred in the film Comrades: Almost a Love Story (甜蜜蜜) — in which his portrayal of the triad figure Ouyang Biao earned him the Best Supporting Actor award at the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards — and that year he also directed and starred in several films, including Four 32A and a Banana Boy (四个32A和一个香蕉少年). Through the 2000s his work spanned action, comedy, and art films with consistently solid performances.

In public life, Tsang has taken part in social and regional affairs. He attended Guangzhou’s “Two Sessions,” proposing ideas to promote the film and television industry in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau region. From 2012 onward he participated in various charitable projects including disaster relief, epidemic response, and donations. He has received numerous honors, including medals awarded by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, multiple appointments within China’s cultural organizations, and lifetime achievement awards from international film festivals.

As a representative figure of the Hong Kong entertainment industry, Eric Tsang has left behind a large body of work in film and television and has made important contributions to cultural promotion and industry management. His career has spanned decades, during which he accumulated valuable experience and a strong reputation, becoming one of the major figures in the Chinese-language entertainment world.