Hawick Lau

Liu Kaiwei (Hawick Lau), born in 1974 in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, is ancestrally from Weihai, Shandong Province. In his youth he emigrated with his family to Canada and studied architecture at Ryerson University. In 1993 he won a Chinese-singer competition held in Canada and organized by TVB, which led to his entry into TVB’s artiste training class and his official start in the entertainment industry.

His career began in 1995 when he appeared in the sitcom A Kindred Spirit (真情), his first work and his first collaboration with his father, actor Lau Dan. That same year he signed with Sony Music Hong Kong. In 1996 he moved to Sony Music Taiwan and in 1997 released his first Mandarin album, LALALA I Love You (LALALA我爱你). In 1998 he played forensic doctor Yang Zhilun in the crime drama Forensic Record II (鉴证实录2) and released a Cantonese EP, A Boy’s Story.

From 1999 he appeared in a number of television productions, including At the Threshold of an Era (创世纪) and others, taking on a wider variety of roles. He left TVB in 2005 and worked across Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong’s ATV, increasing his range of collaborative projects. Beginning in 2007 he expanded his career into mainland China, adapting to the mainland market and appearing in period dramas such as Feng Chuan Mudan (凤穿牡丹), gradually gaining recognition there.

In 2009 he acted in Republican-era dramas including Niangqi (娘妻) and Who Knows a Woman’s Heart (谁知女人心), winning an award for Niangqi. In 2011 he attracted wide attention for his role as Mo Shaoqian in the modern drama Snowy Mountain (千山暮雪). In 2012 he starred in the film HOLD Love (HOLD住爱), which performed well at the box office and marked a diversified development into film, television and music. That year he also moved into producing, serving as producer for the series A Summer’s Evening (盛夏晚晴天), which received a positive response.

He subsequently continued to appear in many film and television projects, including the costume drama Painted Skin: True Love Never Regrets (画皮之真爱无悔) and the xianxia adaptation The Desolate Era (莽荒纪). In 2016 he starred in the historical drama Lonely Court in Late Spring (寂寞空庭春欲晚), portraying the Kangxi Emperor and receiving the “Most Charismatic Actor of the Year” award. He has frequently taken on producer roles and participated in a number of variety shows.

On the personal front, Liu Kaiwei publicly announced his relationship with actress Yang Mi in 2012; they married in 2014 and have one daughter. The couple divorced at the end of 2018. In 2022 he publicly acknowledged a relationship with Li Xiaofeng.

Liu is also passionate about motor racing, taking part in racing events in Zhuhai and training with professional coaches. He has received multiple industry and social-award recognitions, including the 2016 China Television Quality Ceremony’s “Most Charismatic Actor of the Year,” and has been active in charity work—raising funds for children in impoverished areas and for people with disabilities and serving repeatedly as a goodwill ambassador.

In summary, Liu Kaiwei is an actor, producer and singer with a multi-faceted career across Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China who has increasingly focused on the mainland market.