Wikipedia

Chapman To

Chapman To (Chinese: 杜汶澤, born 8 June 1972), born Edward Ng Cheuk-cheung (Chinese: 吳卓彰), is a Hong Kong-Taiwanese actor. He is best known for his roles in films such as Infernal Affairs and Initial D. He is also the founder of his own multimedia platform known as "Chapman To's Late Show". In 2022, To officially naturalised in Taiwan.

Chapman To
杜汶澤
To at the 2010 Hong Kong International Film Festival
Born
Edward Ng Cheuk-cheung

(1972-06-08) 8 June 1972 (age 51)
Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, British Hong Kong
CitizenshipTaiwan
Years active1995–present
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Spouse
​
(m. 2005)​
AwardsATV Awards
1999 Best Supporting Actor (My Date with a Vampire)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese杜汶澤
Simplified Chinese杜汶泽
In this Chinese name, the family name is To.

Early life and career edit

To was born at Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei. His father worked in a fruit shop in Yau Ma Tei. To studied at Diocesan Preparatory School and Diocesan Boys' School. His stage name was adapted from the horse "Chapman River" (澤汶渡) due to his previous hobby of horse betting.[1] He began his acting career in TV soap operas and moved to the big screen in 2000. He is best known for playing Tsui Wai-Keung in the Infernal Affairs trilogy, as well as the role of Itsuki Tachibana in Initial D. He married Kristal Tin in 2005. In 2006, he starred in Pang Ho-Cheung's film Isabella with Isabella Leong.

Along with acting, To was also a radio personality for Commercial Radio 2(CR2). He hosted the show, On a Clear Day (在晴朗的一天出發), a 2-hour morning show which was co-hosted by Michelle Lo and Jan Lamb. However, after a fall-out with the key personnel of the radio company, Chapman lost the radio hosting job in 2006.

To is also an avid amateur photographer. In 2011, To was hired as the photographer for cantopop singer Prudence Liew's album Love Addict. To stated that this is the first time he is paid for his photography work.

On 3 August 2018, he founded a multimedia platform called "Chapman To's Late Show" (杜汶澤喱騷).[2] The channel mainly made fun of current issues in Hong Kong. It also made tutorials for smores and interviewed famous politicians and actors/singers from Hong Kong. Due to the platform's content being daring, down-to-earth and it's satirical way of presenting current issues, it was widely praised by Hong Kong's netizens.[3] In 2020 Chapman To announced that the platform will be pulling out of YouTube and Facebook, and subsequently established a paid platform at lateshow.net, with subscription fee being HK$60 per month and VIP subscription HK$600 per year; the VIP members get access to special content such as his stand-up comedy live performance of 2020. Celebrities such as Anthony Wong and Gregory Wong have appeared for its shows.[4][better source needed]

Political positions and Chinese blacklist edit

In March 2014, To expressed support for the Sunflower Student Movement in Taiwan, which was skeptical of a proposed agreement to create closer ties between Taiwan and mainland China.

During Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement, he was involved in online arguments with some mainland netizens.[5]

To criticised the Chinese government and proudly stated to netizens to "Stop me from coming to the mainland if you've got guts."[6] Chinese audiences reacted and To's first two movies after the incident, Let Go for Love[6] and Aberdeen, flopped at the Chinese box office.[7] The production companies apologised and regretted casting To.

Hong Kong directors such as Wong Jing subsequently refused to work with To, resulting in him being blacklisted in both the Chinese and Hong Kong movie market.[8]

Exiled from the lucrative Chinese market, To focused on Malaysia and Singapore.[9] Despite not having any Chinese investment, his films have achieved success in their target markets. To acted as director, writer, and actor for these low-budget films.

To moved to Taiwan in November 2020, and announced in February 2022 that he had attained Taiwanese citizenship.[10]

Filmography edit

Television edit

Year Title Role
1995 Fist of Fury Jing Wu Men's student
1996 The Good Old Days
1998 My Date with a Vampire Kam Ching-chung
2000 Showbiz Tycoon Sing Lung
2000 My Date with a Vampire II Kam Ching-chung
2004 Kung Fu Soccer Lok
2010 OL Supreme Sze Sap Yat
Who's the Hero

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
1999 House of the Damned
2000 Violent Cop David Liu
The Teacher Without Chalk
2001 Jiang hu: The Triad Zone
Let's Sing Along Long Hair
Goodbye, Mr. Cool
Never Say Goodbye
The Cheaters Chi-Wai
Esprit D'Amour
Prison on Fire - Life Sentence
2002 Golden Chicken Club Owner
Infernal Affairs Tsui Wai-keung Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Mummy, Aged 19
Just One Look Villager No. 3
The Wall
Mighty Baby Kassey
The Irresistible Piggies
Feel 100%
Partners Lee Tin-wah
Dry Wood Fierce Fire Autumn Sze-to
Nine Girls and a Ghost Basketball Coach
Return from the Other World Fai
Black Mask 2: City of Masks King (Cantonese voice)
2003 The Twins Effect Ken
Golden Chicken 2 Club Owner
Master Q: Incredible Pet Detective Old Master Q (voice)
Infernal Affairs II Tsui Wai-keung Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Spy Dad Love Kwan
Infernal Affairs III Tsui Wai-keung
Men Suddenly in Black Chao Nominated - Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor
Black White Forest Toast
Looking for Mr. Perfect
Diva: Ah Hey Huffman
Cat and Mouse Han Zhang
My Lucky Star Yip's stepmother boyfriend
Honesty Failure Fai
2004 The Attractive One Butt
Escape from Hong Kong Island Policeman
Six Strong Guys Chai
Super Model
Jiang Hu Brother To
Love Is a M Stupid Thing Yan
Enter the Phoenix Kin
The Beautiful Country Chingmy
A World Without Thieves Sha Gen (Cantonese voice)

[13] [14]

References edit

  1. ^ Episode 105-106, aTV 100 Celebrities, Asia Television, 27-28 June 2012.
  2. ^ "【杜汶澤】新網台喱騷開live狂講鹹濕笑話 明言女主持要身材豐滿". Hk01.com. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  3. ^ "忘我爆粗夠真實！杜汶澤做Live騷受歡迎". Hk.on.cc. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. ^ "「喱騷」收費台宣傳片". Retrieved 16 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Netizens to HK Actor Chapman To: Stay Out of China". China Digital Times (CDT). 25 March 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Film boycott shows audiences can't 'Let go'". Ecns.cn. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  7. ^ "业内：杜汶泽毁掉《小团圆》 超5000万投资亏损 (Chapman To ruined Aberdeen's 50 million investment)". Ent.ifeng.com. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Director Wong Jing 'unfriends' actors over pro-democracy protest". Straitstimes.com. 17 October 2014.
  9. ^ seto kit yan (13 December 2014). "HK comedian and producer set up movie production company in M'sia". The Star. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  10. ^ Wang, Flor; Wang, Hsin-yu (22 February 2022). "Pro-democracy Hong Kong actor Chapman To confirms Taiwan citizenship". Central News Agency. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  11. ^ Kevin Ma (16 May 2014). "Vegas to Macau II leads Mega-Vision slate". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  12. ^ Kevin Ma (9 September 2015). "Chapman To returns to Malaysia with Let's Eat". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Mtime时光网 —— 影人". People.mtime.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  14. ^ "⓿⓿ Chapman To - Actor - Hong Kong - Filmography - TV Drama Series - Chinese Movies". Chinesemov.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.

External links edit

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