People
Leslie Cheung
Acting · follow into films and chains
Biography
Cheung Kwok-Wing (Chinese: 張國榮, English name: Leslie, September 12, 1956 – April 1, 2003) was a Hong Kong Canadian singer and actor. Born in Hong Kong, Leslie Cheung moved to the United Kingdom in 1971, settling in Leeds, where he enrolled at university to study fashion design. After completing his studies, he returned to Hong Kong and, in 1977, took part in an amateur singing competition—the ATV Asian Music Contest—where he won second prize. The following year, he released his first album, I Like Dreaming. He soon began appearing on television and quickly landed his first film role in Erotic Dreams of the Red Chamber (1978), an erotic production that Cheung himself later described as a “shameful disaster.” Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent pioneers that shaped the identity of Cantopop during the 1980s. His studio albums Summer Romance (1987) and Most Beloved (1995) each sold over 300,000 copies and are among the best-selling albums of all time in the territory. In addition to music, Cheung achieved pan-Asian fame with such films as A Better Tomorrow (1986) and A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). He won the Best Actor at the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Days of Being Wild (1990). His venture into acting in the 1990s was recognized for his portrayal of queer characters in the then-conservative film industry, he was one of the few Hong Kong actors willing to take on gay roles—such as in Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together—or to play a cross-dressing opera performer in Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1993. Leslie Cheung died by suicide on April 1, 2003, at the age of 46, by jumping from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. In the note he left behind, he stated that he had been suffering from depression.
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
The Bride with White Hair
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Farewell My Concubine
As Cheng Dieyi / Xiao Douzi
Once a Thief
As James / Jim
A Better Tomorrow
As Sung Chi Kit
A Chinese Ghost Story
As Ling Choi-san
A Better Tomorrow II
As Sung Chi Kit
A Chinese Ghost Story II
As Ling Choi-san
Behind the Yellow Line
As Paul Chan
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
Topics
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Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Acted
The Bride with White Hair
1993 · Cho Yi Hang
Farewell My Concubine
1993 · Cheng Dieyi / Xiao Douzi
Once a Thief
1991 · James / Jim
A Chinese Ghost Story II
1990 · Ling Choi-san
A Better Tomorrow II
1987 · Sung Chi Kit
A Chinese Ghost Story
1987 · Ling Choi-san
A Better Tomorrow
1986 · Sung Chi Kit
Behind the Yellow Line
1984 · Paul Chan