Francis Ng

Francis Ng Chun-yu, born on December 21, 1961, is a Hong Kong actor and director. He has ancestral roots in Panyu, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, and is the uncle of footballer Ng Wai Chiu. As a youth, Ng sought a career that required no academic credentials, offered high compensation, and lacked fixed working hours. After observing beggars at the Wong Tai Sin temple and deciding the activity required too much physical effort, he chose to pursue a career as a movie star.

To enter the profession, Ng applied to the TVB Training Classes. Following three rejections, he participated in a seven-day Pabbajja retreat, during which he shaved his head bald. Upon reapplying, he was accepted, later stating that the interviewer assumed his shaved head indicated expertise in Shaolin Kung Fu. Ng completed the training course in 1982 alongside Stephen Chow and Tony Leung. He initially took minor roles before gaining attention in 1985 for playing villains in series like The Price of Growing Up and The Final Combat. He subsequently shifted away from villainous roles by starring as a protagonist in situational comedies such as Everybody Loves Somebody and The Family Squad.

Ng's initial TVB contract ended in 1993, leading him to transition into cinema. He returned to TVB in 1997 to star in the nostalgic comedy Old Time Buddy alongside Gallen Lo, Maggie Cheung, and Jessica Hsuen, which became one of the year's highest-rated television programs. He rejoined the network in 2003 as the lead actor playing an airline pilot in the acclaimed drama series Triumph in the Skies, later returning for its 2013 sequel, Triumph in the Skies II.

In film, Ng debuted in the 1986 release Midnight Girls. After becoming a freelance performer in 1993, he appeared in larger productions, including Flirting Scholar with Stephen Chow and Kung Fu Cult Master with Jet Li. His career turning point came with his portrayal of the villain Ugly Kwan in Young and Dangerous (1996), a popular performance that spawned the unofficial spin-off Once Upon a Time in Triad Society (1996). Despite a regional film industry downturn in the late 1990s, Ng acted in at least ten films per year. He also directed several features, including 9413 (1998), What is a Good Teacher (2002), Dancing Lion (2003), and Tracing Shadow (2009).

Ng won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor for The Mission (1999) and the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Best Actor award for Bullets Over Summer (1999). For his performance in 2000 AD, he secured Best Supporting Actor honors at both the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Bauhinia Awards in 2002. At the 25th Hong Kong International Film Festival, he was highlighted alongside Lau Ching-wan and Anthony Wong as one of three primary character actors in Hong Kong cinema. Beyond screen acting, Ng performed in stand-up comedy shows with Cheung Tat-ming and Dayo Wong in 1998 and 2000, voiced Mr. Incredible in the Cantonese dub of Disney and Pixar's The Incredibles, and became the namesake for Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa's nickname, "Mexican Francis Ng," due to their facial resemblance.