Simon Yam

Simon Yam Tat-wah is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. He is widely recognized for his frequent artistic partnerships with director Johnnie To, appearing in feature films such as PTU, Election, Triangle, and Sparrow. His prominent cinematic work also includes roles in major releases such as SPL: Sha Po Lang, Night & Fog, and Echoes of the Rainbow.

Born on March 19, 1955, Yam has an older brother, Yam Tak-wing, who served as a Deputy Commissioner in the Hong Kong Police prior to his retirement. Yam began his professional path in the entertainment industry as a model before shifting toward acting during the mid-1970s. He initially signed a contract with the television broadcaster TVB, where he performed in numerous series before making his transition into feature films in 1987.

In 1989, Yam appeared in Bloodfight, an international joint project between Japan and Hong Kong that marked a milestone as the first such production spoken entirely in English. He earned notable critical praise in 1992 for playing the unhinged character Judge alongside Chow Yun-fat in the crime motion picture Full Contact. He followed this in 1993 by portraying the character Dhalsim in Wong Jing's action-comedy Future Cops, which parodied the Street Fighter franchise. Starting in 1996, Yam took on the role of triad chief Chiang Tin-Sung across the initial three entries of the Young and Dangerous film series.

Yam continued to work across both television and cinema as his career progressed. In 2000, he starred as the vampire progenitor Cheung San in the ATV series My Date with a Vampire II. He marked his entry into Hollywood filmmaking in 2003, portraying a Shaolin crime boss in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life. A decade later, in 2013, he made his directorial debut by helming a segment for the Hong Kong horror anthology film Tales from the Dark 1.

Yam's personal life includes an initial marriage to Ho Sui-yi from 1981 until 1986. In 1997, he married Qi Qi, an international model born in Shanghai and raised in Austria, with whom he has a daughter named Ella. Outside of performance work, his preferred area of investment is real estate located in Hong Kong. During a promotional appearance in mainland China on July 20, 2019, Yam was stabbed, sustaining minor injuries to his abdomen and a cut to his right hand, from which he made a full recovery following a minor medical procedure in Zhongshan. In early 2021, plans were announced for Yam to star alongside Andy Lau and Tony Leung in Goldfinger, a high-budget action feature produced by Emperor Motion Pictures and partners in mainland China.