Bobby Au-Yeung

Bobby Au-yeung Tsan-wah (Chinese: 歐陽震華, born Au-Yeung Yiu-tsuen; 28 July 1960) is a Hong Kong actor best known for his comedic roles in many TVB television dramas. He gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Ben Yu in the 1991 legal drama File of Justice, appearing in all five seasons. Au-Yeung is also known for his lead roles in several of TVB's most successful television series franchises, including Armed Reaction, Witness to a Prosecution, and Forensic Heroes. He is most recognised by TV audiences for his shaved head.

Background

Au-yeung Tsan-wah's original name was Au-yeung Yiu-tsuen.^[1] The opportunity to change his name came from his classmate Ng Chi-keung in the art training class who changed his stage name to Ng Chun-yu. The fortune teller believed that the name "Yiu-tsuen" given to him by his ancestors showed the incompatibility of water and fire (Yiu represents fire, Tsuen represents water) and his fate lacked water. In addition, the names of popular TV artists at that time, such as Andy Lau Tak-wah, both had the character "Wah" in them. After calculating the number of strokes, the fortune teller suggested that he use "Tsan-wah", which means that only by using one's power to "shock" popular artists can one become popular. Au-yeung Tsan-wah changed his stage name to "The Turbulent Decade" in 1986 when he participated in the TV show of the same name.

He is the oldest son in his family^[2] and has younger brothers and sisters. He lived in different places in his early years. The place he lived for a long time was Wudi Street, Shek Tong Tsui. Later, he moved to a building near Hollywood Commercial Centre (Mong Kok) in Mong Kok, Kowloon (a neighbor of Ai Wai^[3]) and often went to MacPherson Stadium to play football after school. When he was growing up, he lived with his grandparents, three uncles and one aunt.

Career

Au-Yeung graduated from TVB's Artiste Training Academy in 1982 and began appearing in many television dramas as background extras, to roles with minor speaking parts, and later to major supporting roles. He landed his first lead role in the legal drama File of Justice, which premiered in 1992. The show was a major success and spawned five seasons, turning Au-Yeung into a major breakout star. Au-Yeung won TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor at the 2000 TVB Anniversary Awards for his portrayal as Sung Chee in Witness to a Prosecution. In 2007, he became the first Hong Kong actor to receive a nomination for Best Actor at the International Emmy Awards for his performance in Dicey Business. At the same time, he was nominated for the "Best Actor" at the 2007 Thousands of Stars Awards Ceremony and the "My Favorite Actor" at the 2008 Astro Wah Lai Toi TV Drama Awards for this drama, and was shortlisted for the final five and won the top five gold medal. However, he switched to a unit contract in 2010 and began to develop his career in mainland China, starring in a series of works such as Ghost Catcher - Legend of Beauty (Zhongkui), The Female Detective with a Knife, and La tabla de Flandes. In 2012, he collaborated with Esther Kwan again to film Always And Ever.

On February 12, 2013, Au-yeung was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Ruttonjee Hospital due to acute pneumonia caused by food entering his trachea, and once fell into a coma.^[4] He was discharged from the hospital on the 22nd of the same month.^[5]

In June 2015, feeling ignored by his company, Au-yeung had a disagreement with TVB over his contract,^[6][7][8] after that, the two sides reached a consensus on contract renewal.^[9]

Filmography

Awards and titles

• TVB Anniversary Awards 1997 Most Comedic On-Screen Duo ~ Taming of the Princess (with Esther Kwan)
• TVB Anniversary Awards 2000 My Favourite Actor in a Leading Role ~ Witness to a Prosecution
• TVB Anniversary Awards 2000 My Top 10 Favorite Television Characters ~ Witness to a Prosecution
• TVB Anniversary Awards 2001 My Top 13 Favorite Television Characters ~ Armed Reaction III
• TVB Anniversary Awards 2003 My Top 12 Favorite Television Characters ~ A Witness to a Prosecution II
• TVB Anniversary Awards 2004 My Top 12 Favorite Television Characters ~ Shine on You
• 35th International Emmy Award 2007 Nominee for Best Performance by an Actor ~ Dicey Business
• 22nd Asia Television Awards 2017 Best Comedy Performance by An Actor/Actress ~ House of Spirits

References

External links

• JayneStars.com - English translated news about Bobby Au-Yeung
• Bobby Au-yeung at IMDb