Aarif Rahman (, born 26 February 1987), also known as Aarif Lee Zhi-ting, is a Hong Kong actor, singer and songwriter.

Early life

Born in Hong Kong, Aarif Rahman is of mixed

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

, Malay and Chinese descent. He grew up in Hong Kong and attended King George V School, where he discovered his penchant for music and started playing drums, guitar and the piano, as well as dabbling in song-writing. After graduating with a physics degree from the

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, Rahman signed with East Asia Record Production company. He is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Career

Rahman first gained the interest of the Hong Kong music scene when he was exposed as the writer who penned all the lyrics in

Janice Vidal Janice M. Vidal (born 13 April 1982) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. She was discovered by music producer Mark Lui and initially began her career as a back-up singer for Leon Lai. She debuted as a solo artist in 2004 under Lai's l ...

's 2009 English album ''

Morning Morning is either the period from sunrise to noon, or the period from midnight to noon. In the first definition it is preceded by the twilight period of dawn, and there are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and nigh ...

''. Following this, in 2009 he released his debut album ''Starting from Today'', which won him the Best Newcomer award at the Metro Radio Music Awards. Rahman then made his film debut in the movie ''

Echoes of the Rainbow ''Echoes of the Rainbow'' (; romanisation: ''Shui Yuet Sun Tau''; literally "''Time, the Thief''") is a 2010 Hong Kong drama film directed by Alex Law and starring Simon Yam and Sandra Ng. It won the Crystal Bear for the Best Film in the Chil ...

'' (2010), which won him the Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer and Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild for Best New Actor of the Year – Silver Award. The theme song which he sang also won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Song. He then starred as

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

in the dramatic biopic film '' Bruce Lee, My Brother'' (2010) and as a ICAC principal investigator in the crime thriller ''

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

'' (2012). In 2013, Rahman starred in the Mainland romantic comedy '' One Night Surprise''. The low-budget film unexpectedly became a commercial success, and received positive reviews. Rahman won the Best New Actor award at the 1st China International Film Festival London and Outstanding Performance award at the Chinese Film Media Awards for his performance. Rahman then starred in historical drama '' The Empress of China'', where he played the role of Li Zhi. The 82-episode TV series was broadcast on

Hunan Television Hunan Television or Hunan TV () is a state-owned provincial satellite TV station launched on September 29, 1970. It is currently China's second-most-watched television channel, second to China Central Television's CCTV-1, although Hunan TV has oc ...

from 21 December 2014 to 5 February 2015, and earned increased recognition for Rahman in the Mainland region. He won the Best Actor in the Ancient Drama category at the

Huading Awards The Huading Awards are a set of entertainment awards in China. The awards were set up by Global Talents Media Group, Inc in 2007 and are held more than once each year across multiple entertainment media from Chinese television shows to internatio ...

for his performance. In 2016, Rahman starred alongside Korean actress

Kim Ha-neul Kim Ha-neul (; born February 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress. After starting her career as a model, she rose to fame by starring in the films ''Ditto (2000 film), Ditto'' (2000), ''My Tutor Friend'' (2003), ''Too Beautiful to Lie'' (2004), ...

in the family film ''Making Family''. He also featured in Guo Jingming's fantasy animated motion capture '' L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties'', and reprised his role in the sequel of ''Cold War''. In 2017, Rahman starred alongside

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

in the action comedy film ''

Kung Fu Yoga ''Kung Fu Yoga'' ( zh, 功夫瑜伽) is a 2017 Chinese action adventure comedy film written and directed by Stanley Tong and produced by and starring Jackie Chan. It is the sequel to '' The Myth'' (2005), with Chan reprising his role as an a ...

''. The same year, he starred in

Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, , born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong (), is a Hong Kong filmmaker. A major director in the Golden Age of Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cinema, Tsui gained critical and commercial success with films such as ''Zu Warriors from ...

's science fiction wuxia film '' The Thousand Faces of Dunjia''. In 2019, Rahman starred in the historical romance drama '' Princess Silver'' as the male lead.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Awards

Music

Film and television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Aarif 1987 births Living people Hong Kong male singers Cantopop singer-songwriters Cantopop singers Cantonese people Mandopop singers Hong Kong people of Malay descent Hong Kong people of Malaysian descent Alumni of King George V School, Hong Kong Alumni of Imperial College London 21st-century Hong Kong male actors Hong Kong male film actors Hong Kong male television actors Hong Kong Christians People of Arab descent