Lai Yiu-cheung (; born 4 May 1964), better known as Wayne Lai, is a Hong Kong actor. He became one of Hong Kong's most successful television actors after starring in TVB hit drama series ''

Rosy Business ''Rosy Business'' ( zh, c=巾幗梟雄, j=gan1 gwok3 hiu1 hung4) is a 2009 Hong Kong period television drama produced by Lee Tim-sing and TVB. Comprising 25 episodes, it originally aired on the Jade network from 27 April to 29 May 2009. It is t ...

''. Lai won three TVB Anniversary Awards for Best Actor, making him only one of three actors who have three wins in that category. After graduating from

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...

artistes' training program, he made his acting debut in 1986, playing supporting roles. He first rose to popularity for his role as

Zhu Bajie Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three disciples of Tang Sanzang, along with Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, and a major character of the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West''. ''Zhu'' means "swine" and ''Bajie'' means "eight pr ...

in the 1996 fantasy drama ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

.'' In 2008, he won Best Supporting Actor at the TVB Anniversary Awards for his role in ''

The Gentle Crackdown II ''The Gentle Crackdown II'' (Traditional Chinese: 秀才愛上兵) is a TVB costume comedy series broadcast in January 2008. The reboot series stars Wayne Lai, Steven Ma, Yumiko Cheng, and Ha Yu. Synopsis Having lost her father at an early age, ...

.'' His performance as Chai Kau in the period drama ''

'' received critical acclaim and earned him the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor. Lai again won Best Actor at the TVB Anniversary Awards for starring in '' No Regrets'' (2010) and '' The Confidant'' (2012).

Life and career

Lai was born in Hong Kong and the youngest in his family. His father was a

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

. When Lai's father retired, his family moved to Kowloon's Shun Lee Estate. Lai began working at television network

in 1983 as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

in the administration department. In 1985, he resigned from the position and enrolled in TVB's artistes training program. After completing the program, he joined TVB as an actor. He appeared in various

Educational Television Educational television or learning television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that are often associated with cable televi ...

programs, in which he played supporting roles. He made his television series debut in the 1986 docu-drama ''Price of A Green Card'' (). From 1986 to 1989, Lai played various roles and made appearances as an extra in over 50 drama series. Lai portrayed

Zhou Botong Zhou Botong ( zh, 周伯通) is a fictional character in the wuxia novels '' The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' by Jin Yong. A member of the Quanzhen School, he is highly-skilled in martial arts, having b ...

in four

Jin Yong Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), was a Hong Kong wuxia novelist and co-founder of '' Ming Pao.'' Cha authored 15 novels between 1955 and 1972 and became one of the most pop ...

television adaptations, including ''

Rage And Passion ''Rage and Passion'' is a Hong Kong television series adapted from Louis Cha's novels ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''. It was released overseas on 31 October 1992. Plot The story is an unofficial prequel ...

'' (1992), '' The Condor Heroes Return'' (1993), '' The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1994,'' and ''

The Condor Heroes 95 ''The Condor Heroes 95'' is a Hong Kong television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel '' The Return of the Condor Heroes''. It was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in 1995. Many of the cast from '' The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' (199 ...

.'' Lai gained popularity as

in the commercial success ''

''. After starring in ''Anti-Crime Squad'' in 1999, he left TVB to pursue opportunities in the film industry. He appeared in the films '' Bio-Zombie'' (1998) and ''Happy Go Lucky'' (2003), and starred in a few

ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television broadcaster * Andorra Televisió * Anguilla Television * Ayna TV, Afghanistan * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourn ...

productions after joining the network for a year. In 2002, unable to earn a steady source of income from film projects, Lai returned to TVB. He starred in the television series ''

Greed Mask ''Greed Mask'' (Traditional Chinese: 謎情家族) is a TVB modern suspense series released overseas in May 2003 and broadcast on TVB Jade Channel in January 2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertifica ...

'', in which Lai portrays a transgender man. Lai won Best Supporting Actor at the 2008

TVB Anniversary Awards The TVB Anniversary Awards (), officially known as the TVB Awards Presentation, is an annual awards ceremony honouring TVB's programming achievements in Hong Kong television; despite claims that it is the region's equivalent to the American E ...

for his role in ''

.'' In 2008, Lai starred in '' Pages of Treasures'', marking his first role as the male lead along with

Paul Chun Paul Chun (; born 17 May 1945) is a Hong Kong actor. He has appeared in more than 130 films and television series since 1949. In 1966, he appeared in '' The Sand Pebbles'', an American film produced and directed by Robert Wise. Early and personal ...

. His breakthrough year was 2009 when Lai portrayed Chai Kau in the critically acclaimed period drama ''

,'' starring opposite

Sheren Tang Sheren Tang Shui-man (; born 2 March 1966) is a Hong Kong actress. She is best known for her roles in the mega-hit Hong Kong TVB drama series '' War and Beauty'', as well as ''La Femme Desperado'', ''The Family Link'', '' Rosy Business,'' and '' ...

. His performance was met with overwhelming critical acclaim. Chai Kau became a Hong Kong pop culture icon and spawned the catchphrase "How many decades are in a lifetime?" (). At the 2009 TVB Anniversary Awards, Lai won Best Actor, My Favourite Male Character, and the TVB.com Popularity Award. In 2010, Lai once again won Best Actor at the TVB Anniversary Awards for his role Lau Sing in the second installment of ''Rosy Business, No Regrets,'' becoming the second actor to win consecutive awards in this category after

Gallen Lo Gallen Lo Ka-leung () is a Hong Kong actor and singer who primarily acts in television series. He is sometimes credited as King Gallen or Law Ka-leung. Career Lo started his television career in 1984 at ATV. He received short-term success in a ...

who won in 1997 and 1998. Over the years, Lai continues to call the role of Lau Sing as his favourite among all the characters he has played and considers it his representative work. He has stated that ''No Regrets'' deeply affected him due to its patriotic theme and that the series is the best drama he has worked on. In 2011, Lai starred in the police procedural ''

Forensic Heroes III ''Forensic Heroes III'' () is a 2011 Hong Kong police procedural television drama produced by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB). It stars Wayne Lai, Maggie Cheung, Kate Tsui, Ron Ng, Aimee Chan, Edwin Siu, Nancy Wu and Ruco Chan in the ...

'' as Pro Sir. In 2012, Lai starred as

Li Lianying Li Lianying (; 12 November 1848 – 4 March 1911) was a Chinese imperial eunuch who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He was a eunuch during the regency of Empress Dowager Cixi, who was the ''de facto'' ruler of China from 1861 to 1908 thro ...

in the palace drama '' The Confidant''. He won Best Actor for the third time at the 2012 TVB Anniversary Awards. In 2015, Lai made a guest appearance in the drama '' Master of Destiny,'' and starred in the period fantasy drama '' Under the Veil''. He portrays Kung Siu San in ''

Lord of Shanghai Lord of Shanghai may refer to: * ''Lord of Shanghai'' (TV series), 2015 Hong Kong TV series * ''Lord of Shanghai'' (film), 2017 Chinese film {{disambiguation ...

,'' starring alongside Anthony Wong and

Kent Tong Kenneth Tong Chun-yip (; born 29 September 1958) is a Hong Kong actor. He was a popular TVB actor during the 1980s, nicknamed "Prince" and one of the " Five Tiger Generals" of TVB. Early life Kent Tong was born to and grew up in a poor family in H ...

. Lai then starred in the period comedy '' Short End of the Stick,'' a series about the lives of eunuchs after the fall of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. Lai starred in the sitcom '' Come Home Love: Dinner at 8''. In 2016, he starred in a dual role portraying twins in the third installment of the ''Rosy Business'' franchise, ''

No Reserve ''No Reserve'' (), also known as ''Rosy Business III'', is a 2016 Hong Kong espionage television drama serial created and produced by Lee Tim-sing for TVB. It is the third installment of the ''Rosy Business'' franchise. It stars Wayne Lai and ...

''. In 2020, Lai starred in the action drama ''Death by Zero,'' portraying the role of an assassin.

Filmography

Film

Television dramas

Variety Shows

Awards

*2007:

Astro Wah Lai Toi Astro Wah Lai Toi () is a Cantonese Video on demand service (formerly a Cantonese TV channel) owned and operated by Astro in partnership with Hong Kong's TVB. The channel offers mainly TVB programming, alongside some local content. To satisfy ...

"My Favorite Show-Stealer Cast" award for ''

Safe Guards ''Safe Guards'' (Traditional Chinese: 鐵血保鏢) is a TVB costume drama series broadcast in February 2006. Synopsis The story revolves around the ''Wui Yau Safeguard Agency (會友鏢局)'', which is the most prominent safeguard and escort age ...

'' *2007:

"My Favourite Unforgettable Scene" award for ''

'' *2008: 2008 TVB Anniversary Awards "Best Supporting Actor" award for ''

'' *2009: Mingpao Weekly – "Most Outstanding Actor" for Rosy Business *2009:

42nd Anniversary "Best Actor" award for ''

'' *2009:

42nd Anniversary "TVB.com Popularity Award" *2009: TVB Anniversary Awards "My Favourite Male Character" "

" *2009: Yahoo! Asia Buzz Awards "TV Actor" *2010: Next Magazine Top 10 TV Artiste No. 2 *2010: TVB Anniversary Awards "Best Actor" award for '' No Regrets'' *2010:

New York Television Festival The New York Television Festival (NYTVF) is a yearly festival dedicated to the celebration and promotion of independent small-screen productions, web series, and television. Background The festival was founded in 2005, and is held in venues acr ...

"Best Performance – Talent Credits" for Rosy Business (Episode 7) *2011:

Shanghai Television Festival The Shanghai Television Festival (), abbreviated STVF, also known as the Shanghai International Television Festival is the first and one of the largest television festivals in East Asia. Held since 1986, STVF has become one of the most influential ...

nominated "Best Actor" for No Regrets *2011: Mingpao Weekly – "Most Outstanding Actor" for No Regrets

References

External links

Wayne Lai
on

Sina Weibo Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ...

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, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lai, Wayne 1964 births Living people Hong Kong male television actors TVB veteran actors 20th-century Hong Kong male actors 21st-century Hong Kong male actors Hong Kong male film actors Hong Kong male comedians