Ti Lung

He is a Hong Kong Film Award, Golden Horse Award, and Golden Bauhinia Award winner.

• Name — Ti Lung • Native Name — 狄龍 • Birth Name — Tam Fu-wing • Other Names — * Tommy Tam • Tik Lung • Tik Long • Ti Lung • Born — 19 August 1946 • Birthplace — Guangzhou, China • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1969–present • Children — 1 • Relatives — Jerry Lamb (nephew) Jan Lamb (nephew)

Ti was born as Tam Fu Wing (譚富榮) in the Xinhui District of Guangzhou, Guangdong, China into a family with 4 members including himself, his parents and a younger sister. His whole family moved to Hong Kong shortly after the end of the Chinese Civil War, when he was four-years-old. He was educated at the Eton College in Hong Kong. However, after his father's death, he had to terminate his studies at the age of 11 in order to support his family. Initially, he worked as a delivery boy at a grocery store where he often delivered milk, newspapers and groceries. At 17, he trained as a tailor and studied Wing Chun in order to protect himself against street gangs.

In 1968, after he graduated year 2 college, Ti responded to an advertisement placed by the Shaw Brothers and applied to the Shaw Acting Course. Upon graduation from the class, he was able to secure a minor role in Chang Cheh's Return of the One-Armed Swordsman starring Jimmy Wang Yu. He was given the stage name "Ti Lung" ("Ti" being a lucky name and "Lung" meaning dragon) by Shaw Brothers executive Mona Fong, because it sounded similar to Alain Delon (whom he greatly admired). Chang immediately recognized his potential and offered him the lead role in his next production Dead End opposite Golden Chan Hung-lit, a role which would launch his career as one of the best known faces in classic Wuxia films. At that time, he continued to study Wing Chun under the martial arts master Jiu Wan who described him as having the advantages of a strong body, intelligence, speed, good footwork and a diligent work ethic. Jiu Wan granted Ti Lung a certificate upon completion of his martial arts training in Wing Chun, and Ti Lung subsequently learned other martial arts (and performance art skills) such as Judo, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Wushu and horseback riding. Later on in his career, Ti Lung became a common face associated with David Chiang, Alexander Fu Sheng, Ku Feng, Chen Kuan-Tai, the Venom Mob and other major Shaw Bros stars at the time, often cast as a dashing, noble hero as well as a capable martial artist. Ti Lung is also perhaps more known for his collaborations with the most revered of Shaw Studio directors - Chang Cheh - who turned him into a star along with fellow actor and frequent co-star David Chiang in over 20 films: Dead End (1969), Have Sword, Will Travel (1969), Vengeance (1970), The Heroic Ones (1970), The Duel (1971), Duel of Fists (1971), The Deadly Duo (1971), Angry Guest (1972), Four Riders (1972), The Blood Brothers (1973) and The Pirate (1973). Due to their successes, the trio eventually became known as "The Iron Triangle." During the early 1970s, one of Ti Lung's most notable feature films was The Blood Brothers (1973) which netted him The Special Award for Outstanding Performance at the 11th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan and the Special Jury Award at the Asian Film Awards in 1973. Soon after, Ti Lung moved forward ins his career by teaming up with Lar Kar-Leung, Chu Yuan, Sun Chung and Tong Gai to produce movies still loved today such as The Magic Blade (1976), Clans of Intrigue (1977), The Sentimental Swordsman (1977), The Avenging Eagle (1978) and Shaolin Prince (1983). The famous standard formula of wuxia movies produced by the Shaw Brothers took Chu Yuan as the director, Gu Long as the original playwright and Ti Lung as the hero. Chu Yuan directed more Gu Long movies than any other director did, and Ti Lung appeared in more Chu Yuan films than any other actor, including Clans of Intrigue in 1977, Legend of the Bat in 1978, The Magic Blade in 1976 and The Sentimental Swordsman in 1977. In 1979, he won a Best Actor Award at the 25th Asian Film Awards as Black Eagle Chik Ming-Sing in The Avenging Eagle in 1978. After he left Shaw Brothers Studios in the 1980s, Ti Lung's career took a turn for the worse until 1986, when John Woo cast him opposite Chow Yun-fat in A Better Tomorrow for the role of a Triad member, Sung-Tse Ho. The movie was a massive box office success and placed Ti Lung squarely back in the public consciousness, although it changed his image from the handsome young martial artist to the tortured, would-be hero gangster. His role in the film also won him a Best Actor Award at the 23rd Golden Horse Awards in 1986. After that role, Ti Lung's next most recognizable appearance would be with Jackie Chan in Drunken Master II, in which he co-starred as Wong Kei-Ying, father of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung. In 1994–95, Ti Lung lead-starred as Bao Zheng in a Hong Kong version of the Justice Pao TV series for TVB. At the time this series was playing on Hong Kong television, many fans in Mainland China and Hong Kong favorably compared Ti Lung/TVB's Bao Zheng with Jin Chao-chun/Mainland China's Bao Zheng. Ti Lung also worked with Andy Lau in Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon as the legendary Guan Yu. From there, he has continued to steadily work in television in a variety of roles. In 1999, Ti Lung experienced a comeback in movies by playing the role of Sir Lung in The Kid (1999), which enabled him to achieve a Best Supporting Actor award at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. In 2007, he received a Life Achievement Award at the Golden Bauhinia Awards. Until 2015, he played Master Lam in a Hong Kong and Malaysia feature film co-production, The Kid from the Big Apple. The role won him a Best Actor Award at the 7th Macau International Movie Festival. The sequel to the film is slated to premiere in Malaysia in November 2017.

Ti Lung married beauty queen and actress Tao Man Ming in 1975. In 1980, Tao gave birth to a son, Shaun Tam Chun-yin (譚俊彦). He is also the uncle of singers Jerry Lamb and Jan Lamb.

• Year — Network — Title — Role — Notes • 1995 — TVB — Justice Pao (包青天) — Baau Cing • 1996 — TVB — ICAC Investigators 1996 (廉政行動1996) — Cheung Tin-yam • 1998 — TVB — ICAC Investigators 1998 (廉政行動1998) — Cheung Tin-yam • 2003 — Hunan TV — My Fair Princess III (還珠格格3之天上人間) — Qianlong Emperor • 2004 — Trail of the Everlasting Hero (俠影仙蹤) — Wang Xizhi • Warriors of the Yang Clan (楊門虎將) — Yang Ye • 2010 — Qin Xianglian (秦香蓮) — Bao Zheng • KBS — The Fugitive: Plan B (도망자 플랜 B) — General Wei • 2011 — Qin Xianglian • 2013 — Team of Sword (刀子队)

Ti Lung was recorded at birth as 譚富榮. The authorities additionally record the headings Tik Lung, Di Long, Tommy Tam, Tommy Tam Fu-wing and Tan Furong. One child is recorded: Shaun Tam.

Ti Lung is recorded as actor, film director and screenwriter.