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Photo of Leslie Cheung

Leslie Cheung

Actor, Writer, Producer, Additional Credits
Born September 12, 1956Died April 1, 2003 (46 years)
Cheung Kwok-Wing (Chinese: 張國榮, English name: Leslie, September 12, 1956 – April 1, 2003) was a Hong Kong Canadian singer and actor. Born in Hong Kong, Leslie Cheung moved to the United Kingdom in 1971, settling in Leeds, where he enrolled at university to study fashion design. After completing his studies, he returned to Hong Kong and, in 1977, took part in an amateur singing competition—the ATV Asian Music Contest—where he won second prize. The following year, he released his first album, I Like Dreaming. He soon began appearing on television and quickly landed his first film role in Erotic Dreams of the Red Chamber (1978), an erotic production that Cheung himself later described as a “shameful disaster.”

Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent pioneers that shaped the identity of Cantopop during the 1980s and became known for his flamboyant, often outrageous stage appearance. His venture into acting in the 1990s was recognized for his portrayal of queer characters in the then-conservative film industry, he was one of the few Hong Kong actors willing to take on gay roles—such as in Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together—or to play a cross-dressing opera performer in Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1993. His career was marked with both praise and criticism, with numerous public discussions focusing on his sexual orientation and androgynous persona.

Leslie Cheung died by suicide on April 1, 2003, at the age of 46, by jumping from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. In the note he left behind, he stated that he had been suffering from depression. Some, however, have speculated that his suicide was due to heartbreak, while others have claimed he had long been living with HIV and that AIDS had recently developed.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Knock Off

Known For

  • Farewell My Concubine
  • Days of Being Wild
  • Happy Together
  • Ashes of Time
  • A Chinese Ghost Story
  • A Better Tomorrow
  • A Better Tomorrow II
  • A Chinese Ghost Story II
  • The Bride with White Hair
  • Once a Thief
  • The Eagle Shooting Heroes
  • Temptress Moon
  • Inner Senses
  • Rouge
  • The Chinese Feast
  • All's Well, Ends Well
  • He's a Woman, She's a Man
  • The Bride with White Hair II
  • Double Tap
  • Viva Erotica
  • The Phantom Lover
  • Who's the Woman, Who's the Man
  • Moonlight Express
  • Nomad

Filmography

2017
Duckweed · as Cast
2002
Inner Senses · as Jim Law
2000
Okinawa Rendez-vous · as Jimmy Tong
2000
And I Hate You So · as C.h. Yuen
2000
Double Tap · as Rick Y.h.pang
1999
The Kid · as Wing / Daniel
1999
Moonlight Express · as Tatsuya Misawa / Shek Karbo
1998
1998
Anna Magdalena · as Editor
1998
Knock Off · as Young Worker (skinny Freight)
1998
Ninth Happiness · as Ma Lun Cheung / Tok Choi
1997
Happy Together · as Ho Po-Wing
1996
Viva Erotica · as Sing
1996
Who's the Woman, Who's the Man · as Sam Koo Gai Ming
1996
Shanghai Grand · as Hui Man Keung
1996
Temptress Moon · as Yu Zhongliang
1996
Tri-Star · as Chung Kwok Keung
1995
The Phantom Lover · as Song Danping
1995
The Chinese Feast · as Chiu Kong Sun
1994
Ashes of Time · as Ouyang Feng / Malicious West
1994
The Long and Winding Road · as Lam Chiu-Wing
1994
He's a Woman, She's a Man · as Sam Koo Gai Ming
1994
It's a Wonderful Life · as Roberto
1993
1993
The Bride with White Hair · as Cho Yi Hang
1993
The Eagle Shooting Heroes · as Huang Yaoshi
1993
All's Well, Ends Well Too · as David Copper Feel
1993
Farewell My Concubine · as Cheng Dieyi / Xiao Douzi
1992
1992
All's Well, Ends Well · as Shang So
1991
The Banquet · as Little B-Head
1991
Once a Thief · as James / Jim
1990
Days of Being Wild · as Yuddy
1990
A Chinese Ghost Story II · as Ling Choi-San
1989
1988
Fatal Love · as Chi Ken Wing
1987
A Better Tomorrow II · as Sung Chi Kit
1987
Rouge · as Chan Chen-Pang
1987
A Chinese Ghost Story · as Ling Choi-San
1986
Last Song in Paris · as Louie
1986
A Better Tomorrow · as Sung Chi Kit
1985
For Your Heart Only · as Piggy Chan
1984
Merry Christmas · as John
1984
Behind the Yellow Line · as Paul Chan
1984
Long feng zhi duo xing · as Inspector Chan Wing
1983
Little Dragon Maiden · as Yang Guo / Yang Kang
1983
1982
Nomad · as Louis
1982
Energetic 21 · as Ben Leung Man Bun
1982
Teenage Dreamers · as Jackson Chen
1981
On Trial · as Wing
1980
Encore · as Gigo
1979
The Spirit of the Sword (TV Series) · as 方宝玉
1978
Hong lou chun shang chun · as Jia Baoyu

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