Leslie Cheung
Acting • Born 1956-09-12 – Died 2003-04-01
Biography
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. His studio albums Summer Romance (1987) and Most Beloved (1995) each sold over 300,000 copies and are among the best-selling albums of all time in the territory. In addition to music, Cheung achieved pan-Asian fame with such films as A Better Tomorrow (1986) and A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). He won the Best Actor at the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Days of Being Wild (1990). 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. 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.
Filmography
93 credits
Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit
Movie • 1989
Brother Thief
All's Well, End's Well '97
Movie • 1997
Self
A Chinese Ghost Story
Movie • 1987
Ling Choi-san
A Better Tomorrow
Movie • 1986
Sung Chi Kit
The Bride with White Hair 2
Movie • 1993
Cho Yi Hang
A Chinese Ghost Story II
Movie • 1990
Ling Choi-san
Ashes of Time
Movie • 1994
Ouyang Feng / Western Venom
All's Well, End's Well
Movie • 1992
Shang So
Moonlight Express
Movie • 1999
Tatsuya Misawa / Shek Karbo
Okinawa Rendez-vous
Movie • 2000
Jimmy Tong
Little Dragon Maiden
Movie • 1983
Yang Guo / Yang Kang
Once a Thief
Movie • 1991
James / Jim
Temptress Moon
Movie • 1996
Yu Zhongliang
A Better Tomorrow II
Movie • 1987
Sung Chi Kit
Days of Being Wild
Movie • 1990
Yuddy
Happy Together
Movie • 1997
Ho Po-wing
The Bride with White Hair
Movie • 1993
Cho Yi Hang
Rouge
Movie • 1987
Chan Chen-Pang
Farewell My Concubine
Movie • 1993
Cheng Dieyi / Xiao Douzi
The Eagle Shooting Heroes
Movie • 1993
Huang Yaoshi
Shanghai Grand
Movie • 1996
Hui Man Keung
The Chinese Feast
Movie • 1995
Chiu Kong Sun
Inner Senses
Movie • 2002
Jim Law
TME Live「想你 張國榮」線上音樂會
Movie • 2021
self
Over the Rainbow, Under the Skirt
Movie • 1994
Himself
Tri-Star
Movie • 1996
Chung Kwok Keung
Double Tap
Movie • 2000
Rick Y.H.Pang
He's a Woman, She's a Man
Movie • 1994
Sam Koo Gai Ming
Viva Erotica
Movie • 1996
Sing
Who's the Woman, Who's the Man?
Movie • 1996
Sam Koo Gai Ming
Nomad
Movie • 1982
Louis
Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema
Movie • 1998
Self
Teenagers
Movie • 1978
Heritage: The Young Concubine
Movie • 1980
Sunset in Paris
Movie • 1989
Leslie
Leslie Cheung: Surprise
Movie • 1985
Merry Christmas
Movie • 1984
John
A Time to Remember
Movie • 1998
Jin
Behind the Yellow Line
Movie • 1984
Paul Chan
The Kid
Movie • 1999
Wing / Daniel
The Phantom Lover
Movie • 1995
Song Danping
Fatal Love
Movie • 1988
Chi Ken Wing
All's Well End's Well, Too
Movie • 1993
David Copper Feel
For Your Heart Only
Movie • 1985
Piggy Chan
熱 : 情演唱會演唱會 Karaoke
Movie • 2001
張國榮跨越97演唱會
Movie • 1997
Buenos Aires Zero Degree: The Making of 'Happy Together'
Movie • 1999
Self
The Intellectual Trio
Movie • 1984
Inspector Chan Wing
Long and Winding Road
Movie • 1994
Lam Chiu-Wing
The Drummer
Movie • 1983
Double Decker
Movie • 1984
Eddie
It's a Wonderful Life
Movie • 1994
Roberto
From Ashes to Ashes
Movie • 2000
Lawrence
Teenage Dreamers
Movie • 1982
Jackson Chen
Crazy Romance
Movie • 1985
Leslie Cheung
Energetic-21
Movie • 1982
Ben Leung Man Bun
Arrest the Restless
Movie • 1992
Teddy
Ninth Happiness
Movie • 1998
Ma Lun Cheung / Tok Choi
On Trial
Movie • 1981
Wing
Encore
Movie • 1980
Gigo
Last Song in Paris
Movie • 1986
Louie
First Time
Movie • 1983
Left Right Love Destiny
Movie • 1999
阿Sam
The Banquet
Movie • 1991
Little B-head
Anna Magdalena
Movie • 1998
Editor
Dog Bites Dog Bone
Movie • 1978
Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing Passion Tour 2000
Movie • 2000
Erotic Dream of the Red Chamber
Movie • 1978
Jia Baoyu
Leslie Cheung: Final Encounter of the Legend
Movie • 1989
自己
張國榮’88演唱會
Movie • 1988
自己
張國榮86濃情演唱會
Movie • 1986
Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing World Tour Bangkok 1983
Movie • 1983
岛的故事之大屿山沙之城
Movie • 1981
Ashes of Time Redux
Movie • 2008
欧阳锋
Dynasty
TV • 1980
Leslie Cheung Special '89
TV • 1989
Leslie
Hong Kong Tragedy
TV • 1978
Agency 24
TV • 1981
The Fallen Family
TV • 1985
方浩天
Crocodile Tears
TV • 1978
In Memory Of Leslie Cheung
TV • 2023
Pairing
TV • 1981
大官
Make a Wish
TV • 1980
珠海枭雄
TV • 1981
六少
Tai Chi Master (II)
TV • 1981
凹凸神探
TV • 1982
The Spirit of the Sword
TV • 1978
方宝玉
Gone with the wind
TV • 1980
Dynasty (II)
TV • 1980
Once Upon An Oridinary Girl
TV • 1984
Celebrity Talk Show
TV • 1989
张国荣
星空下的傾情
TV • 1997
梅艷芳特輯之夢裡風情
TV • 1988