Hawick Lau
| Hawick Lau | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 劉愷威 (traditional) |
| Chinese name | 刘恺威 (simplified) |
| Pinyin | Liú Kǎiwēi (Mandarin) |
| Jyutping | Lau4 Hoi2 Wai1 (Cantonese) |
| Ethnicity | Han Chinese |
| Born |
13 October 1974 Hong Kong, China |
| Spouse(s) | Yang Mi (m. 2014) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents | Lau Dan |
| Ancestry | Weihai, Shandong, China |
Hawick Lau (劉愷威; born 13 October 1974) is a Hong Kong Chinese actor and singer. He is one of the 5 Fresh Tigers, best known for his performances in TVB series A Kindred Spirit (1995), Virtues of Harmony (2001) and My Family (2005).
He then expanded his career into mainland China, acting in several notable series. He is best known for his appearances in Sealed with a Kiss (2011), A Clear Midsummer Night (2013), The Wife's Secret (2014), Lady & Liar (2015) and Chronicle of Life (2016).
Biography
Hawick grew up in Hong Kong, China. He is the son of Hong Kong actor Lau Dan, with whom he co-starred in A Kindred Spirit, Virtues of Harmony and Virtues of Harmony II.
Hawick studied architecture at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.
Career
Hawick debuted in the 1995 drama A Kindred Spirit. He starred alongside his father Lau Dan in the drama, co-incidentally portraying father and son. The same year, he signed on with Hong Kong's Sony Music as a singer.
In 1997, he released his first Chinese album LALA I Love You. In 1998, he released his first Cantonese album A Boy's Story.
Hawick continued acting in Hong Kong dramas and started to gain fame locally. In 2000, he starred in youth romance drama Aiming High with Nicholas Tse. He also had a supporting role in epic financial thriller At the Threshold of an Era. From 2001 to 2002, he starred in the historical sitcom Virtues of Harmony and later its sequel in 2003, which had a modern twist. In January 2005, he starred in modern comedy drama My Family, in his first leading role.
TVB named him as one of the 5 Fresh Tigers – a group of promising young actors that the network pushed to become stars.
In 2005, after having a significant amount of success at TVB, he left the company and traveled to mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore, where he participated in some of the productions. He filmed his first Mainland production The Hui Merchants of Qing (which aired in 2007). He also starred in the Mediacorp production Destiny; following which he participated in the Taiwanese drama Letter 1949.
In April 2006, Hawick signed with ATV, the other main television station and production studio in Hong Kong for one year. In November 2006, Hawick's first series with ATV, No Turning Back began airing.
In order to fully immerse himself into the Chinese market, Hawick insisted on speaking Mandarin Chinese instead of Cantonese for his media appearances. He started to gain attention from the Chinese audiences for his appearance in the 2008 drama Royal Embroidery Workshop. Following which, he won the Audience's Most Favorite Actor Award at the Annual Fujian TV Station I Love My Drama award ceremony in 2009.
In 2009, he starred in the republican drama Niang Qi, which won him the Best Actor Award at the Jiangsu TV Drama Awards.
Hawick gained mainstream popularity after starring in romance angst drama Sealed With a Kiss, gaining recognition from his portrayal of Mo Shaoqian, who was likened to the Asian version of Christian Grey.
In 2012, Hawick starred in the romantic comedy film Holding Love alongside Yang Mi. The movie was released on the day of Qixi Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, and topped the box office charts.
Hawick then established his personal studio, and took on the role of a producer for the first time in the contemporary romance drama A Clear Midsummer Night. The drama aired in 2013 and quickly became popular with the audience, becoming the first drama in 2013 to surpass 100 million views. In April, he starred in the drama version of the 2012 hit movie Painted Skin: The Resurrection. His performance in the series won him the Best Actor in the Ancient Drama genre at the 13th Huading Awards. In August 2013, he returned to TVB, filming the Hong Kong-China joint production Master of Destiny, which aired in 2015.
In 2014, he starred opposite Zhao Liying in The Wife's Secret. The drama achieved high ratings.
In 2015, Hawick paired up with Tiffany Tang in the idol drama Lady & Liar, which broke records to become the most viewed republic era period drama online. His character Bai Zhengqing was popular with the audience, and gained him a large number of fans. Following Lady & Liar, Hawick then starred in The Cage of Love, written by famed writer Tong Hua.
In 2016, Hawick starred in period romance drama Chronicle of Life, portraying the Kangxi Emperor. The series gained huge popularity upon its premiere, placing #1 in ratings nationally for 16 days. In April, the second production by Hawick's studio, entitled Road to the North premiered on CNTV.
Personal Life
Hawick announced his relationship with Chinese actress Yang Mi on January 8, 2012 through Weibo. The two have previously co-starred in Ru Yi, Holding Love and A Clear Midsummer Night.
On January 8, 2014, Hawick and Yang got married in Bali, Indonesia. On June 1, 2014, Yang gave birth to her their daughter nicknamed Little Sticky Rice (小糯米) in Hong Kong.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Long Feng Dou Zhi Pan Long Fang | 龙凤斗智蟠龙坊 | Jin Kezhong | |
| 2003 | Bless the Child | 某年某月某日 | Wong Yong | |
| The Spy Dad | 神勇鐵金剛 | Hotel employee | ||
| Honesty | 絕種好男人 | Ah Chong | ||
| 2009 | Irreversi | 回路 | Liu Zhiming | |
| 2012 | Holding Love | HOLD住爱 | Tao Xiaolei | |
Television drama
| Year | Title | Chinese Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–1999 | A Kindred Spirit | 真情 | Lee Tian An | |
| 1997 | Mystery Files | 迷離檔案 | Cheung Wai | Episodes 7–9 |
| 1999 | Untraceable Evidence II | 鑑證實錄II | Yeung Chi-lun | |
| 1999–2000 | At the Threshold of an Era | 創世紀 | Yip Wing-chak | |
| 2000 | Aiming High | 撻出愛火花 | Cheung Wing-leung | |
| 2001 | Law Enforcers | 勇探實錄 | Lee Lap-ming | |
| 2001–2002 | Virtues of Harmony | 皆大歡喜 | Yuen Sau | |
| 2004-2005 | Virtues of Harmony II | 皆大歡喜 | Lau Ka-sing | |
| 2004 | Hard Fate | 翡翠戀曲 | Mok Hei-man | |
| Shades of Truth | 水滸無間道 | Ben Fai | ||
| ICAC Investigators 2004 | 廉政行動2004 | Cheung Lap-san | ||
| 2005 | My Family | 甜孫爺爺 | Freeman Man | |
| Destiny | 梦在手里 | Fan Yijie | ||
| 2006 | Deng Huo Lan Shan | 灯火阑珊 | Luo Jiahui | |
| 2006–2007 | Relentless Justice | 義無反顧 | Aaron Yip | aka No Turning Back |
| 2007 | Huan Zi Cheng Long | 换子成龙 | Chen Tianhong | aka Changing Sons |
| Qing Hui Merchants | 大清徽商 | Chen Yuanliang | ||
| Shun Niang | 顺娘 | Chen Wuqiu | ||
| 2008 | East Hegemon | 江湖往事 | Xiao Tang | |
| Royal Embroidery Workshop | 凤穿牡丹 | Huo Dongqing | 2009 Fujian TV Station I Love My Drama Award - Audience's Most Favorite Actor | |
| One Thousand Teardrops | 一千滴眼泪 | Jiang Haotian | ||
| 2009 | Single Mother | 单亲妈妈 | Tai Songping | |
| Letter 1949 | 我在1949，等你 | Lin Xiang | ||
| Niang Qi | 娘妻 | Gao Yaozhong | Jiangsu TV Drama Awards - Best Actor | |
| 2010 | Happy Mother-in-Law, Pretty Daughter-in-Law | 欢喜婆婆俏媳妇 | Tie Changsheng | |
| Who Knows the Female of the Women | 谁知女人心 | Zhao Anhua | ||
| Chong Sheng Men | 重生门 | Lian Chengwen | also known as Gate of Rebirth | |
| Spell of the Fragrance | 国色天香 | Xiang Haoyu | ||
| 2011 | Puti Shu Xia | 菩提树下 | Long Wusheng | aka Under the Bodhi Tree |
| Da Tang Nujiang Fan Lihua | 大唐女将樊梨花 | Xue Dingshan | aka Tang's Female General Fan Lihua | |
| Sealed With a Kiss | 千山暮雪 | Mo Shaoqian | 2011 TV Drama Awards - Best TV Drama Idol | |
| Love in the War Time | 烽火儿女情 | Fang Junjie | ||
| 2012 | Ru Yi | 如意 | Tan Mingkai | |
| Zhuan Huo Xi Bei Lang | 战火西北狼 | Lieutenant Long Douyun | ||
| In Love with Power | 山河恋·美人无泪 | Hong Taiji | ||
| 2013 | A Clear Midsummer Night | 盛夏晚晴天 | Qiao Jinfan | also producer 2nd Asia Rainbow TV Awards - Outstanding Actor |
| Painted Skin 2 | 画皮之真爱无悔 | General Wang Ying | 13th Huading Awards - Best Actor (Ancient Drama) | |
| Die Xue Gu Dao | 喋血孤岛 | Agent Mike | ||
| 2014 | The Four Scholars of Jiangnan | 江南四大才子 | Tang Bohu | |
| The Wife’s Secret | 妻子的秘密 | Li Minglang | ||
| 2015 | Lady & Liar | 千金女賊 | Bai Zhengqing | |
| The Cage of Love | 抓住彩虹的男人 | Jiang Yu | ||
| Master of Destiny | 縱橫天地 | Cho Chi-yuen | ||
| The Double Life of Veronique | 两生花 | Qin Mo (Chen Bin） | ||
| You Are My Sisters | 你是我的姐妹 | Shi Tianming | 2015 TV Drama Awards - Most Popular Actor (HK/TW) | |
| Feng Niao Chu Ji | 蜂鸟出击 | Luo Shaoqing | ||
| 2016 | Chronicle of Life | 寂寞空庭春欲晚 | Kangxi | 1st annual China Television Drama Quality Ceremony - Most Charismatic Actor |
| Road to the North | 一念向北 | Lu Xiangbei | also producer | |
| First Love | 柠檬初上 | Zuo Zaijun | ||
| TBD | Fei Dao You Jian Fei Dao | 飞刀又见飞刀 | Li Huai | |
| The Heirs | 继承人 | Zheng Hao | ||
| The Legend of Jade Sword | 莽荒纪 | Ji Ning | ||
| Full Love | 周末父母 | Yu Zhiyuan |