| Dicky Cheung | |||||
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| Chinese name | 張衛健 (Traditional) | ||||
| Chinese name | 张卫健 (Simplified) | ||||
| Ancestry | Shanghai, China | ||||
| Born | 8 February 1965 Hong Kong |
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| Other name(s) | Dicky/WaiKin/Killer/健仔/Dicky仔 | ||||
| Years active | 1980 - present | ||||
| Associated acts | Big Four | ||||
| Spouse(s) | Zhang Qian (since 2009) | ||||
| Partner(s) | Elvina Kong Jessica Hsuan |
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Dicky Cheung Wai Kin (simplified Chinese: 张卫健; traditional Chinese: 張衛健; pinyin: Zhāng Wèijiàn), born on 8 February 1965) is a Hong Kong television actor/singer.
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He entered show business in the early 1980s, signing a contract with television station TVB. He won the 3rd annual New Talent Singing Awards in 1984. Up until the mid 90's, Dicky struggled for many years working as a low-paid actor, singer, and appeared occasionally in films. It wasn't until his brilliant portrayal of the Monkey King character in the 1996 TVB adaptation of the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West that his popularity began to skyrocket. A sequel to the TV adaptation was planned, but due to a contract dispute with TVB, Cheung left before production began. Benny Chan Ho Man took over the role of the Monkey King in the sequel. Cheung then went abroad to Taiwan to continue his career.
He has appeared in many Taiwanese television productions since then. In 1999, TVB's rival station ATV acquired the Hong Kong broadcasting rights to his Taiwanese television series Young Hero Fong Sai Yuk. Cheung played Fong Sai Yuk, a character also portrayed by Jet Li in his film Fong Sai Yuk. The show was an instant hit in Hong Kong, and managed to gain much higher ratings than TVB's own television series. The TVB series showing at that time was Dragon Love, starring Benny Chan Ho Man, who replaced Cheung in the Journey to the West sequel, Journey to the West II.
Dicky Cheung is married to Zhang Qian who had a miscarriage in Spring of 2008. He said that he would like to eventually leave the acting business and seriously consider doing something more meaningful in life such as volunteering to give back to the society. Prior to his current marriage, he was in a brief relationship with actresses Elvina Kong and Jessica Hsuan .[1]
Cheung has starred in many Hong Kong-Taiwanese television productions, enjoying both success in Taiwan as well as Hong Kong. The three most notable are:
Dicky's most notable performance that made him famous was his portrayal of the Monkey King in the 1996 TVB adaptation of the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West. As well as being the lead character, Dicky also sang the theme tune as well as many other songs throughout the series. This series was very popular during its run on TVB Jade, it was even dubbed in English and broadcast on TVB Pearl, the only TVB series to receive this treatment to date. Dicky was also due to play the Monkey King in the sequel. However, due to a dispute regarding the contract, the role was given to Benny Chan Ho Man.
Yet another TV adaptation of Louis Cha's Wuxia novel The Deer and the Cauldron. Cheung played the anti-hero Wai Siu-Bo, a character previously portrayed by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Stephen Chow and Jordan Chan in many television and film adaptations.
The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra
In 2001, Andy Lau's NMG production company produced another television adaptation of Journey to the West. Cheung was given a chance to once again portray the role that made him a household name. The series was broadcast in 2002 on TVB. Although it received high ratings, many felt it was not as good as the 1996 version.
| Preceded by Fong Lui 呂方 |
New Talent Singing Awards winner 1984 |
Succeeded by Alex To 杜德偉 |
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