Wallace Chung

Wallace Chung (born 30 November 1974), also known as Chung Hon-leung (鍾漢良), is a Hong Kong actor and recording artist of Hakka ancestry. His debut was in the 1993 Hong Kong TVB biographical television drama The Chord to Victory, portraying Kenny Bee, a member of The Wynners. In 1995, Chung moved to Taiwan to pursue a singing career under the guidance of record producer Samuel Tai, subsequently signing a contract with Music Impact (BMG).

Chung's successful debut with his 1995 dance album OREA dubbed him as Taiwan's "Little Sun." The eponymous title song quickly raced to #1, topping the charts for many weeks. In December 1995, Chung released his second album, By Your Side (在你身邊), which earned him a title as Taiwan's Best Idol for two years in the row. Chung achieved further fame in mainland China through his performances in popular television dramas and films, most notably the 2015 hit drama My Sunshine.

Career

Beginnings in TVB

In 1992, Chung joined TVB's dance training class. The same year, he debuted as an actor in the TV drama The Chord to Victory.

In 1994, Chung acted in various dramas. His role as the intellectually-disabled youth in Journey of Love displayed his acting skills and left a deep impression on viewers. The same year, he co-hosted the variety program K-100.

Forays in Taiwan and music career with BMG

In 1995, Chung was recommended by Taiwanese music producers, and signed on with the record company BMG. That July, he debuted as a singer with his first solo album, OREA. The eponymous title song quickly raced to #1, topping the charts for many weeks. In December, he released his second album, By Your Side. With his successful debut and entry into the entertainment industry, the Taiwanese media dubbed him as Taiwan's "Little Sun".

In July 1996, he made his first commercial film ,Hi Sir, starring as the male lead. Chung also contributed to the soundtrack of the film, singing the theme song "Ai Bu Shi Shou". Hi Sir topped box office charts and became the biggest summer hit of 1996. In October, he released his first Cantonese album, titled Present, officially embarking onto the Hong Kong music industry.

In January 1997, Chung published his first autobiography, Xuan Zhuan Ren Ma. The same month, he filmed the movie Sweet Symphony. This was Chung's first Hong Kong film after he achieved popularity in Taiwan. In May, he started filming for Fight or Die, a comedy film about a fight between two renowned Taiwanese triads. In June, he released his first remix dance album Zi Lian Wu Xing Ji. In July, he was invited to dub the animation film Shi Wang Da Di.

In February 1998, he collaborated with Taiwanese singer Nana Tang in the movie Love Tragedy. In June, he was cast in the first film invested by China Film Group Corporation, entitled Bad Girl Trilogy, in the segment of Cat and Mouse together with Alyssa Chia. The film was nominated in various categories at the Golden Horse Awards. In October, Chung released his sixth album, Hello, How Are You. The title song "Subway" was nominated at the Golden Melody Awards for Best Composition. Chung also received praise for penning the lyrics to his songs, including "Really Like Me", "Us" and "I Really Want to Know".

Rock Records and focus on television dramas

After ending his contract with BMG, Chung decided to focus on filming television dramas from 1999. In October 1999, he was cast in the TV series Windstorm. The drama was broadcast in December 2000 simultaneously on three stations in Taiwan.

In June 2000, Chung signed a contract with Rock Records, becoming the label company's first flagship artist. The same year, he starred in the movie Forever Young, and the 8pm prime-time drama Sweetheart.

In July 2011, he guest-starred in the highly popular Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden. From 2002 to 2004, Chung starred in various television dramas, including Qian Si Wan Lu, Secretly in love with you, The Four Detective Guards and Treacherous Waters.

In January 2004, Chung released his seventh album, Soul Man. The eponymous title song, along with two other tracks, "Bu Tai Wen Rou" and "An Lian Xiang Zha Dan", received positive responses. In 2005, he filmed the wuxia drama The Patriotic Knights and starred in The Midnight Sun, as part of Hai Run's "Sunshine" trilogy.

Chung then successfully portrayed two Qing Dynasty figures - a famous Chinese poet Nalan Xingde in Secret History of Kangxi and the Kangxi Emperor in Royal Tramp, which starred Huang Xiaoming as the titular Wei Xiaobao.

Personal studio

In June 2006, Chung set up his own personal studio, and released his first EP, Feng He Re Li. He continued to star in various television dramas and movies, such as Shanghai King, Night Rose, Rose Martial World, Duel for Love and Huo Xian Zhui Xiong.

In March 2009, he was cast in the war suspense series Undercover. The drama premiered in September 20 on four major broadcast stations, and placed in the top 5 in its ratings slot nationally. In November, he was cast in the republic-era drama Too late to say loving you as lieutenant Mu Rongfeng. The drama was aired on Jiangsu Television in 2011, and garnered strong ratings. Mu Rongfeng also became one of his most well-known roles to audiences, and gained him many fans. Chung then filmed two other republic-era dramas, No Choice and Under the Bodhi Tree.

In January 2010, Chung released his 11th album, All Eyes On Me. Upon its release in mainland China in October, the album topped the charts and Chung won the Best Dance Singer award at the China V Chart Awards.

In March 2011, he started filming the spy drama Imminent Crisis, portraying twin brothers Yang Muchu and Yang Muci. Chung also contributed to the soundtrack of the drama, singing the theme song "Black". The series was aired on CNTV in July 2012. Chung's performance in the drama raised his profile in mainland China, winning him the Audience's Favorite Actor at the 26th Golden Rooster Award and Audience's Favorite TV Drama Actor in the Hong Kong and Taiwan region at the 2012 China TV Golden Eagle Award.

In June 2011, he started filming for The Magic Blade, adapted from Gu Long's novel of the same title. The series was broadcast on Hunan TV in June 2012 and achieved strong ratings, despite the network's poor performance in ratings that year. In 2013, Chung was awarded the Annual Best Actor award at the 3rd LeTV awards, and was nominated at the 27th Golden Rooster Award for Most Popular Actor.

In August 2011, Chung released the single "One Day We Will Grow Old". The song was named as one of the Top Ten Songs at the 2011 China V Chart Awards, and Chung once again won the Best Dance Singer award. In October, he held his first solo concert titled "Wallace S-Party Concert" at Shanghai's Luwan Gymnasium. The tour subsequently continued to Guangzhou. He then joined the cast of crime thriller film Drug War, which was released in April 2013.

In April 2012, Chung started filming for Best Time, a romance drama film based on Tong Hua's novel The Most Beautiful Time. It started airing on Hunan TV in November 2013. The series was popular with the audience, and ratings surpassed the 2.0 mark. Chung was awarded Best Actor (HK/TW) at the 4th LeTV awards.

Milkyway Hairun Artists Limited

In June 2012, Chung joined Milkyway Hairun Artists Limited. He then started filming for the movies Secret Garden (adapted from the Korean hit drama Secret Garden) and the workplace romance film To Love God.

In November 2012, Chung started filming for the wuxia drama The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, adapted from Louis Cha's novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. The series started airing on Hunan TV in December 2013, and subsequently aired on Zhejiang Television in January 2014, achieving an average rating of 1.0 on both broadcasting stations. Following this, Chung became the endorser of the video game of the same name by Sogua Changyou, and sang the theme song for the game, "Tian Xia Zhi Feng".

In July 2013, Chung began filming for The City of Warriors, a war historical drama to mark the 70th anniversary of the Sino-French War. The series was broadcast on four major broadcasting stations in June 2014. In November, he was cast in Monster Hunt. In December, he started filming for Girls, a romantic comedy movie about sisterly bonds by Wong Chun-chun which was released in July 2014.

In March 2014, Chung was cast alongside Feng Shaofeng and Chen Bolin in the road trip comedy film The Continent. The film premiered in July and was a commercial hit. In April, he was cast in Korean director Kwak Jae-yong's romance film Meet Miss Anxiety alongside Zhao Wei and Tong Dawei, as part of the "Girlfriend" trilogy which includes the 2001 smash hit My Sassy Girl and My Girlfriend Is a Cyborg.

In June 2014, Chung was cast as the male lead He Yichen in My Sunshine, based on the novel Silent Separation written by Gu Man. The series started broadcasting in January 2015 on all major broadcasting stations in China, and proceeded to air on Korean channel MBC. The series was a commercial hit, with online views surpassing 8.5 billion to become the most watched contemporary drama.

Shanghai Cornucopia Television Culture Media Co. Ltd.

After his contract with Milkyway Hairun Artists Limited, he set up his own company, Shanghai Cornucopia Television Culture Media Co. Ltd. In May 2015, he became a host of Back To High School, a reality-variety show jointly produced by Dragon Television, iQiyi and JTBC. In July, he was cast in the Korean-Chinese suspense crime drama film Tik Tok.

In August, he started filming for the action comedy Bounty Hunters, directed by Shin Terra, co-starring with Tiffany Tang and Korean actor Lee Min-ho. Of the recent wave of Korean-Chinese co-ventured movie productions, Bounty Hunters was slated to be one of the most expensive. The movie was originally set with a tentative budget of US$16 million, though recent budget predictions put the cost at $31 million. The movie was released in July 2016 and showed impressive results at the box office, grossing 9 billion won (US$7.8 million) on its first day.

In September, Chung attended the 2015 Seoul International Drama Awards and won the Asia Star Grand Award.

In November, it was announced that Chung would be making his directorial debut in the youth movie Sandglass.

In December, Chung released a new album, Sing For Life, and announced his Sing For Life World Tour. The tour began in Shanghai on February 20, 2016, and subsequently traveled to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Beijing.

In January 2016, Chung was announced as the male lead for upcoming drama Love Switch, taking on the role of a producer for the first time. In April, it was announced that he had been cast in the metropolitan romance drama The Flower Road to Bid Farewell.

In July 2016, he starred in the crime action film Three, which also stars Zhao Wei and Louis Koo. In Three, Chung charismatically portrayed the antagonist and received critical acclaim for his acting skills. He won the Most Anticipated Actor award at the 19th Shanghai Film Festival.

In October 2016, he was cast in the romance melodrama Liang Sheng, Can We Not Be Laden with Grief.

In 2017, he starred in the period drama General and I, adapted from the novel A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated, alongside Angelababy.

Endorsements

• 2012: Shui Hu Wu Shuang (game)
• 2013: Tian Long Ba Bu (game)
• 2014: Tian Long Ba Bu 3D (MMPORG game)
• 2014: Septwolves
• 2015: Cetaphil
• 2015: Moonlight Blade (game)
• 2015: Xiang Piao Piao Milk Tea
• 2015: Feng Qu Hai Tao
• 2015: Ecovacs Robotics

Filmography

Films

Television

^[1][2]

Discography

• 1995: OREA
• 1995: By Your Side (在你身邊)
• 1996: Miracle (奇蹟)
• 1996: Present (一千種不放心 / 禮物)
• 1997: Passionate (親熱)
• 1997: Zi Lian Wu Xing Ji (自戀舞星級)
• 1998: Do You Love Him? (妳愛他嗎?)
• 1998: Hello, How Are You? (鍾情二次方)
• 2000: Most Exciting (最是精彩)
• 2004: Soul Man (流向巴黎)
• 2010: All Eyes On Me (視覺動物)
• 2015: Sing For Life (乐作人生)

References

External links

• Wallace Chung Official Website
• Wallace Chung Official Weibo