Profile: Tony Leung Chiu Wai

I had the luck of watching Red Cliff (2008) recently and even though it may have moments that are uneven or at times undone by its own CGI, I was very caught up in the characters and story. Watching it, I marveled at the always incredible Tony Leung. Leung is an actors actor, he is surely one of the best working today in any language and I'm more than willing to put him amongst the top actors ever. From action to drama to comedy, Leung always delivers a performance that makes you feel there is so much more going on under the surface.

Just look at In The Mood For Love (2000). What he and equally gifted Maggie Cheung give to the audience in that film is as close to transcendental as it gets. They do so much without saying a word that the mind races and eyeballs almost explode to keep up with it. Wong Kar-Wai's camera works so beautifully with what they are displaying that it almost reaches cinematic nirvana.

So without further lamentations, here is a photo tribute to Tony Leung Chui Wai.

INFERNAL AFFAIRS (1998)

HERO (2003)

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000)

LUST CAUTION (2007)

2046(2004)

HARD BOILED (1992)

RED CLIFF (2008)

Do I have a bit of a man crush on the guy? Sure, but it's hard not to when someone can display such charm and a sense of ease on the screen that can be matched by very few. He is an actor who is under appreciated in this country and it is a real shame considering all of the talentless celebutards that we pay to see up on the screen.

(My apologies for the use of celebutards. It is from way to much time spent working at TMZ.)