Is Simon Yam the most fearless actor in Hong Kong? Triads, gigolos, killers, he played them all

He has said in interviews that it is important to be on time, to be prepared, to get to work and to get the job done. He loves acting and wants to make as many films as possible, and this approach also suits him financially. He was never ashamed to talk about making money.

Sometimes it seems like he accepts whatever role is offered to him.

In the 1990s, the triads controlled a lot of the film business, so a lot of terrible movies were coming out and he was in a lot of them. At the time, he didn't seem able to say no.

But that changed after 1998, when the Asian financial crisis hit Hong Kong's film industry and the production bubble burst. He said it brought some benefits on a personal level, because suddenly fewer films were being made, and the ones that were often had better scripts and better directors. There weren't that many unusual films.

Yam has always chosen to work in many different genres.

Yes, he's appeared in all sorts of genres. He was in the Gigolo and whore The films of the early 1990s were sort of romantic comedies about a prostitute.

He has played cops in countless action films. He's played hitmen, he's played good guys, and he's played bad guys. He played real triad members in the early 1990s in films sometimes financed by real triad members.

Viewers outside Hong Kong may not be aware of its more serious dramatic side.

It wasn't uncommon for mainstream stars to appear in adults-only Category III films in the 1990s, but Yam seems to have done so with enthusiasm. he is famous for his shocking ones like Raped by an angel And Doctor Lamb.

He has done many more Category III and Category IIB films than other actors, and he is happy to go places where others won't go.

Why do audiences and producers love it so much?

He's an incredibly handsome guy with a really expressive face. He's one of those actors who looks interesting even though he doesn't do much on screen. Even though he's just thinking on screen, he looks interesting. Yam just has this magnetism, he doesn't need to act to get your attention.

The other thing is that he's been around since the 1970s. Hong Kong people have seen him on screen their whole lives and grew up with him. There's a certain familiarity that he brings with him, and that's really important for his career.

How do you rate his acting?

He is a truly talented and fearless actor. Even back when he worked in television at TVB, he was fearless in choosing his roles.

In the movie Doctor Lamb he gives a very intense portrayal of the killer and he didn't play him once, as he had already played him in a TV movie. As he's gotten older, his intensity has lessened, but he's still compelling.

He's not in the top tier of actors like Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, but he's certainly above the second tier. What is its place?

Simon Yam has this quality, but he cares less about his image than about his work. He likes to bring intensity to his roles and do something new, and if that makes the character he's playing seem monstrous, well, fine.

Yam never cared too much about his image, and that made him a better actor. But it also kept him from being a movie star on the level of Tony Leung or Chow Yun-fat.

Their first film together was Expect the unexpected in 1998. Yam had made Casino And THE King of thievesy, in which he played real triad guys, they were really cheap films and didn't do much for his reputation.

In this regular feature-length series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, reassess the careers of its biggest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of this beloved industry.