Andy On filmography and biography

Date of birth: 11 May 1976, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Andy On biography

Andy On was born on May 11, 1976, in Providence, Rhode Island. A non-martial artist, Andy had always loved Jackie Chan (I) movies and emulated his moves from flips and kicks at his home. In early 2000, while working as a bartender in Rhode Island, someone suggested he should become an actor. Andy, who didn't like the bartending job anyway, decided to go with his gut and head for Hong Kong to begin his career. He was approached by Chinastar founder Charles Heung and world renowned filmmaker Hark Tsui to take over the role of one of Jet Li's famous movie character, Black Mask, in Black Mask 2: City of Masks. Andy went to the Shaolin Temple to train for a month in stretching and martial arts for the role. Despite the poor reviews and bad box office, Andy has continued to act and, in fact, improve in not only martial arts but acting as well. He was nominated for Best New Actor for his role in Siu nin a Fu (aka Star Runner) and shared the screen with the man who influenced him, Jackie Chan (I), in Xin jing cha gu shi (aka New Police Story).

Andy On trivia

- Worked as a bartender in Rhode Island before deciding to start his film career in Hong Kong.
- Like fellow Hong Kong film star Nicholas Tse, Andy trained in martial arts under Chung Chi Li, the leader of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. He began training with him in 2001 for the film Kei fung dik sau, which was released 2 years later.
- Sustained a hamstring injury on the set of Xin jing cha gu shi in one of the two fights against Jackie Chan (I).
- Trained at the Shaolin Temple for one month before shooting Black Mask 2: City of Masks in 2001.
- Won the Best New Artist Award in 2004 at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his role as Tank Wong in Siu nin a Fu, beating favorite Vanness Wu by only one-tenth of the votes.
- Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese.
- During production of The Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008), Andy was hit in the face by a stuntman during an action sequence. Andy cut his lip and after seven surgeries, sports a small scar on his lip. He considers the scar a "trophy" for his hard work in the film.
- Has studied Wushu, Taekwondo, and notably, Wing Chun, under good friend and fellow action star Philip Ng.
- Sustained a back injury on the set of Guan yun chang (2010) and used a ancient Chinese method known as "Gua Sha", which involves smoothing the injury with perhaps a ceramic Chinese soup spoon.