Dayo Wong
Dayo Wong | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 黃子華 | |||||||||||
Wong at the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival in 2024 | |||||||||||
| Born | 5 September 1960 | ||||||||||
| Education | University of Alberta (BPhil) | ||||||||||
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1984–present | ||||||||||
| Awards | TVB Anniversary Awards –
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 黃子華 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 黄子华 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Musical career | |||||||||||
| Genres | Observational comedy | ||||||||||
| Label | EMI | ||||||||||
Dayo Wong Tze Wah (born 5 September 1960) is a Hong Kong actor and comedian. A pioneer of stand-up comedy in the Chinese-speaking world, he is known for his stadium-scale performances integrating political satire and social commentary,[1][2] including 26 sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum for his farewell performance in 2018.[3] His notable films include A Guilty Conscience (2023) and The Last Dance (2024), which consecutively broke the record for the highest grossing domestic films in Hong Kong history.
Biography
Wong gained a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Alberta in Canada.[4]
He began his career in the entertainment industry in Hong Kong in 1984, but he is best known for his works in live stand-up comedy which he started performing regularly since 1990. Since then he has starred in TV dramas and films and has recorded several albums.
Television
Dayo had his TVB TV series debut in 1999, acting as "Lai Sam" in Justice Sung 2.[5] A year later, he reached a milestone as a lazy law firm assistant in War of the Genders,[6] winning the "My Favourite Television Character Award" in 2002. He won two awards in 2004: the My Favourite On-Screen Partners (with Ada Choi in Catch the Uncatchable) and again, the My Favourite Television Character Award (also in Catch the Uncatchable).
He was nominated for the TV King Award in 2007 and 2009. He was finally crowned as TV King with Bounty Lady in 2013.[7] To Dayo, the award was an accumulative result of his TVB dramas. In that year, Julian Cheung started as the clear favourite of the audience due to his popularity in Triumph in the Skies 2.[8] Though Chilam ended up winning the Most Popular Male Character, he sounded disappointed in his acceptance speech (the price is widely recognised as a consolation prize to The Best Actor Award). Chilam did not stay behind the ceremony for the TVB official interview. He explained that he was not informed to stay behind for any interview. The discord rumours between Chilam and Dayo begin to spread out widely. However, the rumour was shot down when Chilam surprised Dayo by his sudden appearance at a meal gathering of the Bounty Lady.[9]
Stand-up
Besides the TVB drama career, Dayo is also well known to be a stand-up comedian. He introduced stand-up comedy to Hong Kong and is well known for including a lot of political and philosophical content in his sets. "Hong Kong's housing issue is absolutely ridiculous. I have discussed this in my stand-up shows too. Hong Kong residents need to have 13 to 14 times their current annual salary to finally be qualified for home ownership."[10] said the comedian. He has performed in Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, and the United States.[11]
Film
Initially Wong's film career was not as successful as his TV and standup careers. When asked the reasons behind the disparity, he explained that his ultimate goal is to look for something new in his movies. His visions make his work good to watch, but it is not good enough to attract people to pay for a cinema ticket. Additionally, he hates doing promotion for his work.[12] That disparity ended, however, beginning in 2018 when Wong began starring in a string of very successful box office hits. Those included Agent Mr Chan (2018) and The Grand Grandmaster (2020), both the highest grossing domestic films of their year in Hong Kong. He then starred in Table for Six (2022), which became the second highest grossing domestic film ever in Hong Kong at that time. Not to be defeated, he subsequently starred in A Guilty Conscience (2023) and The Last Dance (2024), which both became the highest-grossing domestic films in Hong Kong history, with the latter overtaking the former in 2024.
Filmography
Live shows
| Year | Name | Remark |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 娛樂圈血肉史 | - |
| 1991 | 色情家庭 | - |
| 1992 | 跟住去邊度 | - |
| 1994 | 末世財神 | - |
| 1995 | 棟篤笑雙打之玩無可玩 | Cheung Tat-ming |
| 1997 | 秋前算帳 | - |
| 殺出廚房 | ||
| 1998 | Free Men Show (鬚根Show) | Cheung Tat-ming, Francis Ng |
| 1999 | 拾下拾下拾年棟篤笑 | |
| 2000 | Free Men Show 2 (鬚根Show 2) | Cheung Tat-ming, Francis Ng |
| 男親女愛舞台劇 | ||
| March 2003 | 冇炭用 | - |
| October 2006 | 兒童不宜 | - |
| December 2007 | 越大鑊越快樂 | - |
| September 2008 | 男磨坊 | |
| August to September 2009 | 嘩眾取寵 | - |
| November 2010 | 娛樂圈血肉史 II | - |
| June to July 2011 | 咁愛咁做 | |
| February 2012 | 野豬 | |
| October 2012 | 洗燥 | |
| October 2014 | 唔黐線唔正常 | |
| July to August 2016 | 前度 | Fala Chen |
| June 2018 | 金盆啷口 |
Films
| Year | English title |
|---|---|
| 1992 | The Magic Touch |
| 1993 | Two of a Kind Pink Bomb No. 1 3rd Ave Even Mountains Meet |
| 1994 | I've Got You, Babe!!! Mr. Sardine Long and Winding Road Oh! My Three Guys From Zero to Hero New Tenant Born innocent |
| 1995 | Once in a Life Time Wind Beneath the Wings The Meaning of Life Spider Woman Thunderbolt Only Fools Fall in Love The Dan That Doesn't Exist |
| 1996 | Satan Returns Top Banana Club 13 July All of a Sudden Love and Sex Among the Ruins Big Bullet |
| 1997 | 24 Hrs Ghost Story Walk In Legend of the Wolf Those Were the Days Tamagotchi Love, Amoeba Style 97 Aces Go Places The Wedding Days My Dad is a Jerk |
| 1998 | F*** /Off |
| 2000 | What Is A Good Teacher Don't Look Back or You'll Be Sorry Titanic (dub) |
| 2001 | The Emperor's New Groove (dub) Let's Sing Along |
| 2002 | Fighting to Survive Scooby Doo (dub) |
| 2004 | Leave Me Alone |
| 2005 | Teacher in University |
| 2006 | Lethal Ninja Over the Hedge (dub) Nothing is Impossible |
| 2007 | Zhui Bu House of Mahjong |
| 2014 | Golden Chicken 3 |
| Temporary Family | |
| 2015 | Secret Treasure[13][14] |
| 2016 | Zootopia (dub) |
| 2017 | Earth: One Amazing Day (dub) |
| 2018 | Agent Mr Chan |
| 2020 | The Grand Grandmaster |
| 2022 | Table for Six |
| 2023 | A Guilty Conscience |
| 2024 | The Last Dance |
| 2026 | Night King |
TV series
| Year | Title | Role | Network | TVB Anniversary Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Justice Sung II 狀王宋世傑II |
Lai Sam | TVB | |
| 2000 | War of Genders 男親女愛 |
Yu Lok-ting | TVB | My Favourite Television Character |
| 2001 | Unusual Citizen 非常公民 |
Puyi | Mainland Chinese production | |
| 2004 | To Catch the Uncatchable 棟篤神探 |
Mok Jok-dung | TVB | My Favourite On-Screen Partners (Dramas) My Favourite Television Character |
| 2005 | Hail The Judge 新九品芝麻官 |
Song Shijie | China Mainland | |
| The Great Adventure 大冒險家 |
Pak Wut | ATV | ||
| 2006 | Loving Insurance 情愛保險 |
Tang Tianshou | Mainland Chinese production | |
| 2007 | Men Don't Cry 奸人堅 |
Ho Kei-kin | TVB | Best Actor Nomination (Top 20) My Favourite Male Character Nomination (Top 5) |
| 2009 | You're Hired 絕代商驕 |
Mak Tai-song | TVB | Best Actor Nomination (Top 5) My Favourite Male Character Nomination (Top 5) |
| 2013 | Bounty Lady My盛Lady |
Heung Kwong-nam | TVB | Best Actor |
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 鬚根Sound |
| 1999 | 關老三 |
| 2000 | 我有小小強 |
| 2001 | Experience |
| 2005 | 哈痞（痞：音鄙，happy） |
Compilations
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| November 1999 | 華納99最好精選 |
| December 1999 | 華納千禧世紀好精選 |
| October 2000 | 華納天碟2000 |
| September 2001 | 關不掉的聲音— 前途萬里行 |
| October 2001 | 華納23周年紀念精選（華納群星） |
| September 2003 | 1:99電影行動（原裝導演加長版） |
| September 2004 | 愛唱主題曲 Theme Songs（香港群星）— 衰邊個 |
Singles
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 知彼不知己 |
| 2007 | 奸人堅 |
| 2009 | 冇問題 |
| 2013 | My盛Lady |
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | A Guilty Conscienc | Nominated |
References
- ^ "Interview: Hong Kong stand-up Jordan Leung takes his comedy seriously". 9 January 2022.
- ^ "Hong Kong comedy group on the transformative, hopeful power of laughter". 12 February 2022.
- ^ "Talk about scalpers! Speculators make a fast buck as $880 tickets for Dayo Wong's farewell talk show resell online for $4,000". The Standard.
- ^ "Profile | Meet Dayo Wong, stand-up comedy icon and Hong Kong box office king". South China Morning Post. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ "⓿⓿ Dayo Wong - Actor - Hong Kong - Filmography - TV Drama Series - Chinese Movies". Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
- ^ "Critics and viewers fear for the future of Hong Kong's golden TV tradition". South China Morning Post. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Dayo Wong and Kristal Tin crowned TV King and TV Queen - Asianpopnews". Asianpopnews. 16 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ "'Captain Cool' upset with TV King loss? - Asianpopnews". Asianpopnews. 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ "Dayo Wong and Chilam Cheung shoot down discord rumours - Asianpopnews". Asianpopnews. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ "Dayo Wong guest stars in "Temporary Family"". sg.style.yahoo.com. 28 June 2014.
- ^ "Sony Centre - Events | Sony Centre for the Performing Arts". Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014. Ticket selling for Dayo's 2014 talk show in Toronto
- ^ "獨家專訪 感情剖白 黃子華：我50歲，依然充滿迷惑 – iHKTV".
- ^ Kevin Ma (16 July 2014). "Bona launches Secret Treasure". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "Dayo Wong". chinesemov.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2010.