Eddy Ko

When Eddy Ko Hung agreed to talk to a German journalist five years ago, he thought it would be a one-off meeting. Although he remains one of Hong Kong's most bankable and well-regarded actors, his career - which began in 1967 at the Shaw Brothers studio - had already slowed and he was being cast in more secondary roles.

He starred in a string of wuxia epics in the 1970s and became a household name after playing an iconic Chinese literary hero Lam Chung in the prime-time TVB series The Unyielding Master Lim in 1986.

So rather than settling into obscurity after migrating to Vancouver, in Canada, with his family, Ko has found a new stage for himself in productions made outside Hong Kong.

Having signed to a Canadian agent, Ko's international career began in 1998 with a role as an illegal immigrant in Lethal Weapon 4 (which also stars Jet Li). In addition to his frequent forays into Hong Kong cinema, his recent work has ranged from art-house fare such as Night Corridor to mainstream films and soap operas. His performance as folk hero Huo Yuanjia in an ATV series in 1995 won him a large following on the mainland, he has also starred in an Italian film ('of debatable quality,' murmurs Ko) and played a fictional Chinese head of state in a Canadian television series.

His latest non-Chinese-language role is in French conspiracy thriller Largo Winch, in which he plays a tattooist who helps the film's titular hero (Tomer Sisley).

When he first set foot in the studio, he could already speak English and Japanese, which has since helped him secure roles in international productions.

The actor now splits his time between his Vancouver home, where he is a student of continuing education, and the mainland, where he acts and makes TV appearances. Careerwise, Hong Kong now seems very much an afterthought, although he drew TVB's ire three years ago by agreeing to appear in an ATV series about real-life crimes as a father who chopped his daughter's head off in a rage.