Ng Man-tat

The Ruin and Rebirth of a Supporting Actor

In 1980, Ng Man-tat owed 300,000 Hong Kong dollars to several loan sharks. He had blown his television salary on gambling and alcohol just as his fame was rising fast. The TVB network blacklisted him, and his friends refused to offer any financial help.

He spent three years in seclusion studying acting and books on dramatic theory. It was his period of personal penance. In 1981, he returned to the set with a different mindset and a discipline he had not had in his youth.

That punishment saved his career.

In the late 1980s, he worked alongside a young man named Stephen Chow on the series The Final Verdict. The chemistry was instant, because both shared an absurd sense of humor that the local industry never quite understood.

In 1990, All for the Winner was filmed, and its box office in Hong Kong theaters broke every record. Ng Man-tat then established his image as a somewhat lazy, losing uncle with a tender side. But he didn't only do comedy.

In 1991, he won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in A Moment of Romance. That night, he outshone the action greats with a raw, desperate performance.

The Golden Block with Stephen Chow

His professional partnership with Chow bore its best fruit during the 1990s. They starred together in films such as Fight Back to School and The King of Comedy. Audiences came to the theater to see the leading man, but they stayed for the supporting actor's punchlines.

He was the emotional anchor of every story.

The collaboration cooled off after filming Shaolin Soccer in 2001. There were rumors of fights and snubs, but the actor always denied any serious conflict with his co-star. For years, audiences waited for a reunion that never happened due to scheduling and health issues.

In 2014, he suffered a serious heart failure that kept him out of the spotlight. He lost a lot of weight, and his work pace dropped dramatically. He had to be much more selective about his screen appearances.

The Final Push in Space

To take part in The Wandering Earth in 2019, he had to film in a 35-kilogram astronaut suit. He needed oxygen after every take just to keep breathing. He accepted less than his usual fee to support a local science fiction production.

He died of liver cancer.

On February 27, 2021, he died at Union Hospital in Hong Kong at the age of 70. His funeral was low-key, and Stephen Chow came to say goodbye to his former battle companion. The Chinese film industry lost an actor who appeared in more than 140 movies without ever really leading any of them.