Jimmy Au Recalls Dangerous Stunts: “It Was Like an Execution”
When it comes to the most popular TVB supporting star in recent years, one would immediately think of Jimmy Au (歐瑞偉). The 55-year-old stuntman-turned-actor had landed himself several high-profile supporting roles in the last few years, ranging from Come Home Love’s <愛回家> “KC” to A Fist Within Four Wall’s <城寨英雄> “Yeung Chuk-luen”. Currently, Jimmy plays “KC”—namesake of his role in Come Home Love—in Lo and Behold <開心速遞>, and “Mr. Yik” in the action drama The Unholy Alliance <同盟>. Reporters likened his popularity to TVB siu sangs, and while Jimmy is happy about his success, he won’t get too excited about it.
“I’ve been in this industry for too long,” said Jimmy. “I may be remembered today, but that’ll slowly fade out next month. And in the month after that, I’d be no one again. As an actor, I should do well on my own part. Who knows what the future will hold? Maybe there’ll be fame, but I should take care of myself first.”
Stepping into his 32nd year of debut, Jimmy has seen it all—he’s went from being a stuntman, to a movie lead, to a TV lead, and back to being a TV “greenleaf” actor. Jimmy absolutely understands his role in the game. He doesn’t aim high; just the privilege of having work, regardless of its scope, is satisfying enough for him.
Jimmy, who first started out as a stuntman, recalled some of his scariest experiences: “My job that day was to jump off a building. I thought it would be on the first or second floor, maybe third. It turned out to be on the fifth floor. That was for [1985’s] City Hero <飛虎奇兵>, directed by Dennis Yu (余允抗). I was scared. Another sihing and I counted to three before we jumped down into a pile of cardboard boxes that were stocked a story high. A crowd of people ran up to us, asking if we were okay, and all I cared about was whether or not the camera filmed us. Cam 1 shot us, but cam 2 didn’t. The cameraman couldn’t catch us in time. What happened next? We ran back to the fifth floor to jump down again. It really felt like I was going to my execution. You could hear your own heartbeat. Jumping down a second time was just as frightening as the first. I couldn’t not jump. I needed this job. Fortunately the second time succeeded, and I earned my six to seven thousand bucks.”
City Hero wasn’t the only film where Jimmy nearly had a collision with death. In the 1984 film The Owl vs. Bombo <飛虎奇兵> directed by Sammo Hung (洪金寶), Jimmy and Chin Ka-lok (錢嘉樂) nearly fell to their deaths while doing a stunt on the stairs.
“We climbed over twenty feet of stairs and then fell into a bucket, with nothing to support us. I did injure myself in the process. Big Big Brother (Sammo Hung) said that wasn’t good enough and we had to do it again. He wanted us to make big motions as we fall, but we couldn’t do that. We’d die if we didn’t hold onto the rail.”
Fortunately, the producer of the film stopped Sammo Hung from asking for another take. “There’s a reason why Hong Kong action films are so famous,” said Jimmy. “It was through hard work. What I’ve done was only a tiny portion of what other stuntmen and actors had to do.”
Source: HK01.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Wow, I didn’t know he was a stuntman. Out of all the stuntmen turned actors, he’s the best looking one yet he’s the least successful one. i.e. Chin Ka Lok, Jackie Chan,
@jjwong Derek Kok is good looking as well.
I remember Jimmy from TV series in the early 90s. Thought he looked quite handsome then but he had the look of a “baddie” and was very short. Glad he’s getting some recognition now. I really liked his role as KC.
I have always liked Jimmy since “The Grand Canal”. He can fight, can act, is good looking and is humble as well. I don’t think there has been a role that I have been unhappy with him in whether sleazy, heroic, evil or simple. He did hit the bottom in the mid 90’s but I am glad he has come to peace with his career and is happy doing his job. Happy that people are paying more attention to him and he is getting more screen time. His KC in “Dinner At 8” was hilarious and his body still looks great for his age (see topless scenes in “Four Walls”.
It is sad to hear what the stuntmen had to go through in the olden times. Even though the end effect was good and we all got to watch great action movies, the stuntmen do get very little credit for their very hard work and also very little money. At least Derek Kok and Jimmy Au actually made it to supporting to actors, Most of them we don’t even see their faces yet they stand to the side with their aches and pains while the stars get all the spotlight.
I heard that Jimmy met Andy Lau when Andy was starting out in TVB series and he encouraged Jimmy to try out for TVB acting class which I thought was sweet.
@elizabeth
It was very unlucky that Jimmy did not get promoted after ‘The Grand Canal’. His performance in that series was as good as Tony Leung, Felix Wong and Lawrence Ng.
@jimmyszeto Agreed! Loved Jimmy in The Grand Canal! To this day, whenever the name ‘Li Jing’ comes up, Jimmy automatically comes to mind for me. That was one of his most iconic roles in my opinion, though acting-wise he has been consistently excellent no matter what type of role he takes up. After so many years, I’m happy to see him (and many other veteran supporting actors from the old days) being recognized and appreciated by the current generation of TVB viewers. Just about the only good thing that has come out of the current dismal state of TVB is increased recognition of “green leaf” actors and actresses, since their superb performances undoubtedly stand out amongst the untalented current crop of TVB artists….
@llwy12
I think Jimmy was very unlucky because he was acting with powerhouse actors in the Grand Canal which meant he went under the radar. Forgot to mention that Sean Lau was in the series too. The solid supporting actors these days receive respect amongst their peers and recognition amongst critics but not the money to go with it. Hopefully Jimmy gets a surge in popularity and can use it earn some cash by appearing in events.
@jimmyszeto Yea…The Grand Canal had way too many A-listers in it for Jimmy to stand out (though I definitely noticed his performance – but then again I’m not the “average” TV audience, lol). Of course it’s ironic since the historical basis for the series was on the 3 characters played by Tony Leung, Jimmy Au, and Wong Yee Kam, but then again TVB isn’t known for being historically accurate with their series so no surprise there. Sidenote—on the subject of The Grand Canal, Wong Yee Kam is actually back with TVB now too….I loved her and Jimmy as a couple in that series so when I saw both of them reunite in Provocateur (though both with minor roles), I was ecstatic! (They didn’t play a couple and barely had any scenes together but still…) Yea, these types of nostalgic moments are pretty much the only reason for me to even bother with TVB series nowadays, lol.
I also hope that these supporting actors also get the additional opportunities and monetary benefits that come with it. Nothing pleases me more than seeing these artists being heavily sought after for opportunities outside of TVB and being able to make “real money”….
@llwy12
Yeh. Wong Yee Kam came back but has aged significantly although she had already looked very mature in ‘The Breaking Point’ back in 1990/1991. The acting lifespan for a female is much shorter than a male so I hope she is just coming back to treat acting as some sort of a hobby. She has been given nothing roles and it’s quite sad when compared to her glory days of the epic ‘Grand Canal’ collaboration with Jimmy and Tony Leung.
@jimmyszeto I read an interview Wong Yee Kam did in 2015 where she said she agreed to return because one of the producers called her up to film a costume drama, which she rarely got a chance to do when she was working in Malaysia (that’s where she shifted her career after leaving TVB back in the early 90s), so she took up the offer. Filming series is pretty much a hobby for her now, since her son is grown and doesn’t need her as much anymore so she has time to do other things. Yea, with the minor/insignificant roles that TVB has been giving her, I’m glad that she’s only doing it to pass time rather than as an actual career.
@jimmyszeto I didn’t know what The Grand Canal series was so I googled and all I can remember now is Tony Leung’s super fake beard lol
Way too dangerous!
So many veterans are deserving of BSA. I wonder how TVB will play it out.
@tiffany Though Jimmy Au acted pretty well as Mr. Yik in “The Unholy Alliance”, he will have many opponents for the Best Supporting Actor in 2017 TVB Anniversary Awards competitions, such as Joel Chan in the same series, Owen Cheung and Law Lok Lam in “Legal Mavericks”, and perhaps a few others. Most of the veterans act well in supporting roles while there are not many artistes acting well in lead roles. It could be easier to compete for Best Actor or Best Actress awards than for Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards.
I hope he does get the BSA he really deserves it!!!
I love him come home love as KC , he is hilarious. He is indeed a great actor. Do hope TVB give him award this year, as it is about time.
55?! He looks great for a 55!
He’s ok as an actor. I can see why he’s not first line or A lister but not all actors must always be the lead or A-lister. Some come and gone and he is still here.
@funnlim @llwy12 @jimmyszeto Jimmy Au used to play the leading/second leading roles in many TV series back in the 80’s and early 90’s. It’s such a pity that he got demoted to supporting roles after his return to TVB in 2000’s.
@unknown Unfortunately, that’s the reality with how things work at TVB, though I hate when they take it to extremes and relegate former lead/second lead actors to kelefe roles when they are way more capable than that (i.e. Savio Tsang). In that regard, Jimmy is actually lucky to still be getting relatively “meaty” supporting roles – many of the supporting artists work for TVB for decades, yet are eternally relegated to kelefe roles despite their acting abilities. The truth is that TVB just doesn’t respect older actors enough to put them in a lead role unless they are popular or famous or there’s some “hype” surrounding them. Classic example – Kara Hui, who is a much decorated film queen (lost count of how many film industry Best Actress awards she won total in her career but definitely more than most HK actresses), yet at TVB she was ALWAYS cast in supporting and borderline “minor” roles (and it ticked me off to no end that TVB was quick to piggyback off of Kara’s achievements and tout their own horn as though they were the ones who deserve credit for her success in the film industry!). Dominic Lam is another example – he’s a great actor and was once one of TVB’s leading male actors, but when TVB invited him back to film that Nancy Sit series, he was basically cast in a supporting role — in contrast, HKTV cast Dominic as lead in all the series he filmed for them. I know some people won’t like me saying this but I’m going to say it anyway — this is precisely the reason why I was so supportive of HKTV back when they existed – they knew how to recognize talent and was not afraid to cast older artists in lead roles – they were also able to take artists who played supporting and kelefe roles all their lives and either turn them into leads or help them make a name for themselves. You’ll never see this at TVB because with them, their internal politics trumps everything….
@llwy12
Although it’s disappointing that many solid actors/actresses are sacrificed but promoting young inexperienced actors or idols and potentially turning them into superstars in a business perspective is the correct thing to do. Although quality of series sometimes suffer,it generates buzz and if an actor makes it big in the future then that can only be positive for the reputation of the television station. ATV in the past have rotated main leads to the extent that a lot of TVB rejects or supporting actors have already acted as main leads for their station. This confuses the audience. Younger actors have a longer acting lifespan so it would be the better long term investment. When a company has enjoyed so much success and majority share of the market,it will find it very difficult to change its strategy.
good actor. villain or good guy he played them well. like him in his role as KC in come home love.