Lau Kong’s Last Day at TVB
After working at TVB for 38 years and starring in over 300 dramas, veteran actor Lau Kong (劉江) has decided to leave the station. Today was his last day at the station; the 73-year-old actor especially went into the studio to say goodbye to all of his colleagues.
Lau Kong’s resume is diverse and despite the sometimes limited screen time his roles have, the veteran actor’s acting skills are undisputed. Lau Kong said his character “Teacher Lau” in recent hit drama Barrack O’Karma <金宵大廈> was one of his most memorable roles in recent years. As to whether or not he will take part in the sequel, Lau Kong said he will have to see if the production team will include his character since he is no longer with the station.
Although an audience favorite to win TVB Best Supporting Actor, Lau Kong lost to newcomer Kalok Chow (周嘉洛) who won for his performance in Come Home Love: Lo and Behold <愛．回家之開心速遞>. Lau Kong knew he wasn’t going to win the award because Barrack O’Karma already won in two other categories. Not disappointed about the loss, Lau Kong said that he was already happy with the success of the drama and its upcoming sequel.
Still Wants to Act
Attending the TVB Anniversary Awards on January 12, Lau Kong publicly revealed his intention to leave the station since his contract is over. He was only at the awards ceremony to take some pictures with colleagues for memories.
Despite his sudden departure, Lau Kong said he still wants to act in the future. Although Lau Kong suffered vascular calcification and underwent angioplasty in 2015, he wants to continue working. He expressed, “There is still fire in my heart! I didn’t publicly announce it, so that’s why others thought I am still with TVB. If people know of suitable roles for me to play, feel free to contact me. I still want to act!”
It’s a shame to see Lau Kong leave TVB, and he admitted to losing sleep for two nights over the decision. “I’m getting old and feel that a lot of things are ’empty’ and just a dream. This day will eventually come, since I have to leave due to aging.” Asked if TVB management had asked him to leave, he said, “Our generation of actors have worked very hard at the company for many years. I won’t talk about this…I feel that TVB treated me well. It’s already okay…everyone knows what happened.”
Respected by His Students
Known for his passion for acting, Lau Kong had taught acting classes at TVB previously and provided mentorship to countless younger artistes. One of his students, Amisha Ng (吳嘉儀) said Lau Kong was always prepared on set and he was “professional, respectful towards his profession, and a great role model.” She is grateful for all his guidance, “Teacher, thank you for generously sharing your knowledge!”
This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.
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It is very sad to see Lau Kong leaving TVB. TVB have already lost so many good artistes, and Lau Kong is their another big loss. He is not only a good actor, he has always acted as a tutor for TVB’s newbies, both in acting and in dialogue pronunciation. Unfortunately, TVB did not treasure him at all.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again.
This is another reason why I won’t be watching TVB anymore (not that I hardly watch these days).
Lau Kong should’ve followed the footsteps of Kenneth Tsang, Kong Ngai, and others of his generation that left TVB at an earlier part of their career and pursued a career in HK films. it would’ve been far more rewarding professionally and financially. It’s still never too late. I hope to see Lau Kong in the big screen soon.
@anon
some people like tv more. there’s more connections about the film industry. i heard people make dirty deals but it’s not like tvb doesn’t do that but i’d like to think tvb is slightly better in terms of deals under the table. at least it has more transparency than the film industry.
@anon
I stopped watching TVB many years ago and was thinking of watching them again. But after Lau Kong’s departure, Bye Bye TVB forever!!!!! I only rewatch the older series only since most of the new series stinks anyways.
Another legend leaving TVB. I still remember him from the 1986 version of the Dragon Sabre and Heavenly Sword with Tony Leung Chiu Wai. Lau Kong brings every character he’s played to life. Will really miss him on the small screen.
TVB are not making monies coz of bad investment in China. So have to sacrifice these veterans and other good actor. They kept those that has no where to go, even tho they can’t act. Their script are very limited, can’t do police drama, coz of the protest and since they focus on their failed China market, it will have so much restrain. In the end, they just produce crap to fill in the slot, and somehow will blame the protestor for it. TVB already dying since many years ago. Only elderly tune in to it. Good riddance tho.
@ak47, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “Good riddance tho”???
Recalled there was an interview a year or two ago of him talking about the possibility of retiring?
TVB probably didn’t renew his contract or provide unreasonable terms leading to his leaving a workplace he has been for almost 4 decades with no final plans of retirement. Having been faithfully working for the station so long (unlike some veterans who left and returned), doubt he wanted this to happen.
This is disheartening and almost disgusting to treat your faithful staff this way. And it’s not like there are many veterans to be able to take up those roles.
Gonna miss him. Hopefully he’ll get to act somewhere else. It’s his passion.
he’s sure to be missed. i hope he makes at least a cameo in the sequel. it’d be fun to see some familiar faces there.
I guess in a way, we shouldn’t be surprised with Lau Kong’s departure…even though we don’t know specifically why he left, I’m pretty sure most of us who have been following TVB for awhile will have a pretty good idea. Knowing TVB, I’m pretty sure Lau Kong got treated the same crappy way that they treat other veteran green leaf veterans….this isn’t the first time and it definitely won’t be the last.
Don’t know how many of you remember Lau Kwai Fong – she’s a green leaf who was in tons of series, but usually in minor roles. She’s worked for TVB for 30 years, never left, does a good job in all her roles. She revealed last year that TVB switched her to part-time all of a sudden and also reduced her pay by 95%….since then, she barely got called into work anymore….even so, she’s choosing to still stay with TVB because she said she’s already old and nearing retirement anyway, plus she has nowhere else to go, since the lack of familiarity with her work surroundings (if she were to go to Mainland or other station let’s say) is a big deal to her.
Another famous veteran, Samuel Kwok, had said in an interview several years ago that the TVB of recent times doesn’t respect elders as much as they used to…and the veteran green leaf artists almost always get the short end of the stick because they come from a generation where they work hard and don’t complain (though they didn’t have much to complain about back in the old days because Uncle Six always treated them like family). The long work long hours thing has always been an issue, but it’s even harder on the senior artists who are often asked to do the notorious 06:30 to 06:30 schedule (6:30am in the morning to 6:30am the next morning — and not just one day either, but consecutive days with little to no rest in between). I mean, come on — even a young person with this type of schedule wouldn’t be able to tolerate it health wise, what makes them think a senior artist can? Samuel also said the biggest reason why a lot of veterans left was because a few years ago, TVB adjusted the way artists’ schedules are arranged — basically, if you’re under full-on management contract with them (and usually if you’re a lead or popular artist), you would get treated better…for example, they would often ask the green leaf artists (many of whom aren’t necessarily managed by them) to come in early at 5am to get ready, but then make them wait until 2pm to start filming their scenes (which takes a few more hours so they end up working late into the night)…meanwhile, other artists get to come in at 9am, film their scenes at 2pm, then leave. When the veteran artists complain, they are told that those artists are busy attending other events (which TVB actually gets commission on if it’s one of their managed artists) and get tired so need to sleep in so just help them out, be supportive, etc…so TVB is basically implying that the non-management contract veterans don’t make money for the company like the managed ones do (the popular ones who have lots of endorsements and events to attend) so they just have to suck it up…
Sadly, these aren’t one-off situations….many of the veterans have spoken out about this type of treatment for years…others just endure it out of respect for their profession and don’t want to rock the boat. For the veterans, many of them leave TVB not because of money (though that’s what diehard TVB supporters want people to believe because then it means TVB isn’t at fault)…rather, they leave because of the lack of dignity and respect (and yes, the fact that TVB operates like a sweatshop most of the time has a lot to do with it too)…
Lau Kong’s departure marks the passing of an era, as there are few artistes from his time who are still seen frequently on television. Performances from senior actors such as Lau Kong were what made TVB’s classic dramas so enjoyable. Their faces are instantly recognizable across multi-generations.
One of my favorite was the 1980s version of “Legend of the Condor Heroes” where Lau Kong played Michael Miu’s stepfather. This role and many others that he played, Lau Kong was able to portray the inner conflicts and character flaws so well. He has always been believable in every role and able to make the characters richer and multidimensional.
In his video interviews, it’s still obvious that Lau Kong is thoroughly passionate about acting. He had always prioritized acting over his own health, and worked himself into having a stroke in his 30s. He even postponed his angioplasty surgery because of filming requirements. It’s not an overstatement that he gave his life to television….
Lau Kong comes from a generation where actors are used to working hard, but at least they received respect for their work back then. Although he did the honorable thing and didn’t want to speak poorly of his employer after giving in his resignation, it’s obvious he only decided to leave the station because he’s no longer happy working there.
There was no big retirement party on his last day…it’s sad that management seemed to just treat it as another day at work and didn’t acknowledge his contributions in a more generous gesture. It’s really a shame that he had to leave in this manner, where he was likely fed up with management tactics in which commercial gains drive every decision from who the station promotes to how they treat their artistes.
bet there competitors ViuTV is laaughing there ass off with more and more veteran artist and top artist leaving there station to find a better income and a mangement that’ll acknowledge there true performance of acting
@sherla1019
Surprisingly if you look at ViuTV’s Youtube channel, I do notice that many prominent ex-TVB artists are now employed at ViuTV filming dramas and variety shows that look far more interesting which does not necessarily mean that it’s good but better than what TVB is doing nowadays.
Sad to see he’s leaving the station. Maybe it’s time for him to retired?
@cutie777
He’s mentioned in his recent interviews that he still wants to act.
@anon Lau Kong actually did a more in-depth interview with Ming Pao this weekend….I would recommend reading / watching that interview, as he makes it much clearer the reason(s) why he left and what his future plans are. Out of all the interviews he’s done since news of his departure came out, this one provides the most clarity.