Law Lok Lam Slows Down Workload for Love of Family
Veteran actor Law Lok Lam (羅樂林) has been acting for 40 years. During his busiest time, he filmed four TVB dramas simultaneously and for one year, only slept three hours every day. Already 71 years old, Law Lok Lam has scaled back his work schedule because his daughters want him to get more rest.
Close-knit Family
Extremely close with his family, Law Lok Lam still lives with his ex-wife Chan Bo Yee (陳寶儀) despite their divorce. When he turned 70, his three daughters threw him an unforgettable surprise party. Law Lok Lam said,”Every year, they will mark their calendars to eat dinner with me for my birthday, and then go to a bar–we would drink until morning if I don’t have to work the next day. That year, we went to a restaurant and suddenly the lights went on…I saw over 70 people singing happy birthday to me. My eyes suddenly filled with tears. I saw my friends, old neighbors from Kowloon City, scriptwriters and directors, and my daughters’ friends whom I’ve known since they were three years old….”
Among the group of guests was Ada Choi (蔡少芬), whom Law Lok Lam developed a close friendship with after portraying her father in an early drama when Ada first entered the industry. When one of his daughters got married, Ada attended the wedding even though she had to rush straight from the airport. However, Law Lok Lam regrets that he wasn’t able to attend Ada’s wedding since he was filming three dramas at the time.
In the Industry for 40 Years
Well respected in the industry for his acting talent and well liked by his peers, Law Lok Lam cherishes his ties from the past. Although he has moved out of Kowloon City for 20 years, he still likes to go there for meals and shop for groceries to catch up with old neighbors. Running into old friends like Ekin Cheng (鄭伊健), Sean Lau (劉青雲), Alex Fong (方中信), Chow Yun Fat (周潤發), and Jessica Hsuan (宣萱) fills him with happiness as they catch up with each others’ lives.
Reminiscing about his past, he often remembers his role as Yang Guo in RTV’s The Return of the Condor Heroes <神鵰俠侶>. He said, “This was my first important role in a drama. Since I didn’t have enough experience, it was a really tough role for me.”
When RTV closed, he worked for ATV and appeared in classics such as Dynasty <大內群英> and The Tai Chi Master <太極張三豐>. Joining TVB more than 30 years ago, Law Lok Lam has appeared in many memorable dramas such as The Greed of Man <大時代>.
Due to his remarkable, expressive eyes which can deliver bone-chilling stares, Law Lok Lam was often cast as villainous characters who suffered violent ends. He infamously “died fives times in one day” due to reruns and current broadcasts of his dramas, indicating the level of his popularity among TVB producers.
Landing his role as wealthy businessman Lung Gam Wai in sitcom Come Home Love: Lo and Behold <愛·回家之開心速遞> has brought stability in the last two years, and gave Law Lok Lam a more endearing image with young and older audiences. “Although my character is very flirtatious, has a loud voice, and acts like a dictator at home, he can rap and even children like him. Parents will come up to me and ask for photos together. It’s a role that’s very likable.”
Source: Ming Pao Weekly
This article is written by Hailey and Jayne for JayneStars.com.
Law Lok Lam, Great actor! From the villainous character in ‘Legend of the Invincible’ where he scared the he’ll out of me with his eyes when I was a child to ‘good dad’ role ‘at the threshold of an era’ to elderly diagnosed with incurable illness ‘Legal Mavericks’, he is always brilliant. My favourite veteran due to watching so many of his works during childhood. My personal favourite is ‘Intangible Truth’ where he plays the selfish dad who sends half of his family to die to save himself but still tries to justify it in his mind. Only just seen some of his 1st version of ‘Return of the Condor Heroes’. The version is rubbish but that was due to the TV station.
@jimmyszeto You’re a true fan to search for and watch Law Lok Lam’s version of “Return of the Condor Heroes”!
I loved Law Lok Lam in “Blood of Good and Evil” as Deric Wan’s father. He really fleshed out his character very well, from his portrayal of an upright cop to his shy romance with Chan Bo Yee.
For many years though, Law Lok Lam was typecast playing evil villains in wuxia dramas, and it was obvious he was exhausted. I’m glad he can take on a lighter role in “Lo and Behold” now.
@jayne
Ha.. yeh found ‘Return of the Condor Heroes’ 1976 a few days ago on YouTube and it was terrible. All sorts of unknown actors who couldn’t act/Chinese accents, cringeworthy dialogue and terrible camerawork. You could see sunlight shining in Michelle Yim’s eyes on some scenes but they carried on filming. No wonder the station didn’t last long. I listened to one of Law Lok Lam’s interview from a while ago and he mentioned the same things as in this article. He said that there is nowhere to find his version of ‘Return of the condor heroes’ anymore due to the collapse of the TV station taking down a lot of old series with them. I want to tell him if he doesn’t know already that it is still around because I’ve just seen it. Yeh, who can forget ‘Blood of Good and Evil’ where he was pretty much the 2nd lead as the righteous policeman with scenes in England. Alongside my fav actor Deric Wan. I don’t watch sitcoms so I hope he still has a future in serious dramas. There is still hope in TVB is he is cast…
@jimmyszeto
Where did you find it at? Is it on YouTube? I saw some of the 70s productions and they were very old school with no technology is one thing, but the fighting scenes are just a joke. I can understand that but the fight scenes looked like kids playing.The scenery is all fake like those Taiwanese series back then. I saw The Legend of the book and Sword and The romantic Swordsman and the fight scenes made my late mom and I laugh so hard… We called Ah Fei from the Romantic Swordsman the poking swordsman. He just literally used his sword to poke at people. It was hilarious..
@hetieshou
I just copied And pasted the title In Chinese of the series In Youtube and there it was. Was planning on only looking for a few pics but got a pleasant surprise. On the same account you can watch the old flying fox, Sword Stained with Royal Blood too and some other rubbish. They didn’t have the first ‘legend of condor heroes’ though..
@jimmyszeto
Thanks and I will search to see for myself. I have only see the New Heaven Sword and Dragon sabre, the legend of the book and sword and The Romantic Swordsman from the 70s. They did not impress me as it was too old school. I was hoping to see the Legend of the Condor Heroes but sadly they do not have it.
@jayne yep he was awesome in this show, and looked so cool as well.
@jayne
I never saw The Blood of Good and Evil since I was not into modern series back then. Do you recommend it? One of my friends saw it only because of Kitty Lai so I did not trust her opinion as she just blindly goes fir the cast only.
Law Lok Lam played some nice characters. I still remember him acting some very good characters when he still acted for ATV back in the days. He was very handsome when young… I think he would be do well in comedic roles.
@hetieshou
Blood of Good and Evil, one of the best TVB series ever. Many scenes in England. Great chemistry Bowie Wu, Law Lok Lam, Kenneth Tsang. Deric and Maggie legendary pairing.
@jimmyszeto
Thanks and will definitely check it out sometime. I did not know many scenes were filmed in England. I cannot wait to see it.
@hetieshou yes definitely recommend “Blood of Good and Evil” especially if you are a fan of Deric Wan, Maggie Shiu, Kenneth Tsang, and Law Lok Lam. Deric’s story with both of his fathers was very interesting, and he had a lot of sparks with Maggie. Kitty’s acting was very good here too, though her role was a bit depressing.
Nathan Chan Ting Wai was the weakest link, as his romantic arcs were somewhat boring, but you can always fast forward those parts without affecting the rest of your drama viewing.
@jayne
Thanks a lot Jayne. I will definitely check it out. My friend only watched it for Kitty Lai so I do not trust her opinion. I did not know Nathan was in there. I can’t wait to see it and how the ending is good. Sometimes a series is good but has a bad ending.
@hetieshou “Blood of Good and Evil” had 40+ episodes, so as with any long drama, it will drag a bit. The opening scenes in London were very exciting, but Deric and Kitty’s storyline and subsequent court scenes can drag a bit. The pace for the drama picks up again in the second half when the plot focuses on his developments with Maggie and Law Lok Lam. The end is fitting and has closure for all the characters.
@jayne
Ok thanks a lot and I will search for it to watch. I hope it does not drag too much. Glad to hear the ending is good.
His ex-wife is Connie’s sister, Chan Bo Yee
@anoninhk Thanks, the error has been corrected.
time to slow down . working for tvb draws all the life out of everyone who is anyone.
He’s a great actor just like the rest of the veteran actor. Such as Lau Kong, Lau Dan, Paul Chun, John Jiang, Elliot Ngok? Too bad he’s no longer live I really enjoy his acting too especially the one called Grace Under Fire.