Six Hunky Actors Who Get Better with Age
Gaining life experiences and wisdom, age seems to be working in the favor of these male Hong Kong actors, who have grown more appealing onscreen than ever, even as they age.
- Alex Fong (55)
Alex Fong (方中信) has been called Hong Kong’s Richard Gere due to their close resemblance. Alex’s masculine, charismatic appearance and good acting has made him a ratings guarantee. Although his individual facial features are not particularly handsome, his charming gaze and sexy voice have added to his overall masculine appeal.
Born in 1963, Alex Fong has acted in many TVB dramas. In 2002, 39 year-old Alex played a firefighter in Burning Flame II <烈火雄心II>. He won Best Lead Actor at the The 5th Chinese Film Media Award for his role in One Nite in Mongkok <旺角黑夜>. In 2007, 44 year-old Alex romanced then 20 year-old Chinese actress Jenny Zhang (张嘉倪) in Dreams Link <又見一簾幽夢>, an adaptation of Chiung Yao’s (琼瑶) novel. In 2008, he acted in the comedy All about Women <女人不壞>.
That same year, he had a shotgun marriage to Hoyan Mok (莫可欣), and has in interviews called his daughter “big boss” and his wife, his “second boss”.
In 2013, he returned to TVB and played a forensic psychiatrist in A Great Way to Care II <仁心解碼II>, pairing up with Yoyo Mung (蒙嘉慧). Focusing on the Mainland Chinese market in recent years, his dramas such as The Legend of Mi Yue <羋月傳> have achieved relative success.
Going back TVB to film Law Dis-order<律政強人> in 2016, Alex once again impressed with his handsome and professional image in the show, successfully appealing to female audiences of all ages.
As a dog lover, Alex had adopted an abandoned dog whose plight was shared with him by a friend who manages a charity organization. Naming the dog Jesse, it became a good friend of Alex’s daughter. Although Jesse’s skin disorder did not become better despite continuous treatment, Alex has no complaints and treats him as one of his family.
2. Tony Leung (56)
One of Asia’s biggest stars, Tony Leung (梁朝偉) has been in the industry since 1982 and is known both for his good-looks and superb acting. Who can forget his handsome policeman role in the hit Police Cadet ‘84 <新紮師兄> opposite Maggie Cheung (張曼玉) and Carina Lau (劉嘉玲)? Ten years later, 31-year-old Tony once again acted as a policeman in Chungking Express <重慶森林>. His subtle, understated acting style has also made him art-house director Wong Kar Wai’s (王家衛) go-to male lead.
One of his most representative works is In the Mood for Love <花樣年華> in which he again starred opposite Maggie Cheung. In 2004, 41 year-old Tony starred in another Wong Kar Wai film 2046. In 2007’s Lust, Caution <色戒> directed by Ang Lee (李安), Tony’s strong performance helped flesh out the film’s themes of romance, espionage, betrayal and revenge.
In 2016, 53-year-old Tony played a charismatic pub boss who would help urbanites forget about their unhappy romances, and was the epitome of a middle-aged charmer in the film See You Tomorrow<擺渡人>.
Marrying Carina Lau (劉嘉玲) in 2008, the couple doesn’t have any children.
3. Francis Ng (56)
A stalwart in Hong Kong dramas and films, Francis Ng (吳鎮宇) started acting as early as 1982, taking on mostly forgettable minor roles. It was not until the late 1980s that his career took a turn for the better, and he started leading dramas. His big break came in 1997 with period comedy Old Time Buddy <難兄難弟> in which he starred opposite Gallen Lo (羅嘉良). In 2003, he played a suave pilot in classic TVB drama Triumph in the Skies <衝上雲霄>, romancing Myolie Wu (胡杏兒). A decade later, the 52 year-old once again reprised his role in “Triumph in the Skies II”, and was paired up with Fala Chen (陳法拉), who was a good 20 years his junior.
Starring in a repertoire of movies, Francis recently appeared in the Sandra Ng (吳君如) directed Goldbuster <妖鈴鈴> with Alex Fong. He was also male lead in the recent movie Men On the Dragon <逆流大叔>, which told the story of a group of middle-aged men who rediscovered the courage to face life positively through the sport.
- Micheal Miu (60)
Popularly known as Sam Gor (三哥), Micheal Miu (苗僑偉) is one of those actors whose masculine charms have increased with age. A graduate of TVB’s Artiste Training Class alongside Felix Wong (黃日華), Michael has starred in numerous classic TVB dramas, as well as more recent hits including 2009’s E.U. <學警狙擊>, L’escargot <缺宅男女>, Line Walker <使徒行者> and Flying Tiger II <飛虎之雷霆極戰> holding his own against younger actors such as Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) and Ron Ng (吳卓羲).
Miu has been married to wife Jaime Chik (戚美珍) for 27 years and the loving couple even share a Weibo account “WeareMiu”.
5. Phillip Keung (52)
Philip Keung (姜皓文), also known as “Blackie” (黑仔) has been in the movie industry for over three decades. Philip’s acting is widely acknowledged and he won Best Supporting Actor at the Profima International Film Fest and Awards, PIFFA 2017 for his role in Shock Wave <拆彈專家>.
Previously an Asia Television (ATV) artiste, he has participated in many film productions, chalking up involvement in as many as 22 films in two years.
The actor flew with his wife to Penang, Malaysia for her birthday and their anniversary, and cut ten cakes in celebration. Making an impression in movies in recent years, Phillip plays a married man who realizes his true sexual orientation in the 2018 film Tracey <翠絲>.
- Chow Yun Fat (63)
A superstar who has impressed with his down-to-earth manners and humility, Chow Yun Fat’s (周潤發) charms have surely not decreased with age. In 1980, 25 year-old Chow Yun Fat got his breakout role in TVB classic The Bund <上海灘>. Six years later, A Better Tomorrow <英雄本色> once again propelled him to stardom across Asia. 1987’s An Autumn Tale <秋天的童話> saw him romance Cherie Chung (鍾楚紅) while in Prison on Fire <監獄風雲>, he charmed his way to viewers’ hearts. Even at 60, Chow Yun Fat shone with his scene-stealing performance in Cold War II <寒戰II>.
Source: Oriental Sunday
This article is written by JoyceK for JayneStars.com.
I agree with you on half the list.. Alex Fong, Michael Miu, and Chow Yun Fat. Of the three, I prefer Michael Miu, 3 Gor. I feel he is the best looking one out of them all. Francis Ng looks the worst.. his features have all gone down hill and he looks close to 70! Tony Leung is OK although his eye are sagging quite a bit.
@moseenaddict ya Michael Miu got even better looking with age. Francis should not be on the list.
@mike actually Francis is the only one should be on the list lawl! All the others are handsome at the start, when they were young, sure it got better, but their prime look is around the 30yo mark (love Michael Miu, but pretty sure I was disappointed when I first saw him return, but after adjusting to the change, he is now back to handsome level for me lol). Francis to me at the beginning was like uh, how’s this guy handsome. Now he’s over 50, he looks a lot better and I can tolerate people who swoon over him, lol. Whereas if it was 15years ago, I would go yuck, lol.
@littlefish Know what you mean but if you see the last two articles on here that have Francis’s photos in it, he definitely is on the decline.
Alex Fong wasn’t born in 1986
@mindee I saw that too.. born in 1986?????
17 March 1963 is his correct DOB… st.patricks day!!
@forgetful yep. If he was born in 1986, he’d be 32 and wouldn’t have been mentioned on this article
Michael Miu and Leon Lai looks so much alike when they’re still young. Lol. I thought Alex Fong looks more like Harrison Ford?
I swear my heart skip a beat every time I see Alex on screen!
@conan2209
Alex Fong Chun Sun–Coolest guy on Earth. Its a shame the other wimpy singer Alex Fong has the same English name. Really affects the image of the our main guy….
Micheal Miu (60) all the way!!!!!!!!!
I think some hunky actors do get better with age if you compare their overall looks when they were in their 20’s and 40-50’s. However, when they are approaching or over 60’s, they get more wrinkles and their sagging skin become more noticeable. Although they can still look good at over 60s but they more likely look better at or under 55. I think Michael Miu looked best at 45-55.
Tony Leung, Chow Yun Fat and Francis Ng looked better when they were much younger. Francis looked great at
Triumph in the Skies but he aged a lot afterwards. Same as Chow Yun Fat who looked great in The Bund and A Better Tomorrow . Chow looks too skinny and wrinkled for many years.
Doubt anyone would call Richard Gere as Hollywood’s Alex Fong. Why not say Alex Fong is HK’s Amir Khan? It’s so cliche to use Hollywood stars as the benchmark for comparison.
@msxie0714 Because Hollywood stars are well-known around the world. Their films are shown globally. People compare people at higher levels, not the other way around. HK’s film industry is so small – who the heck knows Alex Fong unless you grew up watching HK films?
Out of this list, I only feel Alex Fong and Michael Miu have become better with age.
@terrycrews19 Yes, Alex Fong is the only other one besides 3rd brother who is still consider HOT at their age. lol…haha
@wm2017 Yes Michael Miu all the way! He may have wrinkles and all but he gets better with age. He acts well and love him as Cheong Tong in Guardian Angels!
@myozzie I haven’t started that series yet but I will soon. 🙂
Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder lol. Are you kidding me? Tony Leung hasn’t aged well at all! He looks extremely tired and worn. I like him as an actor, but never considered him good looking even back in his Police Cadet days. He was average at most back then. His appearance was perfectly suited for his role in “Duke of Mount Deer” because he has/had that silly, boyish-immature look. Not “hunky”, masculine at all.
Alex Fong, Michael Miu – yes. Chow Yun Fat – okay.
Only Michael makes the list for me for both hunky and gets better with age. I’ve never considered any of the men on this list good-looking, but I can see Michael’s appeal. Not even Tony…I never understood why he’s so popular lol
@coralie
It was because he is a talented actor! It should be much more than looks.
@hetieshou any recs that showcases his talented acting? i get really bored with his artsy films and his old dramas like, duke of mount deer, makes him look too exaggerated. i have never seen a film/drama of his which impressed me.
@coralie
Well if you do not like him then there is no point in recommending anything as you would not like it anyways. Acting just like looks is subjective.
@hetieshou mm disagree. i don’t dislike him, just never found anything of his that impressed me. sometimes it’s a matter of finding the right show that they’re in to showcase their acting talent. for example, i didn’t think vincent wong was that big of a deal until Over Run Over. then i realized why people love him.
@coralie So true about Vincent Wong. I never find him interesting I mean besides a good looking face but in Over Run Over I finally thought he can actually act besides looking cute. lol…Was not a great series but quite entertaining and even the main lead girl was admirable in that particular series only.
@wm2017 that drama converted me into a vincent wong & tracy chu fan lol. i haven’t been disappointed since! i even rewatched some of his older works with newfound respect. i wasn’t a fan of tracy’s when she first came out, of which i’m sorry for. she really is a good actress, but she genuinely shines when she’s acting with vincent.
@coralie
Not finding someone good in any shows is disliking isn’t it? But you cannot please everyone and many I know all love Tony’s acting, however, there will be those who do not like him. You cannot be liked by everyone no matter how good, popular, etc… you are.
@hetieshou no, not the same. I can be neutral because I’m not impressed yet. That’s not the same as disliking.
@coralie I think Tony is one of those actors that you either love or you don’t, kinda like Zhou Zun. Those who favor them find them brilliant and refined.. the rest find them stone-faced and drab, lol. (I’m a fan, personally)
IMO, Tony’s art films are the ones that best showcase his talent, but since they’re not to your taste, check out Red Cliff, Hero, or Infernal Affairs. Those are some of his more popular commercial films, which you may find less boring.
Also, totally on the same boat in regards to Vincent!! Initially, I didn’t find him attractive AT ALL (in fact, borderline ugly-yep, I said it) and wondered what Yoyo possibly saw in him. Then I watched ORO and he started to grow on me.
His performance in Legal Mavericks was what really won me over, and I thought he was so cute as the blind, domineering, yet secretly lovelorn lawyer. lol He and Tracy have such palpable chemistry, you can’t help but to root for them, haha. Then again, he seems to have an effortless chemistry with most of his female costars. I guess that’s part of his appeal, since not a lot of actors (even the good ones) have this quality.
@oystergirl lol talking about zhou zun – i like the woman! but her voice is so deep, it kinda disturbs me. she’s a lot better when she’s dubbed lol.
see, those are good recs! i’ll check them out. thanks!
at the time, yoyo was more popular than vincent & he was relatively unknown, so i was also surprised too when news broke that they were getting married. i didn’t think vincent was ugly…but definitely not good-looking. more like average to me, so i can see where you’re coming from lol.
ORO + LM was like a big one-two punch that made him a success. if you think about it, both roles were kinda similar in that they’re both kinda love-struck heroes. sometimes i wonder if i’m not in love with his acting because he was put in such idol-y roles. then i watched coffee cat mama where he was one of the main characters in it (still love-struck lol, but more of a losery love-struck) and i think i’m pretty convinced that it’s his acting and not his idol status that made me a fan. still hoping for a vincent+tracey collab that will give them a happy ending for once!
Alex Fong, be still my heart
I also think only Michael is worthy of this list.
Everyone else hasnt aged that great (not terrible, but not great) and the picks of Philip Keung and Francis Ng is just plain weird because they are not even good looking.
You cannot tell me these 2 are acclaimed hunks, its more like acquired taste.
1) Tony is consider handsome??? Really never thought he was
2) Francis does look more better through out the years
3) Michael has always been handsome girls still go gaga over him even tho he’s 60
4) Chow Yun Fat still handsome a looks a lil frail tho to skinny
5) Alex Fong always has been a looker =)
方中信 – Alex Fong – was born on March 17, 1963 (age 55 years), Portuguese Macau. Another Alex Fong – Alex Fong (方力申, Fong Lik-Sun; born 26 February 1980). Who’s born in 1986.. Really should try to get the info right.
I like many of these talented actors, but I think only Michael can be considered a hunky heartthrob through the years. He is a less natural actor than some on this list, but his charisma establishes his longevity.