Look who’s in South Korea this week to attend the 27th Busan International Film Fest. Spotted on the star-studded red carpet is Hong Kong actor Tony Leung who arrived at the event looking quite dapper in his black and white suit. Despite his superstar status, Tony has long been rumoured to get nervous on red carpets and events. This time was no different as behind the scene clips of him at the BIFF do indeed confirm the star adorably living up to his reputation. In the clip below, he takes a huge breath before putting on a smile to walk the red carpet.
GIF: 香港電影吧 /Weibo
Tony was invited to attend this year’s BIFF ceremony where he received the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award. This award is granted to individuals from the industry who’ve made significant contributions to advance Asian film and culture. Other awardees in the past include Hirokazu Kore-eda who was also pictured in this year’s awards with Tony, as well as his Infernal Affairs co-star Andy Lau who won Asian Filmmaker of the Year back in 2006.
Popularity in Korea
In the 80s and early 90s, way before K-pop and K-dramas became big and exploded globally, Hong Kong actors and Cantopop bands and singers were the ones everyone in Asia were going gaga over. Ask any Korean youngster in those decades who they know from Hong Kong’s film industry and chances are, Tony Leung’s name will be up there together with Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Louis Koo amongst others. Tony Leung’s wife Carina Lau who’s also an icon in Hong Kong cinema also shared photos of the two as they attended dinner.
Looking back, this is actually Tony’s 4th BIFF and it probably won’t be his last. The superstar said that he’s definitely open to starring in a Korean drama series. As long as the not so little matter of the language barrier be resolved somehow, he says he’s up for the challenge. Moreover, he also names Palme D’Or winners Song Kang-ho and Jeon Do-Yeon as his personal faves and says he would love to work with them given the chance.
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