‘I’d work for Stephen Chow for free’: Why Kung Fu Soccer stars still worship HK’s King of Comedy

HONG KONG – Stephen Chow steps into a packed cinema hall to deafening cheers. He waves shyly, as if unable to believe all the fanfare is for him.

It is 4.30pm on Aug 8 at Emperor Cinemas Plus+ in The Wai shopping mall. The screaming crowd has just watched the Hong Kong comedic auteur’s latest release Kung Fu Soccer, which is showing in Singapore cinemas.

They are staying for a special bonus: an appearance by Chow, 64, alongside cast members including Hong Kong screen royalty Carina Lau, 60, and popular Chinese actress Dilraba Dilmurat, 34.

The director-actor struggles to speak above the clamour of his fans, ranging from young people to seniors, who continue to shout for his attention.

“I’m very happy to bring our Emei football team members, who have travelled from so many Chinese cities, all the way to Hong Kong today. Now, let’s invite our striker to say her greetings,” Chow says in Cantonese, passing the limelight to Dilmurat.

The actress plays star striker Yulong in Kung Fu Soccer, which follows an underdog women’s football team that integrate Emei martial arts into their game to win a championship.

This scene is repeated at three other cinemas throughout the day, culminating in a gala premiere at 9.30pm.

“Hello, everyone. I’m so happy to meet you here. Our dear Sister Carina has plenty to say to all of you today,” Chow tells the crowd.

The actress retorts: “Hey, earlier, we clearly agreed that you would do all the talking. Why are you passing it to me again? You finish speaking first.”

“I’m done talking,” he replies.

She fires back: “Say a bit more. The audience members only want to hear you talk.”

He responds: “How about this then? Our Dilraba is very eager to greet the audience. Dilraba, please go ahead.”

Though clearly humbled by the turnout, Chow looks somewhat uncomfortable in the spotlight. It is a surprising reaction for someone who launched his acting career back in 1980 and built his reputation on his signature brand of mo lei tau (Cantonese term for nonsensical) humour.

He expanded his repertoire with the 1994 spy comedy From Beijing With Love, pivoting to screenwriting and directing alongside acting.

In 2001, he directed and starred in Shaolin Soccer, a film that earned him international acclaim, a global profile further cemented by Kung Fu Hustle (2004).

His final on-screen role came in CJ7 (2008), after which he transitioned fully to work behind the camera, achieving box-office success with comedies such as Journey To The West (2013) and The Mermaid (2016).

Kung Fu Soccer is a spiritual successor to Shaolin Soccer, the story of a group of misfit monks who form a football team and use Shaolin martial arts skills to challenge a rival squad. Made on a budget of US$10 million, the movie went on to gross US$42.8 million worldwide and has since attained cult comedy status.

Although Kung Fu Soccer opened in mainland Chinese cinemas on July 11 to mixed reviews – with some critics dismissing it as an uncreative rehash of Shaolin Soccer that relies on nostalgia – its box-office trajectory looks promising.

With a production budget of US$52 million (S$67 million), Kung Fu Soccer topped the charts for multiple weeks and has reportedly accumulated US$326 million in the country so far.

Announcement

At the Hong Kong gala premiere, the ever-humble Chow apologises for keeping audiences waiting so long for his comeback film, which arrives 25 years after Shaolin Soccer.

“When it comes to brainstorming and creative work, we tend to take things a bit slower,” he jokes, glancing at co-director and co-writer Lam Tze Chung.

Catching Chow’s eye, Lam chimes in: “We will try our best to be faster next time.”

A knack for discovering new talent

Lam, who turns 50 on Aug 16, was discovered by Chow and made his acting debut in Shaolin Soccer. He famously played a plus-size monk who could fly using qinggong. He has since become one of Chow’s most frequent collaborators, both on- and off-screen.

It has long been Chow’s style to introduce fresh faces in his movies alongside veteran stars, and Kung Fu Soccer is no exception. Xue Ye, 19, and Angel Woo, 28, are two such rookies.

Xue, born in China’s Jilin province, was holidaying with her parents in Hong Kong a few years ago when a member of Chow’s team invited her to a movie audition.

“I thought he was a scammer,” she says in an interview with The Straits Times. “I was like, ‘How could something so good happen to me?’”

At the audition, she was nervous the whole time. She told Chow that she enjoyed dancing, prompting him to ask if she could do Latin dance. She could not.

“But I still performed a routine of what I thought Latin dance was. I don’t know if he was satisfied, but anyway, he laughed.”

The teenager – whose real name is Li Xueminghui – was given her stage name by Chow, who habitually called her by her character’s name Xue Ye until it stuck. In the film, she portrays a football rookie who, much like Lam in Shaolin Soccer, can leap through the air using qinggong.

The other newcomer, Woo, is a professional wakesurfing athlete in Hong Kong – and Chow’s former coach in the sport.

“One day, after a wakesurfing session, he asked me, ‘Do you like to run?’” she recalls. “I was like, ‘I don’t really run, but I can try.’ He then asked, ‘Do you want to come and try casting for our new project? It’s about football’.”

Woo remembers wearing flip-flops to the audition. One week later, Chow started addressing her by her character’s name in the movie: Sang Biao, a player who channels the grief of a break-up to fuel her dynamic, powerful kicks on the pitch.

“I was dumbfounded, like, ‘Why me?’” she says in English. She spent her teenage years in Britain, studying at Concord College and the University of Bath, where she graduated with a degree in accounting and finance. However, wakesurfing, which she picked up in Hong Kong during the Covid-19 pandemic, became her calling.

She intends to juggle her budding acting career – having recently filmed a Chinese comedy drama – with her sports commitments, and will compete in the World Wakesurf Championships in Hangzhou in October.

Both newcomers describe Chow as a deeply caring mentor who, despite his legendary status, constantly encouraged them to share their thoughts on their roles and how they should play them.

Working with the King of Comedy

That stellar reputation and iconic directorial style are precisely what draw even award-winning artistes to his projects.

Hong Kong actor-singer Louis Cheung, 46, tells ST that it felt like a dream to be cast in the movie, where he plays a referee.

“To me, Chow, whether as an actor or a director, is a legend,” says Cheung, who won Best Actor in 2023 at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for his performance in The Narrow Road (2022).

Chow had made a surprise announcement on Instagram on his 61st birthday in 2023 that he was holding a global talent search for actresses for Kung Fu Soccer.

Hong Kong actress Sisley Choi remembers her excitement upon hearing the news, and put together a video clip of herself fooling around with a football wherever she went.

“It wasn’t just me. I think all actors, and even non-actors, wanted to message him saying, ‘Pick me’,” the 35-year-old says. “I’d work for him, even for free.”

When asked why she wanted the role so badly, Choi – who clinched Best Actress for her turn in Season 2 of Legal Mavericks (2017 to 2020) at the 2020 TVB Anniversary Awards – says: “He really is a legend to all of us. I’ve watched his films since I was a child, and as an actress, I study his works to learn and grow.”

Eager to experience his unique directorial style, she jumped at the chance to send her audition video.

“Even though I’m usually not the type to put myself out there because I’m afraid of rejection, I told myself: ‘You have to be brave because opportunity waits for no one.’ How many times in your life will you get an open casting call from Sing Yeh?” she says, referring to Chow by the “Grandmaster Sing” fan nickname signifying his status as Hong Kong’s King of Comedy.

Filming took place over three months in Shenzhen for Choi. She plays a blind physiotherapist whose martial arts moves pay homage to Chow’s lifelong idol, American-Hong Kong martial arts actor Bruce Lee.

On her days off, rather than staying in her room, she returned to the set, observing how Chow rehearsed with the cast and crafted every scene and line.

“I think his formula is so successful because his films can be understood by anyone from three to 80 years old. But while they are easy to enjoy and make people happy, he still manages to convey much deeper themes.

“There’s so much to learn. I feel like I should pay him tuition fees,” the former beauty queen says of Chow with a laugh.

Cheung, who spent two days on set filming his part, adds: “This is a real masterclass. Seeing a legend handle every scene and the wisdom behind it… I’d take this on, even if I wasn’t paid.”

The reclusive master of Hong Kong cinema

Dilmurat also considers Chow her idol, admitting she was a bundle of nerves when she received the call to join the film, with him on the line personally.

The actress was catapulted to fame by her breakout role in the 2017 hit fantasy romance series Eternal Love, where she played a fox fairy.

Chow quickly put the Xinjiang native at ease. Dilmurat says he has put on no airs since the day she met him on the training ground, when the cast underwent physical exercises and basic football drills.

When filming began, Dilmurat found him to be a supportive scene partner.

“He isn’t a conventional director who sits behind the monitor with a walkie-talkie giving orders,” she says. “Instead, he immerses himself among us actors, performing alongside us and driving the atmosphere on set.”

Even Lau – the cinematic matriarch whose career longevity and commanding screen presence have made her an authoritative figure in Hong Kong film – has warm words for Chow.

“Over all these years, whether watching his works or collaborating with him, I have always greatly admired him. He is like a recluse living away from the worldly realm – you cannot judge or expect things from him using normal standards,” she says.

Lau draws a parallel between Chow and her husband, Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai, whom she views as another “reclusive master”. Chow and Leung have been friends since their teenage years, and both graduated from the 11th TVB artiste training class in 1982.

“They have found a very comfortable way to live. They don’t interfere with others and they earnestly dedicate themselves to what they love,” Lau adds. “I feel very fortunate to know such high-level individuals.”

Chow and Lau last teamed up on-screen as husband and wife in the hit 1996 period comedy Forbidden City Cop, which he co-directed.

In Kung Fu Soccer, Chow cast Lau as an Emei grandmaster and mentor to the women’s football team, giving her several mahjong scenes.

“I told him it would be so funny if he made a cameo as my mahjong partner,” she says, but Chow declined.

Lau adds that while Chow does not play mahjong in real life, he enjoys snooker and appreciating fine wine.

“Since the box office is doing so well, he must treat me to drinks,” she deadpans.

Lau, who has known Chow since his days as an aspiring actor, quips that she has watched him grow into a man with a head of silver hair.

Has she ever suggested he dye it? “I did, but he won’t,” she says. “He is very true to himself. Unless it’s for movie promotions, he doesn’t even appear in the public eye.”

She says that while Chow may be older now, his spirit remains unchanged. “Look at the movies he makes – kids watch them so happily. He has an inner child inside him, and that is what sparks such immense creativity.”