# Tony Leung Chiu-wai

Tony Leung Chiu-wai (Chinese: 梁朝偉; pinyin: Liáng Cháowěi, born 27 June 1962) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. He is one of Asia's most successful and internationally recognized actors. He has won many international acting prizes, including the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actor for his performance in Wong Kar-wai's film In the Mood for Love. He was named by CNN as one of "Asia's 25 Greatest Actors of All Time".
Leung is known for his collaborations with director Wong Kar-wai, with whom he has worked in seven films, including Chungking Express (1994), Happy Together (1997), In the Mood for Love (2000), 2046 (2004), and The Grandmaster (2013). He also appeared in three Venice Film Festival Golden Lion-winning films: A City of Sadness (1989), Cyclo (1995) and Lust, Caution (2007), directed by Ang Lee. Leung also starred in the Academy Award-nominated film Hero (2002), the cult classic Hard Boiled (1992), and box office hits Infernal Affairs (2002) and Red Cliff (2008). He later came to prominence in Hollywood with his role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).
Leung has an extensive list of awards that he has won in a career that began in the 1980s. For In the Mood for Love, Leung earned the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. He is also an eight-time winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards and three-time winner at the Golden Horse Film Awards, holding the record for most awards in the Best Actor category. The 2002 book East Asian Film Stars describes Leung as "undoubtedly one of the most successful and widely-acclaimed Hong Kong actors of his generation, with a broad and diverse filmography." In 2023, he became the first male actor to win the "Grand Slam", after winning Best Actor at the three most prestigious Chinese-language film awards: the Golden Horse Awards, the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Rooster Awards.

## Early life

Leung was born in Hong Kong to a family of Taishan, Guangdong ancestry. His early childhood was punctuated by his parents' quarrels and arguments about money. A mischievous boy in his early years, Leung changed after his father, a chronic gambler, left the family when he was eight; he and his younger sister were brought up by their mother.
Leung was a slightly reticent, quiet child. He has said that his childhood experiences paved the way for his acting career, which allows him to openly express his feelings:
   You don't know what happened, just one day your pop disappears. And from that day on I try not to communicate with anyone. I'm so afraid to talk to my classmates, afraid that if someone says something about family I won't know what to do. So I became very isolated. So that's why I love acting, because I can express all my feelings the way I couldn't for so long. I'm a quiet person. And then when I went to TV it all came out; I cried and I wasn't ashamed. The audience thinks it's the character's feelings, but really it's my feelings, all coming out in a rush.
Leung went to Delia Memorial School, but quit in 1977 at the age of 15 due to financial difficulties. He was very close to his mother. During an interview on the making of Hero, he said that he saw his mother as his definition of a hero for having brought up two children alone.

## Television career

After quitting his studies, Leung worked in a variety of jobs, first as a grocer's runner at his uncle's shop, then a home appliance salesman in a Hong Kong shopping centre. Around the age of 16, he met future actor and comedian Stephen Chow, who influenced his decision to become an actor and remains a good friend.
In 1982, he graduated from television channel TVB's acting class. Due to his boyish looks, TVB initially cast him as the host of a children's programme, 430 Space Shuttle, but soon moved him to drama roles, beginning with Soldier of Fortune (1982). He was quickly promoted to leading man status in primetime series, including The Duke of Mount Deer (1984) and New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre (1986). Leung mostly enjoyed comedies during his television years; it was for these he became well known. In the 1980s, he was named one of "TVB's Five Tigers" (their five popular young leading actors), along with Andy Lau, Felix Wong, Michael Miu and Kent Tong.
Leung starred in the popular Police Cadet TV serial in 1984 (later named Police Cadet 84 to distinguish it from its two sequels). The series had an average viewership rating of 50% per episode during its original run. Leung played an outgoing young man who decides to become a police officer; Maggie Cheung, whose career started at the same time, played Leung's upstairs neighbour and love interest. Since then they have worked together on The Yang's Saga (1985), Days of Being Wild (1991), The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993), Ashes of Time (1994), In the Mood for Love (2000), Hero (2002), and 2046 (2005). Leung has said that he considers Cheung his alter ego, and that "Maggie is a truly formidable partner—one to waltz with. We do not spend a lot of time with each other, as we like to keep some mystery between us. Whenever I see her, I discover something new about her".
After eight years with TVB, Leung left the network to focus on his film career. His final TV drama was Ode to Gallantry in 1989.

## Film career

Many consider Leung to be the most acclaimed contemporary actor in Greater China. He first garnered international attention in Hou Hsiao-hsien's 1989 film A City of Sadness, which won the Venice Golden Lion. Before that he was already known in Hong Kong for his TV shows and films in the mid-1980s.
Leung's initial transition from television to film in the late '80s and early '90s is considered a low period in his career. He had won two HKFA Best Supporting Actor awards in quick succession but was struggling to establish himself as a leading man on the big screen. In 1992, when he was nominated for a third time in the Supporting Actor category for Hard Boiled, Leung refused the nomination on the grounds that he had a leading role in the film. His protest was supported by director John Woo and co-star Chow Yun-fat. This later led the Hong Kong Film Awards to change its nomination rules to allow for multiple leading roles from the same film. Leung has also said that until Days of Being Wild (1990), he had lost interest in acting and considered quitting, but working with Wong Kar-wai and seeing his scene in the final film changed his mind. His career entered a new chapter when he won dual Best Actor awards at the Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards for Chungking Express (1994), becoming only the second actor to do so after Danny Lee in 1984. He repeated the feat with Infernal Affairs in 2003. Beginning with Chungking Express, Leung has picked up six Best Actor wins at the Hong Kong Film Awards, three Best Actor awards at the Golden Horse Awards, as well as a Best Actor prize at Cannes. In 2023, with his win of the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor for Hidden Blade, he also became the first person to receive the Best Actor award from all three major Chinese movie awards.
Leung often collaborates with Wong Kar-wai and has appeared in many of his films. His roles include the lonely policeman in Chungking Express (1994), a gay Chinese expatriate living in Argentina in Happy Together (1997), and a self-controlled victim of adultery in In the Mood for Love (2000), for which he won the Best Actor award at Cannes. He reprised his role from In the Mood for Love as a new Chow Mo-wan in 2046 (2004) and trained in Wing Chun for five years to prepare for his role as Ip Man in Wong's The Grandmaster. Wong's Jet Tone Film Production was also Leung's management agency for many years until 2018.
In addition to his works with Wong, Leung has starred in three Venice Golden Lion winning films: A City of Sadness (1989), Cyclo (1995) and Lust, Caution (2007), cementing his reputation in the arthouse cinema world. He also became the first Chinese actor to receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival. In 2014, he was a member of the jury of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival, and in 2017 he was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2022, Leung was named the Asian Filmmaker of the Year at the 27th Busan International Film Festival. Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt are admirers of his work, and The Times has called Leung Asia's answer to Clark Gable. He has also been compared to Cary Grant, or a combination of several A-list Hollywood stars.
Leung is widely believed to be a method actor. He has said that he often has trouble separating the characters from himself, beginning with his early TV roles. He usually takes long breaks after filming to recover from psychologically taxing roles, and remnants of the characters still remain within him years later. He has said that the voice of his wife Carina Lau can bring him back to reality.
Leung admits that he has a tendency to stay in his comfort zone and work with familiar teams and filmmakers. Over the course of his career, he has worked with Wong Kar-wai eight times (including See You Tomorrow, which Wong wrote), three times with John Woo, three times with Derek Yee, and twice with Hou Hsiao-hsien. He has also worked with the creators of Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau, Alan Mak, Felix Chong) on three other films: Confession of Pain (2006), The Silent War (2012), and The Goldfinger (2023). In recent years, Leung has become more adventurous and willing to try new things; this includes collaborating with new directors and taking on his first Hollywood role.
In an interview with Senses of Cinema in 2001, Leung said that he had no plans to make a Hollywood debut, but would consider it for the right project. He said, "I have many more choices on the character I can play (in Hong Kong). The role for Asian actors and actresses is very restrictive in Hollywood movies." Actors such as Chow Yun-fat and Jet Li had then made their own debuts in the 1990s. In 2005, he signed with an American agent with the intention to appear in a Hollywood film. Producer Kevin Feige announced at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con that Leung will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the villain in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, marking his Hollywood debut. Leung's character Wenwu is a composite character of Fu Manchu and the Mandarin. The movie was released in 2021 and his performance was universally praised.
Leung also had a successful Cantopop and Mandarin pop singing career in the 1990s, which he abandoned to focus on acting. He still occasionally sings for his films; the theme song of Infernal Affairs which he performed with Andy Lau is one of the Top 10 Song of 2003 and won the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards' Best Original Film Song.
During the promotion of the film Hero, some commentators in Hong Kong alleged that Leung expressed the view that the Tiananmen Square demonstration crackdown was necessary to maintain stability. Leung made a single comment in response that he may have been misquoted and his statement taken out of context.
Leung speaks Cantonese, English and Mandarin. Lust, Caution (2007) is the first film where he used his own voice in a Mandarin-speaking role (his dialogue in Hero is dubbed) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) is his first English-speaking role, despite being fluent in the language.
In 2023, Leung starred in the World War II spy thriller Hidden Blade, directed by Cheng Er, and the crime drama The Goldfinger, along with Andy Lau. The Goldfinger is the duo's first collaboration since Infernal Affairs III in 2003. He also made a cameo appearance in the music video for NewJeans's "Cool With You".
Next, Leung plans to make his first European film, Silent Friend, with Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi.

## Personal life
### Relationships

Leung publicly dated fellow TVB actress Margie Tsang in an on-again, off-again relationship from 1982 to 1988. In 1986, during one of their breakups, Leung briefly dated Kitty Lai, his co-star at the time in New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre, before getting back together with Tsang. Leung and Tsang broke up permanently in 1988 and he has been in a relationship with Carina Lau since 1989.

#### Carina Lau

Leung and Carina Lau are one of Hong Kong's most prominent celebrity couples. They began their romantic relationship in 1989 after working together on a Hong Kong production of Run For Your Wife and dated for 19 years before marrying in Bhutan in 2008. They had known each other since The Clones in 1984, and also co-starred together in Duke of Mount Deer (1984), Police Cadet (1984, 1985, 1988), The Yangs' Saga (1985), Days of Being Wild (1991), He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father (1993), Ashes of Time (1994), and 2046 (2005).
In 1990, during the filming of Days of Being Wild, Lau was abducted for several hours. Leung dropped out of the film to spend more time with her. Wong Kar-wai said, "Originally, there were plans for Days of Being Wild I and II, and the sequence featuring Leung was meant to be the opening scene of the second movie. But two things happened, one of which was that Days of Being Wild didn't do well in Hong Kong, so the producers said, 'No Part 2.' The other reason was Lau's kidnapping."
On 21 July 2008, the couple married in Bhutan. The wedding ceremony was directed by Wong Kar-wai and attended by numerous celebrities including Faye Wong, Li Yapeng, Bridgitte Lin, Cecilia Yip, Ti Lung and Chang Chen. The event gained significant media attention in Hong Kong, with media companies spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover the wedding party.
According to Ming Pao Daily News, Faye Wong and Li Yapeng had taken the couple to India in 2007 to visit the 17th Karmapa. The Karmapa's counsel helped them resolve a crisis in their relationship, and he also suggested Bhutan as a wedding venue.

### Religion

Leung is a Buddhist. He has donated to constructions of Buddhist institutions, performed his marriage in a Buddhist ceremony, attends Buddhist gatherings, and had been seen doing Buddhist palm greetings. He appeared pro bono in the Bhutanese Buddhist film Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait (2016). In 2016, he was seen at a ceremony in India that was also attended by members of the Tibetan government-in-exile, which upset Chinese officials.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | Mad, Mad 83 | | |
| 1985 | Young Cops | Leung Siu-bo | |
| 1985 | Fascinating Affairs | | |
| 1986 | The Lunatics | Doggie | |
| 1986 | Love Unto Waste | Tony Cheung | Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor |
| 1987 | Happy Go Lucky | Wei | |
| 1987 | People's Hero | Sai | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1988 | I Love Maria | Chong Chi-keung | |
| 1989 | My Heart is that Eternal Rose | Cheung | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1989 | Seven Warriors | Wong Wai-mo | |
| 1989 | A City of Sadness | Wen Ching | |
| 1990 | Bullet in the Head | Ben / Ah B | |
| 1990 | Days of Being Wild | Gambler | Uncredited |
| 1991 | The Royal Scoundrel | Beach boy | |
| 1991 | Don't Fool Me | Chiang Ho-chie | |
| 1991 | Fantasy Romance | Stupid Shing | |
| 1991 | Great Pretenders | Snake Wai | |
| 1991 | The Tigers | Tau-pi | |
| 1991 | A Chinese Ghost Story III | Little Monk Sap-fong | |
| 1991 | The Banquet | Wai Jai | |
| 1992 | Hard Boiled | Alan Kong Leung | Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1992 | Three Summers | Wai | |
| 1992 | Lucky Encounter | Wai | |
| 1992 | The Days of Being Dumb | Fei | |
| 1993 | Butterfly and Sword | Mang Sing-wan | |
| 1993 | The Eagle Shooting Heroes | Au-yeung Fung | |
| 1993 | Tom, Dick and Hairy | Chan Dai-man | |
| 1993 | Come Fly the Dragon | Lau Ka-lun | |
| 1993 | Hero – Beyond the Boundary of Time | Wai Siu-bo | |
| 1993 | The Magic Crane | Ma Kwan-mo | |
| 1993 | End of the Road | Fan Lung | |
| 1993 | Two of a Kind | Lam Dai-chi | |
| 1993 | He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father | Chor Yuen | |
| 1994 | Always Be the Winners | Third Master Sha | |
| 1994 | Chungking Express | Cop 633 | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Golden Horse Award for Best Actor |
| 1994 | The Returning | Chung | |
| 1994 | Ashes of Time | Blind Swordsman | |
| 1995 | Mack the Knife | Doctor Mack Lau | Nominated—Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor |
| 1995 | Heaven Can't Wait | Wong Dai-fung | |
| 1995 | Cyclo | Poet | |
| 1996 | Blind Romance | Wing | |
| 1996 | War of the Underworld | Hung Fei | |
| 1997 | Happy Together | Lai Yiu-fai | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor |
| 1997 | 97 Aces Go Places | Cui Qiang | |
| 1997 | Chinese Midnight Express | Ching On | |
| 1998 | The Longest Nite | Inspector Sam | Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor |
| 1998 | Timeless Romance | Lau Yat-lo | |
| 1998 | Your Place or Mine! | Cheung Suk-wai | Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Actor |
| 1998 | Flowers of Shanghai | Wang Liansheng | |
| 1999 | Gorgeous | Albert | |
| 2000 | Tokyo Raiders | Lam Kwai-yan | |
| 2000 | Healing Hearts | Lawrence | |
| 2000 | In the Mood for Love | Chow Mo-wan | Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Actor Cannes Film Festival for Best Actor Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor |
| 2001 | Fighting for Love | Tung Choi | |
| 2001 | Love Me, Love My Money | Richard "Bastard" Ma | |
| 2002 | Chinese Odyssey 2002 | Li Yilong | |
| 2002 | Infernal Affairs | Chan Wing-yan | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Golden Horse Award for Best Actor Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor |
| 2002 | Hero | Broken Sword | |
| 2003 | My Lucky Star | Lai liu po | |
| 2003 | Infernal Affairs III | Chan Wing-yan | |
| 2003 | Sound of Colors | Ho Yuk-ming | |
| 2004 | Super Model | Himself | Cameo |
| 2004 | 2046 | Chow Mo-wan | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Actor |
| 2005 | Seoul Raiders | Lam Kwai-yan | |
| 2006 | Confession of Pain | Detective Lau Ching-hei | Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor |
| 2007 | Lust, Caution | Mr. Yee | Golden Horse Award for Best Actor Asian Film Awards for Best Actor Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor |
| 2008 | Red Cliff: Part 1 | Zhou Yu | Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor |
| 2009 | Red Cliff: Part 2 | Zhou Yu | |
| 2011 | The Great Magician | Chang Hsien | |
| 2012 | The Silent War | He Bing | Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor |
| 2013 | The Grandmaster | Ip Man | Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Actor |
| 2016 | Hema Hema | Deer / Serene Mask | |
| 2016 | See You Tomorrow | Chen Mo | |
| 2018 | Monster Hunt 2 | Tu Sigu | |
| 2018 | Europe Raiders | Lam Kwai-yan | |
| 2021 | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Xu Wenwu / The Mandarin | Hollywood debut |
| 2022 | Where the Wind Blows | Nam Kong | Asian Film Awards for Best Actor |
| 2023 | Hidden Blade | Director He | Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor |
| 2023 | The Goldfinger | Ching Yat-yin | Nominated—Asian Film Awards for Best Actor Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor |
| TBA | Fox Hunt | Dai Yichen | Delayed |
| TBA | Silent Friend | | Pre-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1981 | The Young Heroes of Shaolin | Shaolin monk |
| 1982 | Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils | monk, episode 44 |
| 1982 | The Legend of Master So | waiter |
| 1982 | Manager & Messenger | general manager |
| 1982 | Hong Kong '82 | |
| 1982 | Wut Lik Sap Yat | Hung Kwok-choi |
| 1982 | Soldier of Fortune | Ying Chi-him |
| 1982 | The Emissary | brother |
| 1983 | The Superpower | Kwok Hak-chung |
| 1983 | Beyond the Rose Garden | Tin-yau |
| 1983 | Encounter with Fortune | |
| 1983 | Angels and Devils | Kong Ho-man |
| 1984 | The Clones | Cheung Ka-wai / Chiang Ka-wai |
| 1984 | The Duke of Mount Deer | Wai Siu-bo |
| 1984 | It's a Long Way Home | Yau Ga-kei |
| 1984 | Police Cadet '84 | Cheung Wai-kit |
| 1984 | No Regrets for Our Youth | Frankie |
| 1985 | The Rough Ride | Chow Kim-hung |
| 1985 | Police Cadet '85 | Cheung Wai-kit |
| 1985 | The Yang's Saga | Yeung Yin-chi (Yeung Chat-long) / Duke of Thunder |
| 1986 | New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre | Cheung Mo-kei |
| 1987 | The Grand Canal | Cheung Sam-long |
| 1988 | Police Cadet '88 | Cheung wai-kit |
| 1988 | Behind Silk Curtains | Lin Kar-yip |
| 1988 | Everybody's Somebody's Favourite | |
| 1988 | Two Most Honorable Knights | "Little Fishie" Kong Siu-yu |
| 1989 | Ode to Gallantry | Shek Po-tin / Shek Chung-yuk |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist | Ref. |
| 2002 | The Name | The Name | |
| 2023 | Cool with You | NewJeans | |

## Discography

| Year | Chinese Name | Translation | Language |
| 1985 | 朦朧夜雨裡 | Raining Night | Cantonese |
| 1988 | 誰願 | Who Wants | Cantonese |
| 1993 | 一天一點愛戀 | A Little Love Each Day | Mandarin |
| 1993 | 難以忘記的你 | Hard to Forget You | Cantonese |
| 1994 | 一生一心 | One Life One Heart | Cantonese |
| 1994 | 為情所困 | Trapped by Love | Mandarin |
| 1994 | 日&夜 | Day & Night | Cantonese |
| 1995 | 從前...以後 | The Past ... The Future | Cantonese |
| 1995 | 錯在多情 | The Fault Is Too Much Love | Mandarin |
| 1996 | 難以忘記 情歌精選 | Cannot Forget Collection | Mandarin & Cantonese |
| 2000 | 梁朝偉精選 | Tony Leung Greatest Hits | Mandarin & Cantonese |
| 2000 | 梁朝偉眼中的花樣年華 | Tony Leung's In the Mood for Love | Mandarin |
| 2002 | 風沙 | Wind Sand | Mandarin & Cantonese |
| 2007 | 絕對收藏 | Absolute Collection | Mandarin & Cantonese |

## Accolades
### Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1987 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | Love Unto Waste | Nominated |
| 1988 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | People's Hero | Won |
| 1990 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | My Heart is that Eternal Rose | Won |
| 1993 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Hard Boiled | Nominated |
| 1993 | Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards | Most Popular Mandarin Song Silver Award | 你是如此難以忘記 | Won |
| 1994 | Golden Horse Film Festival | Best Actor | Chungking Express | Won |
| 1995 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | Chungking Express | Won |
| 1995 | Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Actor | Chungking Express | Nominated |
| 1996 | Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actor | Mack the Knife | Nominated |
| 1998 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | Happy Together | Won |
| 1998 | Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actor | Happy Together | Won |
| 1998 | Golden Horse Film Festival | Best Actor | Your Place or Mine! | Nominated |
| 1999 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | The Longest Nite | Nominated |
| 2000 | Cannes Film Festival | Best Actor | In the Mood for Love | Won |
| 2000 | Golden Horse Film Festival | Best Actor | In the Mood for Love | Nominated |
| 2000 | Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards | Most Popular Mandarin Song Silver Award | In the Mood for Love | Won |
| 2001 | Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actor | In the Mood for Love | Won |
| 2001 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | In the Mood for Love | Won |
| 2001 | Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actor | In the Mood for Love | Nominated |
| 2001 | Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Actor | In the Mood for Love | Nominated |
| 2002 | Top Chinese Music Awards | Best Film Song | In the Mood for Love | Won |
| 2003 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | Infernal Affairs | Won |
| 2003 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Original Film Song (Performed with Andy Lau) | Infernal Affairs | Won |
| 2003 | RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards | Top 10 Songs of 2003 (Performed with Andy Lau) | Infernal Affairs | Won |
| 2003 | Golden Horse Film Festival | Best Actor | Infernal Affairs | Won |
| 2003 | Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actor | Infernal Affairs | Won |
| 2004 | Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actor | Sound of Colors | Nominated |
| 2004 | Golden Horse Film Festival | Best Actor | 2046 | Nominated |
| 2004 | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | Best Actor | 2046 | Won |
| 2005 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | 2046 | Won |
| 2005 | Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actor | 2046 | Won |
| 2005 | Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actor | 2046 | Nominated |
| 2005 | Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Actor | 2046 | Won |
| 2007 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | Confession of Pain | Nominated |
| 2007 | Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Actor | Confession of Pain | Nominated |
| 2007 | Golden Horse Film Festival | Best Actor | Lust, Caution | Won |
| 2008 | Iron Elephant Film Awards | Best Actor | Lust, Caution | Won |
| 2008 | Asian Film Awards | Best Actor | Lust, Caution | Won |
| 2008 | Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actor | Lust, Caution | Nominated |
| 2008 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Actor | Lust, Caution | Nominated |
| 2008 | Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers (HKSC) Awards | Most Charismatic Actor | Tony Leung Chiu-wai | Won |
| 2009 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | Red Cliff | Nominated |
| 2013 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | The Silent War | Nominated |
| 2013 | Golden Horse Film Festival | Best Actor | The Grandmaster | Nominated |
| 2013 | 56th Asia Pacific Film Festival | Best Actor | The Grandmaster | Nominated |
| 2014 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | The Grandmaster | Nominated |
| 2014 | Asian Film Awards | Best Actor | The Grandmaster | Nominated |
| 2014 | Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Awards | Best Actor | The Grandmaster | Won |
| 2014 | Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Actor | The Grandmaster | Nominated |
| 2014 | Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actor | The Grandmaster | Nominated |
| 2018 | Chaplin Award Asia | Chaplin Award | Tony Leung Chiu-wai | Won |
| 2021 | Utah Film Critics Association Awards | Vice/Martin Award | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Won |
| 2022 | Seattle Film Critics Society | Best Villain | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Nominated |
| 2022 | Gold List | Best Supporting Actor | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Won |
| 2022 | Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Actor in a Superhero Movie | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Nominated |
| 2022 | Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Villain in a Movie | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Nominated |
| 2022 | Busan International Film Festival | Asian Filmmaker of the Year | Tony Leung Chiu-wai | Won |
| 2023 | Asian Film Awards | Best Actor | Where the Wind Blows | Won |
| 2023 | Asian Film Awards | Asian Film Contribution Award | Tony Leung Chiu-wai | Won |
| 2023 | Venice International Film Festival | Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement | Tony Leung Chiu-wai | Won |
| 2023 | Golden Rooster Awards | Best Actor | Hidden Blade | Won |
| 2023 | Macau International Movie Festival | Best Actor | Hidden Blade | Nominated |
| 2024 | Asian Film Awards | Best Actor | The Goldfinger | Nominated |
| 2024 | Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Actor | The Goldfinger | Nominated |
| 2024 | Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Awards | Best Actor | The Goldfinger | Won |
| 2024 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | The Goldfinger | Won |

### International honours

* France:
** Officier of the National Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2015)
* Jury president at the 2024 Tokyo International Film Festival for its section 'Main competition'.
* Biography portal
* Film portal
* Hong Kong portal
* Pop music portal

## Footnotes

* ↑ Ashes of Time Redux re-scored in 2008