A native of Hong Kong, Stephen Chow was one of three children in what he describes as a "very poor family". He grew up as a Bruce Lee and martial arts fan but he remembers that as a child his kung fu training had to stop after just six weeks when his family could no longer afford lessons. Chow started his entertainment career as the host of a TV children's show, 430 Space Shuttle. He quickly made a name for himself with his witty style, but it was not until 1989 that he began acting in films.

Playing a supporting role in the movie Final Justice (1989), established him in the Hong Kong film world. The key turning point in his career came a year later, in his first starring role in the 1990 Chow Yun-Fat spoof All for the Winner, making him an overnight sensation in Hong Kong and throughout Asia.

Chow entered a new era in his film career with his first directorial effort, God of Cookery in 1996. His talents as a filmmaker began to blossom then onwards. After the huge success of God of Cookery, he made King of Comedy in 1999, which he also wrote, starred in and directed. In 2001, Chow directed, wrote, produced and starred in Shaolin Soccer, which brought him to yet another peak in his career. A story combining martial arts, Chow's lifelong passion, and soccer, one of the most popular sports in the world, Shaolin Soccer quickly became the third highest-grossing film of all in Hong Kong. Shaolin Soccer won seven major awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Sound Designer and Best Visual Effects.

Despite the fact that he plays one of the good guys in Kung Fu Hustle, Yuen Wah is known to Hong Kong film fans as “the Magnificent Villain,” a title he earned playing evildoers as a fixture of Hong Kong cinema from the 1970s until today. He has appeared in more than 100 movies, working with just about every top Hong Kong director including John Woo, Tsui Hark, Sammo Hung and Jeff Lau. His co-stars have included Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-Fat, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh among many other major Hong Kong stars.

One of the original “Seven Little Fortunes” – the famous Peking Opera school performing group which also included Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung – Yuen Wah began his martial arts training at the age of six, and studied for 10 years. His first movie role was as a stuntman; he was Bruce Lee’s stunt double in the early 1970s. (He also fought Lee on occasion; in Enter the Dragon, Yuen plays the Japanese man who Lee knocks down when he becomes angry about the “No Dogs and Chinese Allowed” sign posted in a part). Yuen Wah first gained notoriety when he played a villain in the 1987 film Eastern Condors. His career in the film industry has ranged from acting and stunt work, to action choreography and directing. He has been the action choreographer on 20 Hong Kong movies, including The Iceman Cometh, Kung Fu vs. Acrobats, and The Master.

Kung Fu Hustle marks Leung Siu Lung’s first appearance on the screen since the 1980s. A martial arts action star and action choreographer in the 1970s and 1980s, Leung Siu Lung was at one time ranked close to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan in the hearts of Hong Kong film fans. The three of them were hailed as the “Three Little Dragons” – a reference to the fact that their Chinese names all contain the work “dragon”. Leung’s first leading role, in the 1975 movie Little Superman, direct by Ng See Yuen, made him an overnight sensation in Hong Kong. He went on to make more than 70 movies in a 20 year span, as well as shooting a TV series which comprised more than 1000 episodes. He also worked as an action choreographer on more than 10 movies.

In the mid-1980s a political controversy hampered his career when he was invited to mainland China for a short trip. Tensions at the time with Taiwan were running high and because of his visit to mainland China, the Taiwanese government banned all films and TV series which Leung worked on. With Taiwan being an important market for Hong Kong films, Leung could no longer find work in entertainment, and he went into business for himself.

Kung Fu Hustle is Leung’s first film in more than 15 years. Having always played heroes, he plays a villain for the first time in this movie.

A famous Peking Opera actor in China, Dong Zhi Hua is best known outside of his native land as the leading actor in many films by the legendary Hong Kong director Zhang Cheh. After playing the lead role in Zhang’s Great Shanghai in 1937 (1986), Dong became Zhang’s lead of choice, appearing Slaughter in Xian (1987), Across the River (1988), Ninja In Ancient China (1989), Hidden Hero (1993), and Shen Tong (1993).

Dong started his Peking Opera training when he was 10. After he graduated from Beijing’s Central Arts Academy in 1979, majoring in martial arts performance, he worked in China’s National Peking Opera House and performed as the lead in many of the famous Peking Opera plays. Dong has also appeared in quite a few popular TV series.

Chiu Chi Ling is a longtime veteran of kung fu movies, having appeared in roughly 70 Hong Kong films (including the well-known Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Duel of the Seven Tigers), both as an actor and stuntman. He has worked with most of the top Hong Kong directors and famous actors, such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-Fat, Andy Lau, and Michelle Yeoh.

Chiu Chi Ling devotes most of his time to his San Francisco-based martial arts school, where he specializes in teaching “Hung Ga” style kung fu, a type of martial arts which was created by Chiu’s ancestors. Known as a Master of Hung Ga Kung Fu, Chiu regularly travels all over the world teaching the style.

Xing Yu received his martial arts training in the world famous Shaolin Temple – the Chinese Buddhist temple considered one of the key origins points of kung fu. He entered the temple at the age of 10 and received training for 10 years. After ending his training he has maintained a close relationship with the temple, representing Saholin as a performer on tours to many countries. He now lives in the city of Shenzen, in southern China, where he manages the Shaolin Temple Shenzen branch.

Chan Kwok Kwan’s first major role in movies was in Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer, in which he played the Goalkeeper. Many Hong Kong commentators said Chan resembled Bruce Lee in the film, and the media quickly dubbed him “Bruce Lee Junior”. He has appeared in smaller roles in several other movies, including Lost Boys in Wonderland in 1995, Sealed With a Kiss in 1998, and 2001’s Fighting to Survive and The Era of Vampire.

Since his successful performance in Shaolin Soccer, Chan has become a familiar face in Asian advertising and TV commercials, for brands such as McDonald’s and San Miguel Beer. Chan loves music and is the leader of a rock band named Poet.

An up-and-coming young actor, Lam Tze Chung made his first major screen appearance in Stephen Chow’s hit Shaolin Soccer. Since then, he has appeared in a number of other movies including Dance of a Dream (2001), starring Andy Lau Tak-Wah and Anita Mui Yim-Fong; and director Raymond Yip Wai-Man’s Beauty and the Beast (2001) and Women of Mars.

Lam Tze Chung joined Stephen Chow’s company, Star Overseas Ltd., in 1999 and holds the title of production manager there. He is also a screenwriter and TV host.

Tin Kai Man had been an entertainer in Hong Kong for 20 years. His career ranges from acting for films, TV series and commercials, to hosting radio programs and TV shows. He has appeared in such films as The Kung Fu Cult Master (1992), co-directed by Sammo Hung and Wong Jing; Hail The Judge (1994), directed by Wong Jing; and Marry a Rich Man (2002) from director Vincent Kuk.

Jia Kang Xi was trained as a Peking Opera performer, a profession he shared with his father. Having joined China’s Shanxi Province Peking Opera House when he was 13, Jia received martial arts training as part of his Peking Opera studies and started his stage performing career some 30 years ago. He made his first screen appearance in Slaughter in Xian (1987), directed by the legendary Hong Kong director Chang Cheh. He made another movie with Chang Cheh before he acted in several movies made by China’s Xian Film Studio. Jia has also appeared in a number of TC series in mainland China, Hong Kong as well as in Taiwan.

For more than tho decades Fung Hak On has been a key actor in Hong Kong cinema. He is renown for his fierce appearance – which has led to many parts portraying villains. His stellar martial arts skills have landed him roles in some of the most spectacular kung fu movies made in Hong Kong.

Fung’s father was Fung Fung, a well-known character actor and director active in the 1960s and 1970s. Father and son worked on a number of films together including Enter the Fat Dragon and The Young Master. Fung Hak On was trained in Peking Opera performance and then joined the legendary Shaw Brothers studio for a series of films including such classics as Vengeance (1970), directed by Chang Cheh. He also appeared in John Woo’s directorial debut, The Young Dragons (1975). Later, Fung worked with famed action choreographer Sammo Hung on several pictures, including Warriors Two and Dragons Forever. Fung turned to directing himself. He has directed two other features since then and continues to work as a martial arts choreographer.

Born in Beijing, director and screenwriter Feng Xiao Gang spent several years working as a scenic painter in a People’s Liberation Army theater troupe before breaking into television as a writher and director.

He first gained fame across China a decade ago as co-writer of the 25-part hit TV series Stories of the Editorial Department. Subsequently, he was co-writer and co-director of another successful TV series, A Native of Beijing in New York. In addition, he directed the 10-part TV series Chicken Feathers in 1994. Shortly afterwards he made his film debut as director of Love Forever Lost.

In 1995 and 1996, he returned to TV, directing the series Early Death of Love and The Other Side of The Moon.

Feng Xiao Gang is best known in China for the series of comedies he has made in recent years, which have set box office records throughout the country. In 1997, he wrote and directed Party A, Party B.

In 1998, Feng released the smash hit Be There or Be Square, the first film from the PRC to be shot entirely on location in the U.S. 1999 saw the release of Sorry, Baby.

In 2000, Feng once more proved his versatility and range with the release of Sigh, a drama of marital infidelity with a script by the well-known novelist Wang Shuo. Sigh won honors for best film, best script, best actor, and best actress at the 2000 Cairo International Film Festival. His recent film Cell Phone, a comedy about China’s obsession with cell phones, is Feng’s highest grossing film in China to date.

Kung Fu Hustle marks Huang Sheng Yi’s debut in a major film feature. Huang grew up in Shanghai and began studying dance when she was five years old. In 2000, she won the top award in a Shanghai contest for aspiring TV show hosts and started attracting attention from the entertainment world. In 2002, she played a student in her first TC series, Red Apple Paradise. She has also appeared in prominent advertisements and commercials, for such well known brands such as Panasonic, Samsung and Motorola.

Currently, Huang is attending the Beijing Film Academy, where she is majoring in acting.

In Kung Fu Hustle, Yuen Qie made a remarkable return to the screen after 28 years at the specific request of Stephen Chow.

Like her Kung Fu Hustle co-star Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu was one of the famous “Seven Little Fortunes” (the childhood Peking Opera performing troupe which also included Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung). She started her martial arts training in the Peking Opera school at the age of 10. After seven years of training, Yuen Qiu began her movie career as a stunt person and became one of the very few well-known stuntwomen in the Hong Kong movie industry at that time. Her first feature film role was in the 1973 movie Not Scared to Die, starring Jackie Chan. Later, she had a brief appearance in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.

Lam Suet has taken Hong Kong by storm in the past few years. After his strikingly memorable appearance in director Johny To’s The Mission, a major hit in 1999, Lam became one of Hong Kong ‘s busiest character actors, and appeared in some 50 movies in less than five years. His recent work included roles in such well known films as Where a Good Man Goes, and Johnny To’s Turn Left, Turn Right and PTU. He also appeared in Love Undercover 2 (2003), directed by Joe Ma Wai-ho, and Love for All Seasons (2003), directed by Wai Ka-Fai and Johnny To.

Lam Suet got his start in film business working behind the scenes as a set production assistant, and he also worked in the lighting and prop departments of several films before breaking into acting.