From Election to Naked Killer, as the actor turns 65, we look back at a few of his best roles from an enviable 200-movie career
Despite starring in a number of John Woo and Johnnie To classics, to a young generation, Simon Yam is possibly most recognisable from his role as a stern police officer advocating against covertly filming movies in Hong Kong cinemas " a government anti-piracy public service announcement which plays before each movie.
However, the actor, who is 65 on March 19, is, in fact, one of the most charismatic and talented Hong Kong actors of the last 40 years. Yam has starred in more than 200 movies, including some of Hong Kong cinema's very best, and many of them succeeding in no small part thanks to his presence.
To celebrate his birthday, here are five of Yam's best roles and performances.
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Luke, Bullet in the Head (1990)
Yam is probably at his coolest in this, John Woo's own particular homage to Vietnam movies like Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now. The actor plays Luke, a suave ex-CIA hitman, who helps a group of pals from Hong Kong " played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee " when they run into trouble smuggling during the Vietnam war. Yam is excellent as a man unable to reconcile his desire to do good with a profession that brings so much misery and attempting to shrug it all off with a weary sense of cool.
Tinam, Naked Killer (1992)
A film about lethal lesbian assassins, Naked Killer is schlock of the highest order. Perhaps that is precisely why the film has garnered a reputation as a cult classic " succeeding because of rather than despite its many trashy elements. It is certainly one of Yam's more unique roles. Usually he is relentlessly charming and suave, but here Yam is more nervy, a police officer who vomits every time he pulls his gun and prone to nausea when chasing suspects. Naturally, despite his PTSD, Yam is able to hold it together well enough to seduce Chingmy Yau, help fight off assassins and generally save the day.
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Lam Lok, Election (2005)
Although Election is most memorable for Tony Leung Ka-fai's electric performance as psychopathic triad boss Big D, it should be remembered that Simon Yam is equally impressive (and both were nominated for the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, which Leung won). In contrast to the manic Big D, Lam Lok is quieter and more phlegmatic " all of which makes the dramatic ending far more shocking and memorable.
Sergeant Tsim Kin-yip, Exodus (2007)
A hidden gem, Exodus focuses on a plot by women to exterminate all men, and it is Yam's mediocre Sergeant Tsim who uncovers the scheme and investigates. Director Edmond Pang (of Love in a Puff fame) successfully mines this outlandish concept for dark comedy while Yam excels as an average police officer unsure of what he has discovered and increasingly paranoid about what is fact and fiction.
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Kei, Sparrow (2008)
One of Yam's most low-key but rewarding performances comes in this, Johnnie To's whimsical tale of petty thieves (in Cantonese slang, "sparrow" refers to a pickpocket). Yam is Kei, the leader of a group of fingersmiths, tasked by a beguiling mainland visitor with stealing the key to a particular safe. Sparrow is unlike To's more intense gangster films (such as The Mission, The Longest Nite or Exiled) and Yam is similarly changed. Absent is the cocky or stoic attitude he typically brings to a job, replaced instead by a more easy-going charm and caring attitude. To has made better films than Sparrow but the film is worthwhile just for seeing a gentler side to both the director and lead actor.
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