Chow Yun-Fat (Chinese: 周潤發, born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: A Better Tomorrow, A Better Tomorrow II, The Killer, Once a Thief and Hard Boiled, and in the West for his roles as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Sao Feng in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. He mainly plays in drama films and has won three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor and two Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor in Taiwan. Chow started his career in movies in 1976 with Goldig Films, the third largest film company at the time.

Filmography

• 2026Cold War 1994 — Oswald S.C. Kan
• 2025Detective Chinatown 1900 — Bai Xuanling
• 2023One More Chance — Water Ng
• The Do Show
• 2022The Monkey King: The Legend Begins — Jade Emperor
• 2018Project Gutenberg — Painter
• 2016Cold War II — Oswald S.C. Kan
• 2016From Vegas to Macau III — Ken Shek / Ko Chun
• 鲁豫有约一日行
• 2015From Vegas to Macau II — Ken / Ko Chun
• 2015Office — Ho Chung Ping
• 2014From Vegas to Macau — Ken
• 2014The Monkey King — Jade Emperor
• 2012The Assassins — Chancellor Cao Cao
• 2012The Last Tycoon — Cheng Daqi
• Voice
• 2011Beginning of the Great Revival — Yuan Shikai
• 2010Confucius — Confucius
• 2010Let the Bullets Fly — Huang Silang
• 2010Shanghai — Anthony Lan-Ting
• 2009Dragonball Evolution — Roshi
• 2008The Children of Huang Shi — Chen Hansheng
• 2007Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End — Captain Sao Feng
• 2007The Making of Hard Boiled
• 2007The Making of Stranglehold
• 2007The Postmodern Life of My Aunt — Zhichang Pan / 潘知常
• 2006Curse of the Golden Flower — Emperor Ping
• 2005Waiting Alone — Fa Ge (cameo)
• 2003Bulletproof Monk — The Nameless Monk
• 2002Ultimate Fights from the Movies — (archive footage)
• 2000Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon — Li Mu Bai
• 1999Anna and the King — King Mongkut
• 1999The Corruptor — Nick Chen
• 1998The Replacement Killers — John Lee
• 1995Peace Hotel — Wong Ah Ping, Writer
• 1994God of Gamblers' Return — Ko Chun
• 1994Treasure Hunt — Jeffrey Chang Ching
• 1992Full Contact — Jeff / Gou Fei
• 1992Hard Boiled — Insp. 'Tequila' Yuen
• 1992Now You See Love... Now You Don't — Ng San Shui
• 1991Once a Thief — Red Bean Puddin / Joe
• 1991Prison on Fire II — Chung Tin Ching
• 1990God of Gamblers II — Ko Chun
• 1990The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon — Lam Bo Sun / Mr. Stink
• 1989A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon — Mark
• 1989All About Ah-Long — Ah Long, Story
• Celebrity Talk Show — 周润发
• Everybody Loves Somebody — uncredited
• 1989God of Gamblers — Ko Chun
• 1989The Killer — Jong
• 1989Triads: The Inside Story — Lee Man Ho
• 1989Wild Search — Sgt. Lau Chun-Pong
• 1988City War — Dick Lee
• 1988Diary of a Big Man — Chow Ting Fat, Songs
• 1988Fractured Follies — Joe Leung
• 1988Goodbye My Friend — Hung
• 1988The Eighth Happiness — Fang Chien Lang / Fong Kim Long
• 1988The Greatest Lover — Qian Jin / Nelson Chow
• 1988The Romancing Star II — Big Mouth Fat [cameo]
• 1988Tiger on the Beat — Sergeant Francis Li
• 1988When Tat Fu Was Young
• 1987A Better Tomorrow II — Ken Lee
• 1987An Autumn's Tale — Samuel Pang
• 1987City on Fire — Ko Chow
• 1987Code of Honor — Fai
• 1987Flaming Brothers — Tin
• 1987Prison on Fire — Chung Tin Ching
• 1987Rich and Famous — Lee Ah Chai
• 1987Scared Stiff — Inspector Chow
• 1987Spiritual Love — Pu Yung Tsai
• 1987The Romancing Star — Wong Yat Fat
• 1987Tragic Hero — Lee Ah Chai
• 1986100 Ways to Murder Your Wife — Soccer Fat
• 1986A Better Tomorrow — Mark Lee
• 1986A Hearty Response — Ho Ting-Bon
• 1986Dream Lovers — Song Yu
• 1986Love Unto Wastes — Detective Lam Chun-Keung
• 1986My Will, I Will — Detective
• 1986Story of Rose — Charles / Ga Ming
• 1986The Lunatics — Chung
• 1986The Missed Date — Peter
• 1986The Seventh Curse — Wesley
• 1986Witch from Nepal — Joe
• The Battle Among the Clans
• The Yang's Saga — Lui Dong-bun
• 1985Why Me? — Mr. Chow
• 1985Women — Derek Sun
• 1984Hong Kong 1941 — Yip Kim-Fay
• 1984Love in a Fallen City — Fan Liu-Yuan
• Police Cadet — 張竟成 Cheung Ging Sing
• 1984The Occupant — Insp Valentino Chow
• The Smiling Proud Wanderer
• 笑傲江湖 (數碼修復版) — 令狐冲
• Angels And Devils
• 1983Bloody Money — Bullet
• 1983Katanyu Prakasit
• 1983Last Affair — Kwong Ping
• 1983The Bund — Hui Man Keung
• 1983The Bund Part II — 许文强
• The Radio Tycoon
• The Super Power
• 播音人 (數碼修復版) — 韦业昌
• 1982The Head Hunter — Nguen Dich
• The Legend of Master So — 苏灿
• The Maverick
• 1982The Postman Strikes Back — Fu Jun
• 蘇乞兒 (數碼修復版) — 苏灿
• Good Old Times — 欧阳汉
• Hero's Blood Road
• 1981Soul Ash
• 1981The Executor — Ng Tao
• The Fate — 倪骏
• The Shell Game (II) — 阿龙
• 1981The Story of Woo Viet — Woo Viet
• 1980God Father — Git
• 1980Joy to the World — Yam Chung-Lung
• 1980Modern Heroes — Sgt Chu Hwa Tai
• 1980Pursuit — Killer
• The Brothers — 石晖
• The Bund — 许文强
• The Shell Game
• I Am Woman
• Man From Hong Kong — Ben
• The Cheap Detective
• The Good The Bad The Ugly
• The Landlord
• Conflict — 徐承熙
• Disco Fever
• Hong Kong Story II — 主持
• 1978Miss "O" — Koon
• The Giants
• 1978Their Private Lives — Ko Ming Chung
• Vanity Fair
• 13
• A House is Not a Home — 何严明
• 1977Bed for Day, Bed for Night
• Hero
• 1977Hot Blood — Ah Cheng
• C.I.D.(Series 2)
• Hotel
• 1976Learned Bride Thrice Fools the Bridegroom
• 1976Massage Girls — Ah Gin
• Mystery Beyond
• 1976Seven Women: Liu Wing-Sheung
• Teenager
• The First Love
• 1976The Hunter, the Butterfly and the Crocodile
• The Killer
• 1976The Reincarnation
• This Generation
• 七女性
• 畸人列傳
• Dream Of The Red Chamber — 蒋玉涵
• Chinese Folklore
• Murder of Passion
• The God of Aqua
• 歷年TVB台慶經典回顧
• Cold War 1995 — Oswald S.C. Kan
• Cold War III — Oswald S.C. Kan
• The Golden Sting

Appearances as themselves (7)

• 2026Intermission — Self (archive footage)
• 2017Duckweed — Self (archive footage)
• 2007Secrets Within: Inside Look at 'Curse of the Golden Flower' — Self
• 2002Chow Yun Fat Goes Hollywood — Self
• 2000The Making of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' — Self
• Golden Horse Awards — Self
• 電視先鋒群星會 — Self