The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to an actor for the best performance by an actor in a leading role.
History The award was established at the 1st Hong Kong Film Awards (1982) and the first winner and the sole participant in this category was Michael Hui for his role in the film Security Unlimited. From the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards (1983), there are 5, sometimes 6, nominations for the category of Best Actor from which one actor is chosen the winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, except the 2nd Awards when Sammo Hung and Karl Maka shared the award. The most recent recipient of the award was Tony Leung Ka-fai, who was honoured at the 44th Hong Kong Film Awards (2026), for his performance in The Shadow's Edge.
The actor with most awards in this category is Tony Leung Chiu-wai with six wins. He also holds the record for the actor with the most awards in the Best Supporting Actor category. Jackie Chan holds the record for an actor with the most nominations without ever winning, until the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards (2005) he was nominated 10 times without a single award.
Winners and nominees Year Actor Film Note 1982(1st) Michael Hui Security Unlimited 1983(2nd) Karl Maka Aces Go Places Sammo Hung Carry On Pickpocket Michael Chan Crimson Street George Lam Boat People Leslie Cheung Nomad 1984(3rd) Tony Leung Ka-fai Reign Behind a Curtain Peter Wang Ah Ying Sammo Hung The Dead and the Deadly Richard Ng Winners & Sinners Alex Man Hong Kong, Hong Kong 1985(4th) Danny Lee Law with Two Phases Chow Yun-fat Hong Kong 1941 Kent Cheng Beloved Daddy Michael Hui Teppanyaki Jackie Chan Project A 1986(5th) Kent Cheng Why Me? Chow Yun-fat Women Michael Hui Mr. Boo Meets Pom Pom Jackie Chan Heart of Dragon Jackie Chan Police Story 1987(6th) Chow Yun-fat A Better Tomorrow Danny Lee Brotherhood Ti Lung A Better Tomorrow Michael Hui Inspector Chocolate Tony Leung Ka-fai The Last Emperor Tony Leung Chiu-wai Love Unto Waste 1988(7th) Chow Yun-fat City on Fire Leslie Cheung A Better Tomorrow II Chow Yun-fat An Autumn's Tale Chow Yun-fat Prison on Fire Danny Lee City on Fire Eric Tsang Final Victory Da Shichang The Romance of Book and Sword 1989(8th) Sammo Hung Painted Faces Leslie Cheung Rouge Michael Hui Chicken and Duck Talk Andy Lau As Tears Go By Max Mok Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch 1990(9th) Chow Yun-fat All About Ah-Long Jackie Chan Miracles Chow Yun-fat God of Gamblers Michael Hui Mr. Coconut Sammo Hung Eight Taels of Gold Richard Ng Beyond the Sunset 1991(10th) Leslie Cheung Days of Being Wild Jacky Cheung Bullet in the Head Stephen Chow All for the Winner Michael Hui Front Page Tony Leung Ka-fai Farewell China 1992(11th) Eric Tsang Alan and Eric - Between Hello and Goodbye Chow Yun-fat Once a Thief Stephen Chow Fight Back to School Andy Lau Lee Rock Ray Lui To Be Number One 1993(12th) Tony Leung Ka-fai 92 Legendary La Rose Noire Jackie Chan Police Story 3 Stephen Chow Justice, My Foot! Charles Heung Arrest the Restless Tony Leung Ka-fai King of Chess 1994(13th) Anthony Wong The Untold Story Jackie Chan Crime Story Sean Lau C'est la vie, mon chéri Sean Lau Thou Shalt Not Swear Wu Xing Guo Temptation of a Monk 1995(14th) Tony Leung Chiu-wai Chungking Express Jacky Cheung To Live and Die in Tsimshatsui Leslie Cheung He's a Woman, She's a Man Chow Yun-fat Treasure Hunt Stephen Chow From Beijing with Love Eric Kot Oh! My Three Guys 1996(15th) Roy Chiao Summer Snow Andy Lau Full Throttle Stephen Chow A Chinese Odyssey Part 2: Cinderella Chow Yun-fat Peace Hotel Jackie Chan Rumble in the Bronx 1997(16th) Kent Cheng The Log Jackie Chan Police Story 4: First Strike Leslie Cheung Viva Erotica Leon Lai Comrades: Almost a Love Story Sean Lau Big Bullet Michael Wong First Option 1998(17th) Tony Leung Chiu-wai Happy Together Leslie Cheung Happy Together Sean Lau Full Alert Tony Leung Ka-fai Island of Greed Tse Kwan-ho The Mad Phoenix 1999(18th) Anthony Wong Beast Cops Jackie Chan Who Am I? Sonny Chiba The Storm Riders Leon Lai City of Glass Sean Lau The Longest Nite Tony Leung Chiu-wai The Longest Nite 2000(19th) Andy Lau Running Out of Time Sean Lau The Victim Francis Ng Bullets Over Summer Eric Tsang Metade Fumaca Anthony Wong Ordinary Heroes 2001(20th) Tony Leung Chiu-wai In the Mood for Love Chow Yun-fat Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Andy Lau A Fighter's Blues Tony Leung Ka-fai Jiang hu: The Triad Zone Francis Ng Juliet in Love 2002(21st) Stephen Chow Shaolin Soccer Jacky Cheung July Rhapsody Hu Jun Lan Yu Andy Lau Love on a Diet Liu Ye Lan Yu 2003(22nd) Tony Leung Chiu-wai Infernal Affairs Leslie Cheung Inner Senses Leon Lai Three: Going Home Andy Lau Infernal Affairs Tony Leung Ka-fai Double Vision 2004(23rd) Andy Lau Running on Karma Jacky Cheung Golden Chicken 2 Sean Lau Lost in Time Francis Ng Infernal Affairs II Simon Yam PTU 2005(24th) Tony Leung Chiu-wai 2046 Jackie Chan New Police Story Stephen Chow Kung Fu Hustle Alex Fong One Nite in Mongkok Daniel Wu One Nite in Mongkok 2006(25th) Tony Leung Ka-fai Election Simon Yam Election Aaron Kwok Divergence Tony Leung Ka-fai Everlasting Regret Andy Lau Wait 'til You're Older 2007(26th) Sean Lau My Name Is Fame Aaron Kwok After This Our Exile Tony Leung Chiu-wai Confession of Pain Chow Yun-fat Curse of the Golden Flower Jet Li Fearless 2008(27th) Jet Li The Warlords Aaron Kwok The Detective Simon Yam Eye in the Sky Sean Lau Mad Detective Andy Lau The Warlords 2009(28th) Nick Cheung Beast Stalker Louis Koo Run Papa Run Tony Leung Chiu-wai Red Cliff Simon Yam Sparrow Donnie Yen Ip Man 2010(29th) Simon Yam Echoes of the Rainbow Wang Xueqi Bodyguards and Assassins Simon Yam Night and Fog Aaron Kwok Murderer Sean Lau Overheard 2011(30th) Nicholas Tse The Stool Pigeon Chow Yun-fat Confucius Jacky Cheung Crossing Hennessy Tony Leung Ka-fai Bruce Lee, My Brother Nick Cheung The Stool Pigeon 2012(31st) Andy Lau A Simple Life Sean Lau Life Without Principle Sean Lau Overheard 2 Jiang Wen Let the Bullets Fly Ge You Let the Bullets Fly 2013(32nd) Tony Leung Ka-fai Cold War Nick Cheung Nightfall Chapman To Vulgaria Sean Lau The Bullet Vanishes Tony Leung Chiu-wai The Silent War 2014(33rd) Nick Cheung Unbeatable Tony Leung Chiu-wai The Grandmaster Louis Koo The White Storm Sean Lau The White Storm Anthony Wong Ip Man: The Final Fight 2015(34th) Sean Lau Overheard 3 Eddie Peng Rise of the Legend Sean Lau Insanity Huang Bo Dearest Daniel Wu That Demon Within 2016(35th) Aaron Kwok Port of Call Andy Lau Lost and Love Nick Cheung Keeper of Darkness Tony Leung Ka-fai The Taking of Tiger Mountain Jacky Cheung Heaven in the Dark 2017(36th) Gordon Lam Trivisa Shawn Yue Mad World Francis Ng Shed Skin Papa Tony Leung Ka-fai Cold War 2 Richie Jen Trivisa 2018(37th) Louis Koo Paradox Andy Lau Shock Wave Ronald Cheng Concerto of the Bully Tian Zhuangzhuang Love Education Ling Man-lung Tomorrow Is Another Day 2019(38th) Anthony Wong Still Human Aaron Kwok Project Gutenberg Chow Yun-fat Project Gutenberg Philip Keung Tracey Francis Ng Man on the Dragon 2020(39th) Tai Bo Suk Suk Aaron Kwok I'm Livin’ It Louis Koo A Witness Out Of The Blue Chu Pak Hong My Prince Edward Jackson Yee Better Days 2022(40th) Patrick Tse Time Gordon Lam Hand Rolled Cigarette Gordon Lam Limbo Leung Chung-hang Zero to Hero Francis Ng Drifting 2023(41st) Sean Lau Detective vs Sleuths Mak Pui-tung The Sparring Partner Yeung Wai-lun The Sparring Partner Anthony Wong The Sunny Side of the Street Louis Cheung The Narrow Road 2024(42nd) Tony Leung Chiu-wai The Goldfinger Bowie Lam In Broad Daylight Siuyea Lo Time Still Turns the Pages Dayo Wong A Guilty Conscience Dong Chengpeng Dust to Dust 2025(43rd) Sean Lau Papa Raymond Lam Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In Neo Yau The Way We Talk Michael Hui The Last Dance Aaron Kwok Rob N Roll 2025(44th) Tony Leung Ka-fai The Shadow's Edge Louis Koo Behind the Shadows Louis Cheung Golden Boy Louis Koo Back to the Past Carlos Chan Someone Like Me
Multiple wins and nominations
The following individuals received two or more Best Actor awards: Wins Actor Years 6 Tony Leung Chiu-wai 1995, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2024 5 Tony Leung Ka-fai 1984, 1993, 2006, 2013, 2026 4 Sean Lau 2007, 2015, 2023, 2025 3 Andy Lau 2000, 2004, 2012 Anthony Wong 1994, 1999, 2019 Chow Yun-fat 1987, 1988, 1990 2 Kent Cheng 1986, 1997 Nick Cheung 2009, 2014 Sammo Hung 1983, 1989
The following individuals received five or more Best Actor nominations: Nominations Actor 18 Sean Lau 15 Chow Yun-fat Tony Leung Ka-fai 13 Andy Lau 12 Tony Leung Chiu-wai 10 Jackie Chan 8 Leslie Cheung Michael Hui Aaron Kwok 7 Stephen Chow 6 Anthony Wong Francis Ng Jacky Cheung Louis Koo Simon Yam 5 Nick Cheung
Records ItemsNameStatisticsNotesMost winsTony Leung Chiu-wai6 wins12 nominationsMost nominationsSean Lau18 nominations4 winsOldest winnerPatrick TseAge 85 years, 342 daysfor TimeOldest nomineeAge 85 years, 191 daysYoungest winnerTony Leung Ka-faiAge 26 years, 185 daysfor Reign Behind a CurtainYoungest nomineeJackson YeeAge 19 years, 76 daysfor Better DaysMost nominations without winJackie Chan10 nominations
See also Hong Kong Film Award Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actress Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography Hong Kong Film Award for Best Cinematography Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer
References
External links Hong Kong Film Awards Official Site