Kelvin Chan Kin-long (; born 8 November 1990) is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker. Initially working in the advertising industry, he was discovered by filmmaker Fruit Chan and made his debut as Glu-stick in Chan's The Midnight After (2014). He continued to act in minor roles before making his directorial debut with Hand Rolled Cigarette (2020), winning Best New Director in the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards. He also directed the ViuTV series Left On Read (2023), which won a People's Choice Television Award, and starred as Paul in the ViuTV series Loneliness Can Kill (2020) and as Dickson in the film Say I Do To Me (2023).
Early life and education Chan was born on 8 November 1990 in Hong Kong. He described his family's situation as "grassroots", which influenced the style of his future works. He studied at Ying Wa College, where he was classmates with fellow filmmaker Jun Li and the two became friends while participating in the drama club and writing plays together. He initially planned to apply to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, aspiring to become a stage actor, but missed the application deadline, and ultimately entered City University of Hong Kong to study creative media. During university, he shifted his passion from theatre to film after discovering the works of Fruit Chan, Johnnie To, and Japan's Akira Kurosawa and Takeshi Kitano, stating he was "heavily inspired by old-school Japanese cinema". He produced three short films, including Story of Ashin, Seven Days at Mino, and 1349 Road to Devil, and participated in several amateur performances during his university years. After graduation, he worked at an advertising production house.
Career In 2013, Chan was cast by filmmaker Fruit Chan in his sci-fi film The Midnight After as the gangster Glu-stick. The film premiered at the 64th Berlin Film Festival and received eight Hong Kong Film Awards nominations, which Chan described as "lucky" for debuting with a blockbuster. He also starred in the short film I Can't Live Without A Dream, playing a terminal cancer patient, and won Best Actor at the the following year. Chan continued to secure minor roles in films, including Port of Call and Wild City, while also working as a production assistant. He received a co-starring role in the Fantastic Television romance series , and appeared as the younger version of a gangster played by Deep Ng in the ViuTV sci-fi series . In 2018, Chan played a smuggler in the political film , and appeared as a gangster in the Chinese drama film The Crossing. He was originally cast in the lead role as a smuggler, but the role was ultimately filled by debut actor . He starred in a main role in the ViuTV anthology series the following year.
In 2020, Chan made his directorial debut with the crime drama film Hand Rolled Cigarette. He applied for the First Feature Film Initiative twice, winning in his second attempt with this project, and production began in 2017. Chan won Best New Director in the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards and received a nomination for Best New Director in the 57th Golden Horse Awards for the film. He also landed a lead role as Paul in the ViuTV drama series Loneliness Can Kill, and played the younger version of Bowie Lam in . In 2023, Chan made his television directorial debut with the ViuTV thriller series . The series was adapted from a web novel written by his childhood friend Ho Siu-hong, who also served as the screenwriter, and it won Best Cinematography at the . Chan starred as the male lead Dickson, a social media influencer, in Kiwi Chow's drama film in the same year, and secured another lead role as Diga Chan in the 2024 ViuTV drama series .
Personal life Chan is a smoker. He began dating singer Jace Chan in 2020, but they broke up in October 2023.
Filmography As director Year Title Notes/ 2020 Hand Rolled Cigarette 2023 Television series
As actor Films Year Title Role Notes/2014 The Midnight After Glu-Stick (白膠漿) I Can't Live Without A Dream Chan Pak-kiu (陳柏橋) Short film2015 Port of Call Policeman Wild City Hung (雄) 2017 Dealer/Healer Young Chan Wah (陳華) 2018 Wing-kuen (永權) The Crossing Seven (七仔) 2019 My Prince Edward Real estate agent 2021 The First Girl I Loved Kin-long (健朗) Cameo 2023 Dickson
Television Year Title Role Notes/ 2017 Eric Co-starring 2018 Young Hau (孝哥) Guest role 2019 Lau Tsz-chun (劉子進) Main role2020 Loneliness Can Kill Paul (波叔) Main role Young Thomas Li (李子勇) Guest role 2022 Hung Hom Crazy Bill (紅磡喪彪) Cameo 2024 Diga "Superman" Chan (陳迪加 / 超人) Main role 2025 Himself Cameo
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2014 Best Actor I Can't Live Without A Dream 2020 57th Golden Horse Awards Best New DirectorHand Rolled Cigarette 2021 23rd Far East Film Festival White Mulberry 2022 17th Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Awards Best New Director 40th Hong Kong Film Awards Best New Director
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