Sihung Lung
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| Sihung Lung | ||||||
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| Born | January 1, 1930 China |
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| Died | May 2, 2002 (aged 72) Taipei, Taiwan |
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| Years active | 1978 - 2002 | |||||
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Sihung Lung (born Hsiung Lang, c.1930 – May 2, 2002) was a Chinese-born Taiwanese actor who appeared in over 100 films and was best known for playing paternal roles in films including Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet. He frequently collaborated with award-winning director Ang Lee, notably cast in films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Pushing Hands.
Lung enlisted in Chiang Kai-shek's army as a teenager to fight the Communists. After they seized control of the mainland, he escaped to Taiwan, where he was chosen to join an army-sponsored acting troupe. Acting became his permanent career. His experience playing an array of roles for the troupe later led his being cast in over 100 Chinese-language films and in Taiwanese soap operas, typically playing criminals or toughs.
He had already retired from films when Ang Lee began casting for his first full-length film, 1992's Pushing Hands, and the director, who recalled watching Mr. Lung as a child, asked him to play the father. Lung's sensitive portrayal of an elderly man faced with change turned him into an international star and he became known for playing traditional fathers struggling with modernity and adult children in the movies known to some fans as the Father Knows Best trilogy.[1]
By the time he appeared as "Sir Te," guardian of a mystical sword in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Lung's health had deterriorated due to diabetes. He died of liver failure in 2002 at the age of 72.[2]
[edit] Select Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Touch | ||
| 2002 | Double Vision | ||
| 2000 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Sir Te | |
| 1994 | Eat Drink Man Woman | Chu | |
| 1993 | The Wedding Banquet | Mr. Gao | |
| 1992 | Pushing Hands | Mr. Chu |
