Gordon Liu ; born Sin Kam-hei August 22, 1951) is a Chinesemartial arts film actor and martial artist. He became famous for playing the lead role of San Te in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and its sequels. He later became known for his two roles in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films: Johnny Mo, the leader of the Crazy 88 Yakuza gang in ' ; and kung fumasterPai Mei in '.
Early life
He was born Sin Kam-hei in Guangdong Province, China in August 22, 1951, prior to his adoption into another family. Liu is often wrongly cited as being the adopted son of Lau Cham, and adoptive brother of famed directors / actors Lau Kar-leung and Lau Kar-wing. In fact, he was not adopted by the Lau brothers' family, he is actually just Lau Cham's godson. In his youth, he skipped school to train in Chinese martial arts without his parents' knowledge. He trained at Lau Cham's martial arts school of Hung Gar discipline, which descended from Wong Fei-hung's grand student. Lau Cham's wife assisted in his training and due to the friendship and respect he felt for his sifu and his wife, he took on the name Lau Ka-fai. As he grew up, he found a job as a shipping clerk to make ends meet. His interests had always been towards martial arts and he was eventually offered a role by Lau Kar-leung.
Career
Liu’s first break was with Chang's Film Company acting small parts for such films as 5 Shaolin Masters, Shaolin Martial Arts, and 4 Assassins. He starred in Challenge of the Masters, as the folk hero Wong Fei Hung, and was featured in Executioners From Shaolin before starring in his signature role as Shaolin hero San Te in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. The tale of the imperialistic struggle, while not a new one, was significant for the intense focus placed on the inner workings of Shaolin Temple itself. San Te, Liu’s character, overcomes the temple's thirty-five chambers as he unwittingly undergoes the rigorous training regime imposed by the temple’s Head Abbott on the pretext of “earning” a right to study martial arts there. The “zero-to-hero” tale turned Liu into an international icon in spite of a frame far slighter than that of the folk hero himself and paved the way for a very healthy working schedule into the mid-1990s, even as younger, more agile martial artists eventually emerged. By the late 1980s he had begun accepting smaller roles, such as in Lau Kar-leung's Tiger on the Beat. Liu has also been active in television, and was contracted to Hong Kong's TVB company for many years, continuing playing roles as a martial arts master. Though still performing some martial arts roles, he is at home as well in comedic, self-deprecatory or emotional characters. His second-most common role in TVB has been playing a Hong Kong Police Force officer. Quentin Tarantino has long been a fan of Liu, and had one day hoped to find him a role in one of his movies. This eventually came to pass with the roles of Johnny Mo and Master Pai Mei in both Kill Bill films. His roles in Kill Bill raised Liu's profile again and a renewed interest was shown by Chinese producers; since Kill Bill, Liu has returned to doing movies while continuing to do television for Hong Kong's TVB station. In 2008, Liu added a Bollywood film to his profile. Collaborating with Indian actor Akshay Kumar who is a top-billed Bollywood actor and also a martial arts performer in a film titled Chandni Chowk To China . He played the role of the villain, Hojo, a smuggler and a well-trained martial artist. Before this, he appeared as himself in the 2009 film Dragonland, the first Italian documentary about martial cinema history, by Lorenzo De Luca. Liu attended as special guest star at the premiere in Rome, meeting his Italian fans for the first time. During August 2011, Liu had a stroke and put all his plans on hold to recover. Liu had cancelled all public engagements as of March 2012.
Personal life
Liu has been married twice. He has two daughters, Angie and Bonnie, from his first marriage which ended in 1986, and a son Kris and daughter Sonia from his second marriage with Ma Fei-feng of Thai-descent which ended in 2009. In August 2011, while in To Kwa Wan performing with his band, Liu had a stroke and hit his head. He had partial right-sided paralysis and a speech impairment as a consequence of the stroke; he talks with a slur and needs a wheelchair to travel. To complicate matters, his estranged family had begun pressuring him for money. Depressed at his physical state and family complications, he isolated himself in a nursing home. In June 2012, Liu decided to divorce his second wife and focus on his recovery. During his medical crisis, Liu entrusted his assets to his assistant and spokesperson, Eva Fung. However, the two had a falling out, and Fung refused to return his assets. Because of the mounting medical expenses, Gordon's finances were thin and needed the remainder of his assets to sustain him. Liu attempted to settle the matter in court against Fung. She reluctantly accepted the subpoena. By April 29, 2014, just a day before the court date, Fung agreed to return Liu's assets with interest. Subsequently, Liu arranged for Hong Kong actress Amy Fan to become the legal guardian of his assets; Fan has assisted Liu with managing his affairs as he has physical limitations because of his health. In 2015, it was reported that he no longer spoke with a slur but continued to use a wheelchair, and that he had resided at a nursing home for several years.
