Dick Wei (Chinese: 狄威, born Tu Jilong 涂吉龍; born April 15, 1953) is a Taiwanese actor, director and writer who specializes in martial arts and action films.

Dick Wei
Chinese: 狄威
Born
Tu Jilong

(1953-04-15) April 15, 1953 (age 71)
Other namesTi Wai
Tiu Lung
Tu Long
Occupation(s)Actor, action director
Years active1973-2004, 2013-present
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDí Weī
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingDik6Wai1
Tu Jilong
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinTú Jílóng
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingTou4 Gat1-Lung4

Early life and career

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Dick Wei was born Tu Jilong in the town of Pingtung in southern Taiwan.[1] He is of Hakka ancestry. He began studying martial arts in Junior High School, going on to win numerous competitions.[2] He later served in the Taiwanese army, attaining the rank of captain, and was an instructor in unarmed combat, especially Tae Kwon Do.[3] Prior his movie career, he also worked as a combat instructor for the Taiwanese police force.[4] His first films were made while he was still in the army; most were low budget Taiwanese productions. His earlier movie appearances tended to be quite brief and he often played supporting or tertiary roles.

Discovery

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While operating a martial arts studio in Taipei, he was spotted by Chang Cheh who persuaded him to have a screen test which was shown to Sir Run Run Shaw. Impressed with the footage, Shaw signed him with the Shaw Brothers and he relocated to Hong Kong in 1977. Under the stage name "Tu Lung", he made several martial arts films with the studio including Five Deadly Venoms (1978), The Avenging Eagle (1978), Kid with the Golden Arm (1979), and The Kid With a Tattoo (1980).

In the early 1980s, he moved to Golden Harvest where he joined Sammo Hung's team of actors and stuntmen. Starring in films many of which were helmed by Hung, Dick Wei became known for playing villainous roles such as Suen in The Prodigal Son (1981), pirate king Lor Sam Pau in Project A (1983), and mountain bandit number 6 in Millionaires Express (1986). He also trained actresses Joyce Godenzi for her role in Eastern Condors, and Michelle Yeoh when the latter first began making martial arts movies.

Later roles and directing

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In 1989, Wei starred in and was action director for the film Dragon Fight.[5] In 1991, he made his directional debut with the action film Visa to Hell and then, in 1994, directed the crime film, A Killing Order.[6][7] He starred in and choreographed both projects.

Dissatisfied that he was constantly typecast as villains by Hong Kong film companies and directors, Dick Wei eventually returned to Taiwan where he turned his hand to directing and producing. He continued to work in Taiwanese television and starred in a number of movies, including some made-for-television. The early to mid-2000s saw a rapid decline in his film appearances and eventually, a complete stop altogether. It would not be until 2013 that he would star in another major film project, Hung Yan-yan's 7 Assassins, appearing alongside several veteran actors from the Golden Generation of Hong Kong cinema such as Felix Wong.[8] The following years saw Dick Wei's steady return to filmmaking in which he starred primarily in action or martial arts films from Taiwan and mainland China, some of which were exclusively streamed via online platforms. He would also return to directing; in 2016, he directed and starred alongside Tony Liu and Chen Kuan-tai in a loose reboot of the 1980 film Encounters of the Spooky Kind.[9] As of 2023, his most recent appearance was in the 2020 martial arts film, Chinese People The Soul of Wushu.

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1973 Tiger Boxer
1974 The Assignment
1976 The One-armed Swordsmen Assistant Martial Arts Director[10]
1977 Money Crazy
The Brave Archer Yang Tieh-hsin
Chinatown Kid Kung Fu Student
1978 Life Gamble Jin Ba
The Brave Archer 2 Beggar Sect Elder Jian
Shaolin Handlock Li Pai
Five Deadly Venoms Master
The Avenging Eagle Han Sung
Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre
Invincible Shaolin South Shaolin teacher #1
Crippled Avengers Tien Nan Tiger of the Southern Sky #1
1979 The Best Hustler Wins
The Kung Fu Instructor Meng Clan's Fighter
Kid with the Golden Arm Sand Palm Fighter
To Kill A Mastermind Yang security agent
1980 Shaolin Hellgate Jin Cha
Iron Chain Assassin
Killer Constable Suen-Heng
Kid with a Tattoo Captain Fang
Swift Sword Leng family fighter
A Deadly Secret Wan Gui
Ten Tigers from Kwangtung Wang Teng Ko
Lightning Kung Fu
1981 Family of Lust Cheng Pei
The Prodigal Son Suen
A Bride's Nightmare
1982 Carry On Pickpocket Chou Meng-Sheng's Henchmen #5
1983 Winners and Sinners Tar's Top Henchman
Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain Blue Army Commander
The Champions Soccer King Gam
Project A Lor Sam Pau
1984 Pom Pom Scarman
The Owl vs Bombo Au Gung's Henchman
1985 My Lucky Stars Gang Member
Mismatched Couples Fight champion
Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars Warehouse Thug #3
Heart of Dragon Kim's Man #1
Yes, Madam Willie
Night Caller Allan Lee
Eastern Kung Fu God
1986 Millionaires Express Mountain Bandit #6
Witch from Nepal The Warrior
Rosa Thug in Suit
Kung Fu Kids II Gam/Golden Yama Wong Er Lung
The Seventh Curse Huh Lung
A Heroic Fight Wai
Bloody Revenge
1987 Code of Honor Mak Chi-Chieh
Eastern Condors Elite Vietnamese soldier
Project A Part II Lor Sam Pau Uncredited
Return of the Demon The Demon
Return of the Kickfighter Bad Brother
1988 Paper Marriage Thug in white Suit
Shy Spirit Lama
Dragons Forever Thug Leader
Criminal Hunter
Into the Night
Walk on Fire Wai
In the Line of Duty III Diamonds' Fence
City Warriors Lok Han
1989 Bloody Brotherhood Fat Hoi's Vietnamese henchman and hitman
Pedicab Driver Wai
Proud and Confident Popeye
Final Run Bull
Close Escape Chiu Ying-Kau
Dragon Fight Wong Wai Action director
Underground Warfare
Who Cares Yeung Wai
Angel Enforcers Ah-Wai
Angel's Mission Jerry
1990 Never Say Regret Hsiung
Family Honor Wai
No Way Back Koeng
Fortune Chasers Gang Boss
Bullet for Hire Dick
Yellow Rain Brother Ho
The Wolf of Revenge
1991 Retreat Of The Godfather
Godfather's Daughter Mafia Blues Tung
Stone Age Warriors First Guide
Visa to Hell Black Panther Director, action director
The Vengeance
Ghost's Love
Kung-Fu Kid
The Drug Hunt Police Chief TV film
1992 Come From China Tank
My Pretty Companion
Angel Terminators Sama
Midnight Lover
Megaforce From Highland
Erotic China Dolls
Queen Of Gambler
A Dancing Boy in Underworld Street
Lady Killer
Behind the Curtain
Wonderful Killer
Desperate Duo
Attention Lover
The Last Thief of the Dynasty Huh Lung
1993 Erotic Journey Big Brother Chung
Snake Fist TV film
The Widow
Police Women Wong Yun Lung
Supercop 2 Ah-Shuen
On Parole Yin
Sexual Harasser
Bloody Brothers Chang Tung-Pin
The Case of the Spirit of Banana Kao Tien-Yun
1994 A Killing Order Detective Yun Duan Director, action director
Two Gambling Men
Guardian Angel
Urban Cop Law Kit TV film
1995 Mr. X
Inspector of King TV film
Countryside Hero
Xue Niang Xia San Hu TV series
Series of Murder Files
Ao Men Zhui Xiong
The Righteous Guards Duan Chang Hong TV series
The Righteous Guards II Duan Chang Hong TV series
1996 Horrible High Heels Police Chief
Final Fugitive
No.13 Command Police Chief TV film
1997 Iron Sister Suen
Last Target To Kill Police Chief TV film
Stay Behind the Yellow Line Argentina
Crazy Mission
The First Professional Killer
1999 To Nail the Killer with All Efforts TV film
Stunt Couple Hung Sing TV film
Sword Knight-errant
The Wanted Convict
Killer of Lover TV film
The Good and the Bad TV film
2000 Crazy Badboy Police Chief Lai TV film
Guard Soldier Tang Po Shen TV film
The Died Body
2001 Kill the Unforgiven TV film
2004 Life Taken Call-In Police Chief TV film
2013 7 Assassins Adjutant
2014 Long's Story Ming
2016 New Encounters of the Spooky Kind Master Ti Director, online film
2017 Fast Hands Hung Boxer Huh Lung Online film
An Idiot Lost in Xiangxi Kungfu King
2018 The Angel Eyes Village Leader
Return of Heroes Duke Han Online film
Diexue Dadao Hui
The Knight in the White Night Zhu Gu Sheng Online film
2019 Return of Heroes II Duke Han Online film
2020 Chinese People The Soul of Wushu Lai Hoi Chun Online film

References

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  1. ^ Encyclopedia of Asian Stars
  2. ^ Japanese Dick Wei fan website
  3. ^ Article in "The Best of Eastern Heroes" by John Brennan
  4. ^ "An Interview With Actor and Filmmaker Jaime Luk Kim Ming". Cool Ass Cinema.
  5. ^ "Dragon Fight (1989)". Hong Kong Movie DataBase.
  6. ^ "Visa to Hell (1991)". Hong Kong Movie DataBase. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  7. ^ "A Killing Order (1994)". Hong Kong Movie DataBase. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  8. ^ "Felix Wong Stars in "7 Assassins"". JayneStars. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  9. ^ "新鬼打鬼 (2016)". Hong Kong Movie DataBase. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  10. ^ "The One-Armed Swordsmen (1976)". Hong Kong Movie DataBase. Retrieved 2023-05-02.