He is only 20 years old, but has already had five years of experience in the world of entertainment. His performance in a commercial with superstar Leon Lai Ming attracted attention from Hong Kong's Emperor Entertainment company. Slightly more tarnished than the traditional Hong Kong offering of stars, he has established himself both as an actor and a singer. He is Edison Chan and makes it to Today's list with his bad boy screen image.
Edison Chan has attracted much attention since joining entertainment circles. His attractive appearance has certainly helped, but he's also received help from heavyweights like the Chairman of Emperor Entertainment Albert Yueng and superstar Jackie Chan. Even late movie and pop icon Leslie Chang once wrote songs for him.
With such support, Edison slid easily into the industry -- singing, acting and filming in commercials. He soon became one of Hong Kong's most popular rising stars. His big break came with his performance in Infernal Affairs. After his success in the first instalment as a supporting role, he was cast in the sequel as one of the key characters. Edison quit all his other work to concentrated on perfecting his performance.
Another milestone was Twins Effect, which took over 15 million Hong Kong dollars in its opening week. His company threw a huge party to celebrate Edison's performance and the success of the film.
Edison had always dreamt of being a basketball player, but he was forced by his father to model and act from an early age. When he was 15 years old, he shot a commercial with Hong Kong superstar Leon Lai, which attracted the attention of Emperor Entertainment.
But not satisfied with acting alone, Edison has turned his hand to singing. He is finding time between shoots to make his album and music video. He said he thoroughly enjoys himself when he's busy working.
This young boy said, "I think that now I can better understand what it is to be an actor and know more about the media. I've changed a lot since I first entered the circle. Therefore I will try my best to keep up a good relationship with the media. But they should know there are always some things I can't say. Sometimes they say things that aren't true, but I don't care. I hope they can realize I'm also an ordinary person. "
With this "I don't care" attitude, Edison has built his career on his public image of being a cool, bad boy.
People are always wondering what's going on behind his eyes. Is he really as bad as he seems?
Edison's tough guy swagger has touched many girls' hearts and inspired boys to imitate him.
Not only cool in real life, Edison also sticks to cool roles in films, such as Infernal Affairs and Twins Effect -- adding to his captivating image.
(CCTV.com April 20, 2004)
