Need to Know: Andy Lau

Pop icon and actor Andy Lau celebrated his 49th birthday on Sept. 27 with more than 1,000 guests, many from one of his fan clubs, at a concert bash at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Sept. 25, his lunar birthday. (Who performed? Andy did.)

In Chinese culture, 49 is a big birthday — the word “nine” in both Cantonese and Mandarin (gau and jiu, respectively) sounds similar to a word that implies longevity.

Though he’s nearing the big 5-0, the striking star still looks youthful. In his latest film, Tsui Hark’s “Detective Dee,” Mr. Lau plays opposite 34-year-old Chinese actress Li Bingbing. Later this year, the singer plans to perform in a concert he calls “Unforgettable.”

Mr. Lau has been a leading man since he began his acting career in 1981. That was when he joined television network TVB’s training program. After starring in hit shows such as “The Return of the Condor Heroes,” he left television for film and hit it big with a role as Maggie Cheung’s love interest in Wong Kar-wai’s “As Tears Go By” (1988). More recently Mr. Lau has lit up the screen in three romantic comedies – directed by Johnnie To – with pop star Sammi Cheng: “Needing You” (2000), “Love on a Diet” (2001) and “Yesterday Once More” (2004).

Though Mr. Lau has appeared in some 143 films, most notably Zhang Yimou’s “House of Flying Daggers” and Andrew Lau’s “Infernal Affairs” trilogy, he is better known as a pop singer. After releasing his first solo album in 1985, he ruled the airwaves throughout the 1990s with Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai. The four solo artists were so popular they were known by fans and the media as the “Four Heavenly Kings.”

The Chinese-language Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily reports that while the actor’s parents were on hand for the birthday festivities last month, his real-life leading lady, Carol Chu, whom he married in a secret ceremony in 2008, elected not to attend the public function.