Golden Horse: Chang Chen edges out Singapore’s Richie Koh to win Best Actor

TAIPEI – Veteran Taiwanese actor Chang Chen edged out four other contenders, including Singapore’s Richie Koh, to take home the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor on Nov 22.

The 49-year-old won the prestigious award for the film Lucky Lu, in which he plays a food delivery rider in New York who discovers that his e-bike has been stolen. 

Accepting the award onstage, Chang thanked his actor father Chang Kuo-chu, whom he credited for introducing him to the world of cinema. 

“He made me believe in films and love films since I made my acting debut at the age of 13. So I would like to dedicate (this award) to all of you who love films...  I hope we can keep going and keep loving films together,” he said. 

The win marks Chang’s second Golden Horse in the same category, after he previously took home the trophy for playing a cancer-stricken prosecutor in the mystery crime drama The Soul (2021). 

But while home-grown actor Koh, 32, ended up going home empty-handed, the rising star told The Straits Times after the ceremony at Taipei Music Center: “Of course I had hoped to go onstage, and bring some of this great honour back home. But even though we didn’t manage to do it this time, I believe we’ll be able to do so the next time with persistent efforts.

“Also, even though I didn’t win an award, I gained something else. I managed to take a photo with (Taiwanese) director Lee Ang.”

Koh had been nominated for his

moving performance as a drag queen

in the film A Good Child, which is based on the life of Singaporean full-time drag queen Sammi Zhen. Koh reportedly took lessons from an acting coach to master the feminine mannerisms required of the role.

The film also missed out on the other award it was nominated for – Best Make-up and Costume Design. 

Another Singaporean, Los Angeles-based film-maker Tan Siyou, was nominated for Best New Director for her debut feature Amoeba, but she did not win either. The award went instead to Lucky Lu’s Canadian director Lloyd Lee Choi. 

The annual awards show, which marked its 62nd edition this year, is often dubbed the “Oscars of Chinese-language cinema”.

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing was named Best Leading Actress for her portrayal of a widowed farmer and ritual healer in the Malaysian film Mother Bhumi. She was the front-runner going in, for what critics deemed a breakthrough performance that was a contrast to her typically glamorous roles. 

The film also marked a significant comeback for Fan, who had once been one of China’s biggest stars before her fall from grace

following a tax evasion scandal in 2018

. 

While the 44-year-old did not attend the awards ceremony, she delivered her acceptance speech over the phone after she was dialled in onstage by the film’s director, Chong Keat Aun. 

Between audible sobs, she said: “When the director discussed the role with me, he asked, ‘Are you willing to let me destroy your face?’ I remember answering without hesitation, ‘Fan Bingbing will go all the way’.” 

Hong Kong film-maker Jun Li was named Best Director for the film Queerpanorama, which is centred on the life of a nameless young gay man. 

Several awards of the night, including the biggest and final prize – Best Narrative Feature – went to A Foggy Tale, a movie set during Taiwan’s White Terror political purges of the 1950s.

Some key Golden Horse Awards

Best Narrative Feature: A Foggy Tale 

Best Leading Actor: Chang Chen (Lucky Lu) 

Best Leading Actress: Fan Bingbing (Mother Bhumi) 

Best Director: Jun Li (Queerpanorama) 

Best Supporting Actor: Tseng Jing-hua (Family Matters) 

Best Supporting Actress: Vera Chen (The Waves Will Carry Us)