Late actor Liu Kai Chi remembered by local and Hong Kong artistes

Celebrities paid tribute to late actor Liu Kai Chi and posted photos taken with him on social media. They include host Danny Yeo (with Li Nanxing, above), Jeffrey Xu, Sheila Sim and Aaron Kwok. PHOTO: DANNY YEO/INSTAGRAM
Celebrities paid tribute to late actor Liu Kai Chi and posted photos taken with him on social media. They include host Danny Yeo (with Li Nanxing), Jeffrey Xu (above), Sheila Sim and Aaron Kwok. PHOTO: JEFFREY XU/INSTAGRAM
Celebrities paid tribute to late actor Liu Kai Chi and posted photos taken with him on social media. They include host Danny Yeo (with Li Nanxing), Jeffrey Xu, Sheila Sim (above) and Aaron Kwok. PHOTO: SHEILA SIM/INSTAGRAM
Celebrities paid tribute to late actor Liu Kai Chi and posted photos taken with him on social media. They include host Danny Yeo (with Li Nanxing), Jeffrey Xu, Sheila Sim and Aaron Kwok (above). PHOTO: AARON KWOK/FACEBOOK

Hong Kong veteran actor Liu Kai Chi, who died of stomach cancer on Sunday night, did not speak much when he was working.

This observation was made by two local artistes who have worked with the 66-year-old actor.

Actor Li Nanxing, who produced and acted in the Singapore crime film Imperfect (2012), told local Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News that he was very happy working with Liu, who was affectionately known as Uncle Chi, on the film.

"He did not speak much on set, but he had a strong aura and could play the character well," said the 56-year-old actor.

"He not only handled the role vividly, but also brought out the best in other actors."

Actor Jeffrey Xu, 32, who worked with Liu on the TV series Bluetic (2018), a Singapore-Hong Kong joint production, wrote on social media: "I observed you silently on set. During the change in positions, you did not use the time to laugh or banter with the crew, but instead thought about how to play the role."

Actress Sheila Sim, 36, who also worked on Bluetic, paid tribute to Liu: "Thank you for bringing so many wonderful films to people, you were a brilliant actor."

In Hong Kong, tributes have also poured in for Liu.

Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok, who acted with Liu in movies such as Project Gutenberg (2018) and The Detective (2007), wrote on social media: "I have worked with Uncle Chi on many movies, and he was a good fellow actor to work with and a good actor who loved acting. He was very professional and a gentleman."

According to Hong Kong media, actor Chow Yun Fat, who co-starred with Kwok in Project Gutenberg, was aware of Liu's condition late last year.

Both Chow and Liu rose to prominence after acting in the TV series The Bund (1980) and were hiking buddies. They recently collaborated on the film, Be Water, My Friend, which has yet to be released.

Liu, who started out at broadcaster TVB, has acted in more than 90 television serials and 70 movies in a career spanning 40 years.

He won the Best Supporting Actor award twice at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Cageman (1992) and The Beast Stalker (2008).

He is survived by his wife, former TVB leading actress Barbara Chan Man Yee, 60, and their two sons aged 22 and 26.

Their youngest son died at the age of five in 2006 after a three-year battle with leukaemia.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 30, 2021, with the headline Late actor Liu Kai Chi remembered by local and Hong Kong artistes. Subscribe