Since Sex and Zen, where he made a very flattering appearance as a dyer specialist in the sexual things, one could note an eminent member of the HK cinema in several category III movies. His name is Tsui Kam Kong.

Tsui Kam Kong, Kong Elvis, Elvis Tsui Kam Kong or even Xu Jin Jiang (as you want) is one of these second plan actors who have a presence on the screen. One always knows them , but we can't name them. Even if most of his roles are rather violent, Tsui is distinguishable from others. I will try here to make you discover the multiple facets of this actor who deserve to be more known.

Tsui Kam Kong: A really bad guy !

Like Shing Fui, Tsui Kam Kong plays often bad guys : he makes die the lovers of The Lovers (he plays the father of Charlie Yeung)! In Prison on Fire II, he incarnes the sadistic boss of the prison where is Chow Yun-Fat and other prisoners. In Projet A Force 10, he is one of the three henchmen which receive pepper spit by Jackie Chan.

In Black Vengeance (produced by Johnny Mak) he plays Andy, a bodyguard with long hair (what is very rare for Tsui Kam Kong which appears almost each time as bald person, see the photograph opposite : to the right), he betrays his Master to join Harry (the enemy brother of Chow Yun-Fat). The horror would be reached with the famous Seventh Curse where he plays an abominable wizard follower of the vampirism, anthropophagy, black magic. A very gore film that belongs to these very strange film that it is necessary to have seen at least once in its life.

Sometimes, his aggressive character can blunt : the henchman (that would become lame) of To Be Number One would give his life to save the man who had mercy on him.

Tsui Kam Kong: the uniform suits him well

Sometimes gangster, our good old man Tsui kam Kong can also belong to the good. In God of Gamblers Return he plays the role of the chinese senior police officer tracking then helping Chow Yun Fat (in this second part of the film, his character will become as mad as the author Wong Jing...). In Wonder Seven, he plays the officer instructor, head of the special force : with his long raincoat and his charismatic styles, he is very impressive !!! He knows very well the characters of officer : he incarnes the General of the frontier Forces in the Inn of the Dragon. He always plays the police chief of Tony Leung Kar-fai who would have to clean Shanghai from corruption in Gunmen. His strong and intransigent aspect command respect from his subordinates. Moreover, even if he is not too old, he always played the roles of old people, even often the indestructibles old men in many wu xia pian.

His period in costumes

Even if he began its career in contemporary roles, Tsui Kam Kong have revealed his real potential since the years 92-94 : the great time of the modern wu xia pian. He plays fantastic fighters. The producer Johnny Mak made him play in the film of his brother Sword of many Loves where he plays an old sabror Feng who want power. The sword fights are very good, the girls are pretty (Michelle Reis and Cheung Man in the same film : a dream).

In Royal Tramp, he plays almost the same kind of bearded and invincible character : O' Brian (!), an Irish translation (!!) of Ao Bai, a General plotting against the emperor. The fights are made by Ching Siu Tung which parody himself his famous films Swordsman. TKK fights with sharp cymbals, with tree trunks, his nails are as sharp as razor blades... the routine !

Finally, from small second roles to small second roles, one notes more and more the imposing presence of TKK and he will know his time of glory...

The climax of his career

The Academy of HK has nominated him in 1993 in the category "better second role" for the film All Men are Brothers. Unfortunately he did not have this reward. On the other hand, he bursts the screen each time that he appears. In France, he 's known for his famous performance in Sex and Zen of Michael Mak who was his mentor : he made him known in his tetralogy Long Arm of the Law and in others of his films. Moreover, in an interview given to Clyde Gentry III (in Hong Kong Film Connection vol. III Issue II), he says that he regards Michael Mak as his preferred director.

Obviously, all these roles are very secondary : when a director needs a brute, a dark character, a leader, he often thinks to him. So his filmography almost completely constitutes with action movies. Seeing him, one could think that it is an expert in kung fu, but he isn't : he trains himself during the preparation of film, the magic of the HK cinema, the technicians, the director of the fights and the editing make him a kungfu master (it is true besides for many actors and actresses). He does not disavow all these movies, however he hopes work with directors like Lawrence Ah Mon or Ann Hui. For the moment, he is the best in films with costumes and violent movies.

And now, I hope that the next time that you will see him, you will be able to put a name on this so particular face. His name is Tsui Kam Kong.

 

 

Jean-Louis Ogé (August 99)