Christopher Lee (Singaporean actor)
Singaporean actor (born 1971)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christopher Lee Meng Soon[b] (born 23 July 1971) is a Singaporean actor, host and businessman. He is known for starring in many Chinese-language television dramas and films in Singapore, Taiwan and mainland China. At the age of 26, Lee rose to prominence after winning the Star Awards for Best Actor for his role in The Price of Peace, becoming the youngest ever recipient of the award.[2][3]
Christopher Lee | |
|---|---|
Lee in June 2025 | |
| Born | 23 July 1971 Malacca, Malaysia |
| Citizenship | Malaysia (1971–2010s) Singapore (2010s–present)[a] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Agent |
|
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Birth name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 李銘順 |
| Simplified Chinese | 李铭顺 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lǐ Míngshùn |
| Jyutping | Lei5 Ming4 Seon6 |
| Hokkien POJ | Lí Bêng-sūn |
| Former stage name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 李名順 |
| Simplified Chinese | 李名顺 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lǐ Míngshùn |
Lee is widely regarded as an "Ah-Ge" (阿哥, "big brother") of Caldecott Hill for being one of the most successful actors in Singapore's Chinese-language entertainment industry.[4] He is the only Singapore-based actor to have won multiple Best Actor accolades at both Singapore's Star Awards and Taiwan's Golden Bell Awards.[5]
Early life
Career
Lee joined Television Corporation of Singapore on a contract in 1995 after emerging as 1st runner-up in the male category of the Star Search programme in 1995. He worked as a factory worker, salesman and part-time model before joining star search in 1995. Lee first started acting in Chinese-language television dramas produced by Channel 8.
Rise to prominence
Lee rose to prominence after winning the Best Actor award at the Star Awards 1997 for his role as a hanjian in the television drama The Price of Peace, set in Japanese-occupied Singapore during World War II. He was voted in as one of the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes that same year.
In 1998, he starred as Yang Guo in The Return of the Condor Heroes, an adaptation of Louis Cha's novel of the same title. The drama achieved high ratings in Taiwan, and Lee was voted in as Taiwan's Most Popular MediaCorp Male Artiste at the Star Awards 1998 for his performance.
Since then, Lee has acted in many television series jointly produced by Singapore and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, co-starring with actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, such as Nadia Chan, Vincent Chiao, Jimmy Lin and Jordan Chan.
Apart from acting, Lee also recorded the theme songs of MediaCorp's television dramas. He released his first solo album in 1999 and another one in 2002.
Apart from acting, Lee has also ventured into hosting and has hosted several travel and food programmes. He was nominated for the Best Info-Ed Show Host award at the Star Awards 2012.
At the Star Awards 2013, Lee won his second Star Awards for Best Actor for his role in Show Hand.
Regional acclaim
For his role as a depressed workaholic in A Good Wife, Lee won his first Golden Bell Award for Best Leading Actor in a Television Series at the 2014 Golden Bell Awards, Taiwan's equivalent of the Emmy Awards.[7]
Lee would go on to win the Golden Bell Award for Best Leading Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film at the 2021 Golden Bell Awards for his role as a construction worker obsessed with money in the HBO comedy Workers.
In 2022, Lee won the Golden Bell Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series in the iQiyi crime thriller Danger Zone.[8]
In 2023, Lee ended veteran host Quan Yi Fong's five-year winning streak when he won the Star Awards for Best Programme Host at the 2023 Star Awards.[9]
Ventures
Personal life
Lee is married to Fann Wong, his co-star in several television series, on 16 May 2009. They have a son who was born in 2014.
Legal issues
On 8 October 2006, Lee was involved in a hit-and-run road accident. He had allegedly knocked down a motorcyclist due to suspected drunk driving, causing the motorcyclist and his pillion rider to suffer superficial injuries on their faces and legs. He failed the breathalyser test and was more than twice the legal limit.[11] He was arrested and released later on bail.
Despite the incident, Lee managed to win a position among the Top 10 Male Artistes in the Star Awards 2006. In his acceptance speech, Lee said that he had been feeling terrible over the incident during the previous two months, and that he would be responsible for what he did. Speaking to reporters later, he mentioned that he had been unable to sleep at times, adding that he was very grateful to his fans for their support.[12]
On 10 May 2007, Lee was fined S$4,500 and disqualified from driving for three years on charges of drunk driving and other traffic offences, as well as being sentenced to a prison term of four weeks after he admitted to drink driving, inconsiderate driving, failing to render aid to the injured motorcyclist and his injured pillion rider and removing his car from the scene without police permission.[11] Lee appealed against his jail sentence but withdrew his appeal later on 28 May. He began serving his sentence at Queenstown Remand Prison on the same day.[13] On 15 June, the prosecution succeeded in appealing against Lee's four-week jail sentence and the court decided to overturn an earlier sentence of a S$3,000 fine for his drunk driving offence. Lee was sentenced to an additional two weeks in prison, making his total prison term six weeks long.[14] On 21 June, the prosecution dropped the last of five charges against Lee for failing to stop after an accident, letting him off with a stern warning instead.[15] Lee was released on 25 June, after receiving a reduction in his prison sentence due to good behavior.[16]
Due to his conviction, Lee was dropped from playing the lead role in the 2007 Channel 8 television series Metamorphosis. He was replaced by actor Thomas Ong.[17] On 12 July 2007, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) completed its review on Lee's case and decided to allow him to retain his permanent resident (PR) status in Singapore.[18] After the conviction, he made his comeback in the 2008 television drama Rhythm of Life.
In 2022, Lee revealed that he obtained Singapore citizenship "a few years ago".[1]
Filmography
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Kungfu Master | Liu Nianrong | ||
| Of Cops and Man | Liu Jiashun | |||
| Brave New World | Jiale | |||
| 1997 | The Choice Partner | Zheng Fangsheng | ||
| My Wife, Your Wife, Their Wives | Mai Jiawei | |||
| The Price of Peace | Xie Guomin | |||
| The Guest People | Zhang Chongzhi | |||
| 1998 | The Return of the Condor Heroes | Yang Guo | ||
| Myths and Legends of Singapore | Zhu Heyi / Zhu Gutou | |||
| 1999 | Coup de Scorpio | Xie Tingzhang | ||
| Riding the Storm | Zhong Qingtang | |||
| 2000 | Master Swordsman Lu Xiaofeng | Ximen Chuixue | ||
| Looking for Stars | Henry | |||
| 2001 | Madam White Snake | Xu Xian / Xu Shilin | ||
| Master Swordsman Lu Xiaofeng 2 | Ximen Chuixue | |||
| The Hotel | Shaun | |||
| 2002 | Brotherhood | He Ping | ||
| Palm of Rulai | Lu Xiaoyu | |||
| 2003 | Moon Fairy | Houyi | ||
| True Heroes | Chen Junhao | |||
| Always on My Mind | Tang Xinyang | |||
| 2004 | Timeless Gift | Wang Jie | ||
| To Mum with Love | Yang Yijie | |||
| 2005 | You Are the One | Simon | ||
| A New Life | Zhang Youfu | |||
| The Dragon Heroes | Yan Cheng | |||
| 2006 | The Lucky Stars | Wu Fuqi | ||
| Rhapsody in Blue | Lan Ziyuan | |||
| Through It All | Guo Yihai | |||
| Fairy of the Chalice | Cao Jing | |||
| 2007 | The Peak | Fang Hong'an | ||
| A Mobile Love Story | Lin Lizhong | |||
| 2008 | Rhythm of Life | Li Junjie | ||
| Beach.Ball.Babes (球爱大战) | Ma Tianwu | |||
| The Shaolin Warriors | Qi Jiguang | |||
| 2009 | My Buddy | Zeng Youquan | ||
| 2010 | Breakout | Situ Dongcheng | ||
| 2011 | Secrets for Sale | Zheng Renyi | ||
| The Oath | Wu Guo En | |||
| 2012 | Show Hand | Zhang Qiming | Won Best Actor at Star Awards 2013 | |
| Game Plan | Zeng Haoren | |||
| 2013 | A Good Wife | Li Shaowen | Won Best Leading Actor at Golden Bell Awards | [19] |
| 2014 | Against The Tide | Di Shen | ||
| The Romance of the Condor Heroes | Huang Yaoshi | |||
| Mr. Right Wanted | Lun Zheming | |||
| 2015 | Crescendo | Yang Yiwei | ||
| 2016 | Nie Xiaoqian | Yan Qi | ||
| Yan Chi Xia | ||||
| 2018 | Memories of Love | Xin Kai Yu | ||
| Doppelganger | Yang Liwei | |||
| Li Ruiming | ||||
| 2019 | My Girlfriend is an Alien | Fang Shida | ||
| After The Stars (攻星计) | Le Jun | |||
| Dive | Ming Ke | |||
| 2020 | Workers | Lin Mingqi | [20] | |
| 2021 | Danger Zone | Tan Chonghui | Won Best Supporting Actor at Golden Bell Awards | [21] |
| 2023 | Port of Lies | Tong Baoju | ||
| 2024 | Kill Sera Sera | [22] | ||
| Q18 | Professor Ko | |||
| 2026 | Haunted House Secrets | Tseng Kuo-hsiung |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Love Knows No Bounds | Hong Jie | Television film | |
| 2004 | The Best Bet | Lee Yong Shun | ||
| 2009 | The Wedding Game | Jack Fang | ||
| 2010 | Kidnapper | Ah Huat | [23] | |
| 2012 | Forgotten | Luo Pin-Chung | Television film | [19] |
| Sweetheart Chocolate | ||||
| 2014 | Black and White Episode 2: The Dawn of Justice | |||
| Filial Party | Peh Ah Beng | |||
| When a Peking Family Meets Aupair | Reporter | |||
| Who Is Undercover | ||||
| 2017 | The Fortune Handbook | Soh Hock | ||
| All My Goddess | Gary | |||
| The Long Goodbye | Lee Yu Cheng | |||
| Who Killed Cock Robin? | ||||
| 2019 | Wet Season | Andrew | ||
| Fall in Love at First Kiss | Mr Jiang | |||
| If Thoughts Can Kill | ||||
| 2021 | The Soul | Wan Yufan | ||
| 2023 | Workers The Movie | Lin Mingqi |
Variety show hosting
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Travel Hunt | ||
| 2006 | Insiders' Australia | ||
| 2008 | Life Transformers | ||
| 2010 | Life Transformers 2 | ||
| 2011 | The Adventures of Chris | ||
| 2019 | Star Search (season 11) | Mentor | |
| 2022 | Dishing With Chris Lee |
Music video appearances
| Year | Artiste | Song title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | JJ Lin | "The Right Time" | |
| 2021 | Stefanie Sun | "What Remains" |
Discography
Studio albums
- Christopher Lee Story (1999)
- Love, No Boundaries (2002)
Singles
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 错爱今生 | Theme song from The Choice Partner |
| 和平的代价 | Theme song from The Price of Peace | |
| 流浪之歌 | Theme song from The Guest People | |
| 1998 | 一生太短暂 | Insert song from The Return of the Condor Heroes |
| 1999 | 逃避 | Opening theme song from Coup de Scorpio |
| 不告而别 | Ending theme song from Coup de Scorpio | |
| 2000 | 义 | Ending theme song from Master Swordsman Lu Xiaofeng |
| 2002 | 平凡 | Theme song from Brotherhood |
| 爱，无国界 | ||
| 2003 | 英雄好汉 | Opening theme song from True Heroes |
| 每一天的思念 | Insert song from True Heroes | |
| 在你左右 | Ending theme song from True Heroes | |
| 2004 | 非一般烦恼 | Theme song from To Mum with Love |
| 2005 | 相信 | Theme song from You Are the One |
| 福禄寿 | Theme song from My Lucky Stars; performed together with Fann Wong | |
| ? | 万年红 | Chinese New Year song - performed together with Fann Wong |
| 2007 | 恭喜恭喜07 | Chinese New Year song - performed together with Qi Yuwu, Ann Kok and Dawn Yeoh |
| 2008 | 事如意08 | Chinese New Year song |
| ? | 运气-阳光系列3 | |
| ? | 谈何容易 |
Compilation albums
| Year | English title | Mandarin title |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Mediacorp Lunar New Year Album 07 | 群星贺岁金猪庆丰圆 |
| 2008 | Mediacorp Lunar New Year Album Compilation 08 | 群星贺岁福牛迎瑞年 |
| 2012 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 12 | 新传媒群星金龙接财神 |
Awards and nominations
Notes
- In a 2022 interview, Lee mentioned that he had obtained Singaporean citizenship "a few years ago".[1] Neither Malaysia nor Singapore permits multiple citizenship for its citizens.
