Chu Pak Hong

Chu was born on 4 November 1982 in Hong Kong.^[3] He grew up in Shatin and attended a Christian school,^[4][5] where he was influenced by his elder brother, Chu Pak Him [zh], who joined the drama club and became enthusiastic about school performances.^[6] Following in his brother's footsteps, he also joined the drama club when he entered secondary school.^[6] Due to his grades not being sufficient for promotion to Form 6, Chu initially attended Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education to study business administration.^[6] During that time, he participated in a drama competition and won a prize. Screenwriter Loong Man-Hong [zh], the competition's adjudicator, encouraged him to study acting. Therefore, Chu transferred to Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2000 to study performing arts.^[6] While in university, Chu started working as a freelance actor in theatre companies.^[6] He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2005.^[7]

After graduating from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Chu pursued a full-time career as a stage actor.^[8] In 2007, he formed a band called Juicyning [zh] with his brother Pak Him and APA classmates Michael Ning and Yeung Wai-lun.^[7] Chu faced limited job opportunities in the subsequent years, which led him to consider a career change, but his father encouraged him to continue acting.^[6]

Chu landed his first major television role in the 2017 miniseries Midnight Cousin [zh], alongside his bandmates.^[9] The following year, he won Best Actor in the 28th Hong Kong Drama Awards with his performance in Stones in His Pockets.^[10] In 2019, he was invited by director Mika Kaurismäki to star in the lead and titular role of the Finnish romantic comedy film Master Cheng, marking his first prominent and first international onscreen role.^[11][12] In the same year, Chu was handpicked by director Norris Wong to co-lead the romance film My Prince Edward after Wong saw his performance in the music video of Alfred Hui's "An Actor Prepares".^[10] Chu portrayed Edward, the possessive, obnoxious, and immature long-time boyfriend of Stephy Tang's character.^[13] His performance received widespread acclaim,^[8] and earned him nominations for Best Leading Actor in the 56th Golden Horse Awards and Best Actor in the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards.^[14][15]

In 2021, Chu secured lead roles as Grey Bear in the romance film Ready o/r Knot [zh] and Dai Shing in the drama film Drifting.^[16][17] He also appeared in the 2022 drama film The Narrow Road alongside his brother.^[18] In 2023, Chu landed the lead role in the horror film It Remains [zh],^[19] and reprised his role in Ready or Rot [zh], the sequel to Ready or K/not.^[20] He also played the main villain in the ViuTV drama series 940920 [zh], a sequel to the 2020 series Leap Day.^[21] Despite receiving praise for his performance, the character faced criticism for odd motives and sudden personality twist.^[22] In 2024, Chu took on the lead role of Wing Lo, a comedic lyric writing course tutor, in the drama film The Lyricist Wannabe.^[23] He also appeared in supporting roles in the drama film Fly Me to the Moon and the martial arts film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In the same year.^[24][25] Chu played Ben, a Taoist priest who is forced to industry to uphold family traditions in the 2024 drama film The Last Dance,^[26] for which he won Best Supporting Actor in the 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards.^[27]

Chu is a Christian.^[4] He had married a Taiwanese woman but got divorced as the couple failed to maintain their long-distance relationship.^[28]