Louis Fan Siu-wong (born 19 June 1973), is a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. He first shot to fame in the 1997 Hong Kong television series 天龙八部 as a nerdy, socially inept but extremely fortunate monk by the name of Xu Zhu 虚竹. He also received good reviews for his role as the bullying Jin Shanzhao in Ip Man (2008) and Ip Man 2 (2010).
Sadly, Louis was not always in luck. In terms of popularity and opportunities, he had never managed to reach the same level as Chow Yuen Fatt, Andy Lau or Donnie Yen. In spite of his skills as a martial arts actor, he practically ran out of scripts and offers after Ip Man. Like desperate Taiwanese stars Huang An and Nicky Wu, Louis condescended and accepted roles in China’s tacky 抗日神剧.
Many of his curious fans might ask why. Perhaps they pay well for such movies. Even if only the minority of zealots in China would watch, we’re still talking about an audience in the order of millions. Below is a video which summarises Louis Fan’s career on TV and the silver screen. Times are bad. It pays to be patriotic.