# Five Tiger Generals of TVB

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Five_Tiger_Generals_of_TVB
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Five_Tiger_Generals_of_TVB.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Tiger_Generals_of_TVB
> Source revision: 1316367498
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Group of five male actors

Five Tiger Generals Five Tiger Generals, 1983. Top (L-R): Lau, Wong Bottom (L-R): Miu, Leung, Tong Background information Also known as Five Tigers Origin Hong Kong Years active 1980s Members Michael Miu Kent Tong Felix Wong Andy Lau Tony Leung

‹[See RfD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Redirects_for_discussion/Log/2026_May_22#Template:Chinese)›

Five Tiger Generals of TVB Traditional Chinese 無綫五虎將 Simplified Chinese 无线五虎将 Literal meaning Wireless Five Tiger Generals Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wúxiàn Wǔ Hǔ Jiàng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Mou4 Sin3 Ng5 Fu2 Zoeng3

The **Five Tiger Generals of [TVB](/source/Television_Broadcasts_Limited)** (無綫五虎將), more commonly referred to as simply the **Five Tigers** (五虎), were a group of five of the most popular young leading male actors of 1980s [Hong Kong television](/source/Hong_Kong_Television_Broadcasting). The group consisted of [Michael Miu](/source/Michael_Miu) ("Big Tiger"), [Kent Tong](/source/Kent_Tong) ("Second Tiger"), [Felix Wong](/source/Felix_Wong) ("Third Tiger"), [Andy Lau](/source/Andy_Lau) ("Fourth Tiger"), and [Tony Leung Chiu-wai](/source/Tony_Leung_Chiu-wai) ("Small Tiger"). The group was formed to collectively promote the popularity of the five members, as well as to promote the company's various drama and entertainment productions. [Five Tiger Generals](/source/Five_Tiger_Generals) was a name given to them by the media. The term is a popular appellation in [Chinese culture](/source/Chinese_culture), meaning a ruler's five best military generals.

## Background

While all 5 members were once trainees of TVB's then all-year Artiste Training Academy, they joined the school at different times—Kent Tong joined in 1978, Michael Miu and Felix Wong in 1979, Andy Lau in 1980, and Tony Leung in 1981. Tong was the first to debut with his first role as the supporting character Wu Wang-yuen in the 1980 drama *[This Land is Mine](/source/This_Land_is_Mine_(1980_TV_series))*. Wong's first role was in the 1981 *[The Misadventure of Zoo](/source/The_Misadventure_of_Zoo)*. The other 3 members had debut roles while still trainees at the school: Miu's debut role was the 1980 drama *[The Adventurer's](/source/The_Adventurer's)*, Lau's first role was in the [sitcom](/source/Sitcom) *[Hong Kong '81](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hong_Kong_%2781&action=edit&redlink=1)*, and Leung had his first major role in the 1982 *[Soldier of Fortune](/source/Soldier_of_Fortune_(1982_TV_series))*, which also starred Wong and Tong.

It did not take long for the Five Tigers to become popular. According to Wong during a 2009 interview for the talk show *[Be My Guest](/source/Be_My_Guest_(talk_show))*, TVB's first generation of leading actors at the time, which included [Adam Cheng](/source/Adam_Cheng) and [Chow Yun-fat](/source/Chow_Yun-fat), were leaving the company, and TVB was in need of rounding up a new generation of popular idols; thus, the members of the Five Tigers quickly rose to fame due to many performing opportunities. Wong said that as soon as he graduated from acting school, he was offered a major supporting role.[1] Wong was then offered a leading role in his second drama, *[The Lonely Hunter](/source/The_Lonely_Hunter)* (1981), which shot him to instant fame in Hong Kong.

### Formation

In September 1983, amidst a ratings competition with [Korean](/source/Korea) and [Japanese](/source/Japan) variety shows, TVB created the show *All Star Challenge*, which featured almost an entire lineup of the most popular actors and singers of Hong Kong at the time. The five most popular young male idols at the station—Miu, Tong, Wong, Lau, and Leung—were grouped together to perform a variety of stage performances at the show, such as singing and dancing. Their appearances brought in a lot of media attention, and their performances were a selling point for the show.[2] The media then branded them as TVB's Five Tiger Generals, and the term quickly caught on to the public. Since their formation, the five of them consistently made public appearances together as a group; they even expressed that they would like to release an album together under their name. In 1991, the group starred in the action thriller *[The Tigers](/source/The_Tigers_(film))*, a film adaptation of the 1984 television drama *Rise and Fall of a Stand-In*. It is the only film to star all five members.

## Legacy and reunion

The popularity of the Five Tigers led TVB to continue with similar group projects even after the members of the Five Tigers left TVB. However, none of them were that successful. Many television dramas that featured the members of the Five Tigers, notably *[The Legend of the Condor Heroes](/source/The_Legend_of_the_Condor_Heroes_(1983_TV_series))* (1983), *[The Return of the Condor Heroes](/source/The_Return_of_the_Condor_Heroes_(1983_TV_series))* (1983), *[Police Cadet](/source/Police_Cadet_'84)* (1984), *[The Duke of Mount Deer](/source/The_Duke_of_Mount_Deer_(1984_Hong_Kong_TV_series))* (1984), and *[Looking Back in Anger](/source/Looking_Back_in_Anger)* (1989), were branded as classics by many in Asia.

On 27 June 2010, during a press conference for a training academy in [Panyu](/source/Panyu), [Guangzhou](/source/Guangzhou), Tong revealed that the five members are planning for another reunion project. The collaboration between Miu and Wong in the 2010 drama *[Gun Metal Grey](/source/Gun_Metal_Grey)* created a heated discussion about a possible reunion of all members in the future. "The Five Tiger Generals will definitely reunite again. The five of us really hope for that day to come; in fact, we are currently planning one right now."[3]

## Collaborations

Film Year Film Miu Tong Wong Lau Leung Notes 1982 Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils N N Once Upon a Rainbow N N 1983 Mad, Mad 83 N N N 1985 Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars N N 1986 Lucky Stars Go Places N N 1987 Eastern Condors N N 1988 The Dragon Family N N N Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch N N The Crazy Companies II N N 1989 Little Cop N N City Cops N N Proud and Confident N N News Attack N N 1990 The Fortune Code N N Days of Being Wild N N 1991 Don't Fool Me N N The Tigers N N N N N Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor (Tong) The Banquet N N 1992 Handsome Siblings N N The Days of Being Dumb N N 1993 Hero - Beyond The Boundary Of Time N N Lord of East China Sea N N Lord of East China Sea II N N Come Fly the Dragon N N N 1994 Drunken Master II N N 2002 Infernal Affairs N N Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor (Leung) Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor (Leung) Golden Bauhinia Awards for Best Actor (Leung) Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Film Song (Lau with Leung) Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor (Lau) Nominated—Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor (Lau) Golden Chicken N N 2003 Infernal Affairs III N N Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor (Lau) Golden Chicken 2 N N 2004 Jiang Hu N N Love Is a Many Stupid Thing N N 2006 My Mother Is a Belly Dancer N N 2005 Wait 'til You're Older N N Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor (Lau) 2007 Brothers N N N N Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Film Song (Lau with Eason Chan) 2011 I Love Hong Kong N N 2013 7 Assassins N N 2017 Shock Wave N N Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor (Lau) Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film (Lau) Chasing the Dragon N N N Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film (Lau) 2019 The White Storm 2: Drug Lords N N 2023 The Goldfinger N N Television dramas Year Title Miu Tong Wong Lau Leung Notes 1981 The Adventurer's N N Double Fantasies N N Come Rain, Come Shine N N N The Lonely Hunter N N The Young Heroes of Shaolin N N N 1982 A Kid Troupe N N Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils N N The Legend of Master So N N The Wild Bunch N N Soldier of Fortune N N N The Emissary N N 1983 The Legend of the Condor Heroes N N The Return of the Condor Heroes N N 1984 The Duke of Mount Deer N N The Foundation N N N Rise And Fall Of A Stand-in N N The Return of Wong Fei Hung N N Summer Kisses, Winter Tears N N 1985 Sword Stained with Royal Blood N N Tough Fight N N The Yang's Saga N N N N N 1987 The Grand Canal N N Two Most Honorable Knights N N 2010 Gun Metal Grey N N Nominated—TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor (Top 15) (Miu) Nominated—TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor (Top 5) (Wong)

## See also

- **5 Tigers**: [Michael Miu](/source/Michael_Miu), [Kent Tong](/source/Kent_Tong), [Felix Wong](/source/Felix_Wong), [Andy Lau](/source/Andy_Lau), [Tony Leung Chiu-Wai](/source/Tony_Leung_Chiu-Wai)

- **5 Beauties**: [Yammie Lam](/source/Yammie_Lam), [Idy Chan](/source/Idy_Chan), [Margie Tsang](/source/Margie_Tsang), [Jamie Chik](/source/Jamie_Chik), [Kitty Lai](/source/Kitty_Lai)

- **5 Fresh Tigers**: [Louis Koo](/source/Louis_Koo), [Leo Ku](/source/Leo_Ku), [Carlo Ng](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carlo_Ng&action=edit&redlink=1), [Hawick Lau](/source/Hawick_Lau), [Keith Ho](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keith_Ho&action=edit&redlink=1)

- **5 Fresh Beauties**: [Gigi Fu](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gigi_Fu&action=edit&redlink=1), [Jojo Cho](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jojo_Cho&action=edit&redlink=1), [Wallis Pang](/source/Wallis_Pang), [Eileen Yeow](/source/Eileen_Yeow), [Joyce Chan](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joyce_Chen_(actress,_born_1976)&action=edit&redlink=1)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-wong_1-0)** "*Be My Guest*: Episode 133". *TVB* (in Chinese). 2009-07-25.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-allstar_2-0)** ["Chapter 2: Television Stars, TVB's Five Tiger Generals"](http://big5.china.com/gate/big5/lianzai.china.com/books/html/436/1981/17462.html). *Big5.china.com* (in Chinese). Retrieved 2010-09-25.[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-reunion_3-0)** ["Kent Tong to film comeback: Five Tiger Generals will definitely reunite"](http://ent.163.com/10/0627/02/6A5CI1GS00032KMI.html). *163* (in Chinese). 2010-06-27. Retrieved 2010-10-09.

## External links

- [TVB.com](http://www.tvb.com/)

v t e Andy Lau Filmography Discography Films directed Love Under the Sun (2003) Films produced Days of Tomorrow (1993) Tian Di (1994) Made in Hong Kong (1997) A Fighter's Blues (2000) Fulltime Killer (2001) Dance of a Dream (2001) Jiang Hu (2004) My Mother Is a Belly Dancer (2006) Firestorm (2013) The Bodyguard (2016) Mission Milano (2016) Shock Wave (2017) The Adventurers (2017) Chasing the Dragon (2017) The White Storm 2: Drug Lords (2019) Find Your Voice (2020) Shock Wave 2 (2020) Endgame (2021) The Movie Emperor (2023) I Did It My Way (2023) Crisis Negotiators (2024) High Forces (2024) Cesium Fallout (2024) Raging Havoc (TBD) Television produced The Trading Floor (2018) Concert tours Today... is the Day Tour Books written My 30 Work Days (2012) Related Carol Chu (wife) Focus Group Holdings Limited Teamwork Motion Pictures Five Tiger Generals of TVB

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Five Tiger Generals of TVB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Tiger_Generals_of_TVB) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Tiger_Generals_of_TVB?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.