Derek Tsang Kwok-Cheung
Born
November 8, 1979 (age 46)
Birthplace
Hong Kong, China

Derek Tsang Kwok-Cheung

Derek Tsang Kwok-Cheung (曾國祥; born 8 November 1979) is a Hong Kong film director and actor. The son of actor Eric Tsang, Tsang got his start in the Hong Kong film industry working for director Peter Chan Ho-Sun after graduating from the University of Toronto Scarborough in 2001. He made his acting debut in Men Suddenly in Black (2003) and directorial debut with Lover's Discourse (2010), sharing the directing credit with Jimmy Wan Chi-man. The duo was nominated for a Golden Horse Award for Best New Director in 2010.

His solo directorial debut Soul Mate (2016) was critically praised, receiving a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film nomination at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards. His next film Better Days (2019) was the Hong Kong submission for the Academy Awards and received a Best International Feature Film nomination, becoming the first Hong Kong submission directed by a Hong Kong native to do so.

After graduation, he moved back to Hong Kong, where his father arranged for him to work under director Peter Chan Ho-Sun. There, he met producer Jojo Hui and director Jimmy Wan Chi-man, both of whom would go on to be Tsang's frequent collaborators.

Despite not pursuing an acting career, Tsang has had a variety of acting roles since the start of his career, which he attributed to other actors not wanting to be typecast into roles with unflattering characteristics. He made his screen debut in Men Suddenly in Black (2003), cameoing as the younger version of his father's character. There he met director Pang Ho-cheung, whom Tsang would later collaborate with on various projects.

Tsang made his solo directorial debut with Soul Mate (2016). He was subsequently nominated for Best Director awards at various film award ceremonies, including at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards and the 53rd Golden Horse Awards.

His next film, Better Days (2019), won eight out of 12 categories at the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. The film was subsequently chosen as the official entry for Hong Kong for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. It was shortlisted but lost to Denmark's Another Round. He was the first native Hong Kong director in the category.

Tsang said his influences are primarily derived from art-house cinema, with early influences from director Wong Kar-wai and the French New Wave, as opposed to his father Eric Tsang's works, which consisted of mostly of mainstream comedies. He credits his half-sister Bowie Tsang for teaching him about film and literature.

Tsang married actress Venus Wong in 2019. He has expressed a reluctance to cast Wong due to the negative perception of nepotism.

Movies

Anita
Anita
2021 ★ 7.9
ENT Doctor
Stoma
Stoma
2020 ★ 5.2
Lim's Brother
Missbehavior
Missbehavior
2019 ★ 6.2
The Brink
The Brink
2017 ★ 5.7
Sheng
Love Off the Cuff
Love Off the Cuff
2017 ★ 6.9
Cherie's Younger Brother
S Storm
S Storm
2016 ★ 5.6
Joe Ma
Robbery
Robbery
2016 ★ 6.9
Lau Kin-Ping
From Vegas to Macau III
From Vegas to Macau III
2016 ★ 4.0
Interpol
House of Wolves
House of Wolves
2016 ★ 4.8
Steve Shit
Lazy Hazy Crazy
Lazy Hazy Crazy
2015 ★ 4.7
Madame Glaze
Two for the Night
Two for the Night
2014
Zombie Fight Club
Zombie Fight Club
2014 ★ 5.6
David
Z Storm
Z Storm
2014 ★ 5.9
Joe Ma
Aberdeen
Aberdeen
2014 ★ 5.3
Naked Ambition 3D
Naked Ambition 3D
2014 ★ 5.0
Simon Yuen
Golden Chickensss
Golden Chickensss
2014 ★ 5.7
Male Prostitute
SDU: Sex Duties Unit
SDU: Sex Duties Unit
2013 ★ 6.3
Dried Shrimp
My Sassy Hubby
My Sassy Hubby
2012 ★ 5.4
Robber
Triad
Triad
2012 ★ 5.3
Xiang
The Thieves
The Thieves
2012 ★ 6.7
Johnny
Love in the Buff
Love in the Buff
2012 ★ 6.6
Cherie's Brother
Girl$
Girl$
2010 ★ 5.5
Chun
Ex
Ex
2010 ★ 6.0
Sol
Once a Gangster
Once a Gangster
2010 ★ 6.4
Young Roast Pork
Dream Home
Dream Home
2010 ★ 6.4
Cheung Jai
Crossing Hennessy
Crossing Hennessy
2010 ★ 6.5
Doctor at Emergency Ward
Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia
2008 ★ 4.8
John
Ocean Flame
Ocean Flame
2008 ★ 6.0
Third Brother's Assistant
Tactical Unit - No Way Out
Tactical Unit - No Way Out
2008 ★ 6.6
Fai
Run Papa Run
Run Papa Run
2008 ★ 5.5
Chicken
Scare 2 Die
Scare 2 Die
2008 ★ 2.5
Dead Air
Dead Air
2007 ★ 4.5
Rock/Lok Chun
Single Blog
Single Blog
2007
My Name Is Fame
My Name Is Fame
2006 ★ 6.8
Lok
On the Edge
On the Edge
2006 ★ 6.3
Mini B
Midnight Running
Midnight Running
2006 ★ 5.0
Peter
The Third Eye
The Third Eye
2006 ★ 7.0
Gum
Isabella
Isabella
2006 ★ 7.4
Yan's Suitor
Cocktail
Cocktail
2006
Kuen
AV
AV
2005 ★ 5.6
Band-Aid
It Had To Be You
It Had To Be You
2005 ★ 6.1
The Eye 2
The Eye 2
2004 ★ 5.9
Joey's Co-Worker
The Park
The Park
2003 ★ 4.5
Dan
Men Suddenly in Black
Men Suddenly in Black
2003 ★ 6.1
Young Tin Yau
Shadow
Shadow
2001 ★ 7.0

TV Series