Dick Wei

A Hakka, he was born in the town of Pingtung in southern Taiwan[1] and began studying martial arts in Junior High School, winning numerous competitions.[2] Later, he served in the Taiwanese army, attaining the rank of captain, and was an instructor in unarmed combat, especially Tae Kwon Do.[3]

His first films were made while he was still in the army; most were low budget Taiwanese productions. His earliest movie appearance may be a brief fight scene with Ti Lung in the Shaw Brother's Iron Chain Assassin in 1974.

While operating a martial arts studio in Taipei, he was spotted by Chang Cheh who persuaded him to have a screen test which was shown to Sir Run Run Shaw. He later signed with the Shaw Brothers and moved to Hong Kong in 1977. Under the name "Tu Lung", he made several martial arts films including The Five Venoms, Kid With a Tattoo, and Kid with the Golden Arm.

From the Shaw Brothers Dick Wei moved to Golden Harvest where he joined Sammo Hung's team of actors and stuntmen. His more memorable roles include pirate king Lor Sam Pau in Project A, Bandit number 6 in Millionaire's Express, and one of Frankie Chan's henchmen in The Prodigal Son. He also trained actresses Joyce Godenzi for her role in Eastern Condors, and Michelle Yeoh when the latter first began making martial arts movies.

Throughout the 1980's and 1990's, Dick Wei typically played a variety of villainous roles opposite stars such as Cynthia Khan, Cynthia Rothrock, Yuen Biao, Chow Yun-fat, Stephen Chow, and Simon Yam. In 1989, he starred in and was the action director for the film Dragon Fight.

Dissatisfied that he was constantly typecast as villains by Hong Kong film companies and directors, Dick Wei eventually returned to Taiwan where he has turned his hand to directing and producing. He continues to work in Taiwanese television and has starred in a number of movies, including some made-for-television. In 2016, he directed and starred in a loose reboot of the 1980 film Encounters of the Spooky Kind.[4]