PUBLISHED ONDecember 01, 2025 9:55 AMBYYeo Shu HuiAfter over 40 years in showbiz, veteran Hong Kong actor Tony Leung recently revealed what he hopes to be his final act.
The 63-year-old said in an interview on Saturday (Nov 29): "I am in the last stage of my acting career. It has been 40 years, maybe I would just have another 10 to 20 years.
"At my final stage, I hope to return to dramas because I started acting with a television series. I hope to complete my career with a television series. I think it will be a perfect ending."
Tony debuted in Hong Kong showbiz in 1982 with the TVB television series Soldier of Fortune and his last series was Ode to Gallantry in 1989.
Tony was in Singapore on Nov 28 and 29 for the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), a part of Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) Singapore Media Festival, for his new film Silent Friend, which is also his first European film.
Directed by Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, Silent Friend is an omnibus featuring a centuries-old gingko tree witnessing three people across three eras whose curiosity about nature push them against the limits of their time.
Tony plays neuroscientist Dr Tony Wong who is inspired to expand his research from babies' cognitive development to the gingko tree after he is trapped in a German university during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, with the plants in the university's botanic garden and a hostile security officer Anton (Sylvester Groth) as companions.
While Tony was interested in the multi-layered narrative, it was the director who was the key factor.
He said: "I think the script is not the most important, but the person I am working with is. Because no matter how good the script is, if it's placed in the wrong hands... Different people have different interpretations of the same situation. They have their own thoughts and opinions.
"I needed to meet the director first... I have to feel how this person is and would usually base on my gut feelings. I would have a chat to understand more about them and whether I can trust them to work together."
He added when he first spoke to Ildikó, he found her to be a very intellectual, humble and easygoing person. She was also very clear about what she wanted to do, which is an important aspect for Tony when deciding who to work with.
Tony said his preparation to play a neuroscientist specialising in early cognitive development took him six months, where he read the books Ildiko sent him to understand more about the subject matter. He also visited different universities to talk to neuroscientists and observed them conducting experiments.
He also had the rare chance to observe a baby undergoing electroencephalography (EEG) because he said there is usually a long approval time from the hospital and parents' approval had to be sought.
To play Dr Wong more convincingly as a visiting professor from Cambridge University, Tony also hired a coach from Britain to help him in his accent.
"Each of these studies slowly brought me into character... I think I built up my confidence because I believe I am that character," Tony shared.
Playing Dr Wong also changed Tony's perspective of the world.
He said: "I used to jog in the forest every morning and the plants were just plants to me, but as I prepared for the character, I believed they have intelligence. Although they do not have a brain, they have it in a different form. I feel they are not just living beings, but sentient beings. It feels like they are looking and accompanying me while I jogged."
He added that he was humbled by this new information and perspective.
"When I have such respect and awareness towards plants, how about insects and plants? I don't feel like I am on top of the tree looking downwards at others. I feel everyone is equal and would think from their point of view," he said, adding he also gained interest in reading more scientific books on various topics including aquamarine and consciousness.
In the film, the plants in the botanic garden were brought from their place of origin to survive in a new environment and Ildikó wished to express the resilience of outsiders, which is also portrayed by the characters in the story.
When asked what's the best way to thrive in loneliness and an unfamiliar environment, Tony said: "Actually, I enjoy being alone very much."
He recounted his time living alone at the top of a hill in Southern Italy while working on action-thriller Europe Raiders (2018), where it was quiet because it wasn't the tourist season.
"I love biking and would ride my bike to the beach and do stretches there, meditate and just ride my bike to the restaurants to have lunch myself. When I returned home, I would practise some mountain biking techniques, read a book or just sit outside my house. I don't feel lonely."
Tony also shared he likes going to cities where he doesn't speak the language: "I enjoyed that kind of lost-in-translation."
This reporter also asked if he found it hard when he needs to communicate in a foreign country but doesn't speak their language, which he added: "Nowadays, we have Google Translate. It's easy. If you want to communicate, you will find a way."
Tony also spoke about his 40-year acting career and engaged with fans during an In Conversation With session hosted by local actress Rebecca Lim on Nov 28.
He shared he joined showbiz in 1982, knowing he would be "good at it", and when the audience cheered for him, he said humbly, "Just let me finish."
He added: "I am a very shy person and don't know how to express myself in front of a lot of people. I used to keep everything inside with a lot of suppressed emotions, but after I started learning how to act, I felt very good to be able to express myself in front of many people without being judged because they don't know that it's me.
"They think I am playing a character, but the feelings and emotions are from me, it's true. So, acting is a kind of mental therapy for me, I can express myself without being shy."
Tony admitted that in the beginning, he didn't think his showbiz career was going to last for a long time, but he just continued with his passion for acting and enjoyed the satisfaction he got when he did something good.
As for his future plans and goals, he said: "Frankly speaking, I never plan what to do next, I just let things happen. When something comes to me and I find it interesting or when I have some feelings about that project, I will do it.
"I think in our everyday life, who knows what tomorrow will be, we can only appreciate this moment. I always think people spend too much time thinking about hopes and fears, looking back to the past and hoping for the future, but never truly appreciate the moment... To be grateful for what you have now and whether it's good or bad, you appreciate and accept it."
Despite that, when a fan asked what he would be working on next, Tony revealed to everyone's excitement that he has already committed to a film and drama series.
"I don't know if I can reveal more. But I will be playing a serial killer, it will be very different from what I did before and it will be a very dark character," he added.
Tony was also asked if he has any plans to direct his own film someday, to which he responded: "I have never thought about being a director because I don't think I have the talent or have anything I want to express, so I think I should just focus on acting and help the directors interpret what they wish to express."
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