Hong Kong movie star Tony Leung Chiu Wai took a break from filming in Europe to attend K-pop girl group NewJeans’ fan meet in Japan’s Tokyo Dome on June 26.
Leung, who turned 62 on June 27, appeared in the Instagram photos of Min Hee-jin on the same day.
Min is the chief executive of NewJeans’ label Ador, a subsidiary of South Korean entertainment company Hybe. She recently courted controversy over her public dispute with Hybe, and was granted an injunction by a Seoul court in late May, which left her in control of NewJeans.
Also seen in Min’s photos at the fan meet were Japanese singer-actress Rina Sawayama and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
Leung was sporting a crew cut from his first European film Silent Friend, helmed by Oscar-nominated Hungarian director Ildiko Enyedi and co-starring French actress Lea Seydoux.
The award-winning actor made a cameo in one of NewJeans’ two music videos for their song Cool With You in July 2023, appearing as an ominous grey-haired figure at a traffic-light crossing.
The music videos also featured South Korean model-actress Jung Ho-yeon, the breakout star of dystopian drama Squid Game (2021 to present).
Leung told the Hong Kong media in September 2023 that he was approached for the gig via a friend whom he has known for almost 30 years and who was his designated interpreter on his promotional tours in South Korea.
Asked by the media then if he has become a fan of NewJeans after appearing in the music video, the actor replied: “It seems like they are my fans instead.”
Leung was in the news on June 23 after he disclosed on a radio show that he had donated HK$3mil to the Bright Future Scholarship, established by the Hong Kong Paediatric Society in 2023, to provide more support for children and youth from underprivileged backgrounds, with chronic illnesses or with special needs.
The beloved star, who won Best Actor for a record sixth time at the Hong Kong Film Awards in April, for the crime drama The Goldfinger (2023), also donated a painting by late Chinese-French artist Zao Wou-ki for an auction to raise more funds for the scholarship. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
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