John Lone

Lone was born in 1952 as Ng Kwok-leung (Chinese: 吳國良; pinyin: Wú Guóliáng) in British Hong Kong.[1]

He was raised in an orphanage and later adopted by a Shanghainese woman. He began training in Beijing opera at Hong Kong's Chiu Chiu Academy. It was here, at the age of ten, where he was given the name "Johnny". He later chose the name Lone to reflect the fact that he was an orphan and for its similarity to Leung, part of his given name.

Sponsored by an American family, he left the Beijing opera troupe and emigrated to Los Angeles, California. In the United States, he married fellow Santa Ana Community College student Nina Savino in 1972, and gained American citizenship. The couple divorced in 1979.

Lone took night classes to improve his English at Santa Ana College. He later graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California, in 1978.[1]

Due to the lack of available roles for Asians at the time, Lone was often left to play minor parts on television.[1] Lone was with the Asian American theatre organization East West Players for ten years[2] before Mako offered him a role as an Asian emigrant trying to assimilate in David Henry Hwang's first play FOB.[1] Lone starred alongside Tzi Ma[3] and his performance garnered him an Obie Award in 1981.[4]

While in New York City he was discovered by the talent agent Jadin Wong, who helped him to launch his career.

One of his earliest roles is as the cook in the film King Kong.

His first major role in films was as the title character in Iceman. He is also known for his portrayal of Puyi in The Last Emperor and crime boss Joey Tai in Year of the Dragon in the mid-1980s,[5] as well as an opera performer playing female roles in M. Butterfly (with Jeremy Irons).

Lone was selected to portray the title character of Puyi in Bernardo Bertolucci's epic historical drama, The Last Emperor (1987), after Tony Leung Ka-fai declined the role due to prior commitments.[6] Both Lone and lead actress Joan Chen were considered relative unknowns internationally up until the release of the film.[7] He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture at the 45th Golden Globe Awards in 1988 for his performance.[5] He and Joan Chen presented the Academy award for best documentary short at the 1988 Academy Awards.[8]

Lone lobbied for the role of Cheng Dieyie in Farewell My Concubine (1993) but did not proceed past contractual negotiations with producer Hsu Feng. Leslie Cheung was later cast for the part.[9]

In the 1995 film The Hunted, he played dangerous assassin Kinjo alongside Christopher Lambert. Further international film appearances included the role of corrupt Hong Kong cop Ricky Tan in Rush Hour 2 (2001) and the antagonist Shiwan Khan in The Shadow (1994).

Lone's focus shifted to the Asian market later in his career.[1] He played the Qianlong Emperor, another Chinese emperor, in the 30-episode television drama series Qianlong and the Fragrant Concubine (乾隆与香妃) in 2004. Lone appeared in the fifth season, in the title role of Kangxi Emperor, in Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito (1998–2007), a Chinese television series about the Manchu-ruling Qing Empire monarch.

After his appearance in War (2007), Lone has not made an appearance in any projects.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Lone.

• John Lone at IMDb
• Message Board of John Lone