Nicholas Tse

Biography

Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, entrepreneur and TV chef. Tse debuted as a singer in 1996 before shifting his career focus to acting. He is known for starring in the films Metade Fumaca (1999), New Police Story (2004), Bodyguards and Assassins (2009), The Viral Factor (2012), and Raging Fire (2021), as well as the television series The Proud Twins (2005). For his role in The Stool Pigeon (2010), Tse won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, making him the first actor to have won in the three major acting categories, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best New Performer, at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Tse is the founder of Post Production Office, a Hong Kong–based special effects company. The company was acquired by Digital Domain in 2016, with Tse becoming chairman of Digital Domain in Greater China.

Early life

Tse was born at St. Teresa's Hospital in Ma Tau Wai, Kowloon on 29 August 1980 to Hong Kong actor Patrick Tse (謝賢) and actress Deborah Lee (狄波拉). His younger sister is Jennifer Tse. Tse moved to Vancouver, Canada at eight. He attended St. George's School, Vancouver, where he was friends with Tablo. They were expelled together for fighting with a racist bully. Tse moved back with his family to Hong Kong, where he attended Hong Kong International School for one year before dropping out in grade 10 due to excessive media attention. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to finish his middle school, but was expelled after one year for his academic underperformance. He then moved to Vancouver before returning to Hong Kong. In 1996, at 16, he studied at Tokyo Music Institute. In 2021, Tse announced that he had applied to renounce his Canadian citizenship amid reports that ethnic Chinese celebrities holding foreign passports might face blacklisting by the Chinese government; however, it remains unclear whether his application was approved.

Music

In 1997, partly to help clear the debts incurred by his father, Tse signed a record deal with the Fitto label, which would become Emperor Entertainment Group, and released his first album, My Attitude×My AttitudeMay 1997 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1一窩瘋3:042壞習慣3:563萬誘引力3:304為你好4:265初生之犢4:116沒有E-Mail的日子3:597慾望號快車4:058如果給我一百歲3:099回憶是後鏡裡的公路4:0010我錯了3:5211萬有引力(Soul Mix)3:19, to runaway success. He won the Most Popular New Artist Award at the 1997 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation. In 2000 and 2001, Tse released two popular albums, Viva and Jade Butterfly (玉蝴蝶). In 2002, Tse received the World's Best Chinese Artist award at the 2002 World Music Award for Jade Butterfly. In April 2025, Tse became the first Chinese singer to hold concerts at Kai Tak Stadium.

Acting

Tse's notable films include Young and Dangerous: The Prequel (1998), Gen-X Cops (1999), New Police Story (2004), and Invisible Target (2007). Tse's performance in Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) earned him the Best Supporting Actor at the 4th Asian Film Awards. In 2011, Tse won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor for The Stool Pigeon (2010).
Tse's notable TV dramas include Aiming High (1998), The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra (2002), and The Proud Twins (2004). Tse also lent his voice to the Hong Kong versions of animation films A Bug's Life (1998) and Lotus Lantern (1999).
Tse learned martial arts for the screen from Jackie Chan and Chung Chi Li for films such as Gen-X-Cops and Invisible Target. He worked with Donnie Yen in the martial arts film Dragon Tiger Gate. Tse is a Wing Chun practitioner, trained by fellow actor and friend Philip Ng.

Cooking

Tse became a TV chef in 2014, when he launched his food travelogue show Chef Nic. In 2015, he opened a cookie bakery in Hong Kong. In 2016, he launched his own lifestyle and food brand Chef Nic (鋒味). On 28 October 2016, Tse was honoured as the first "Friend of Michelin" for his positive contribution to the gastronomic scene through his work. On 30 November 2017, Tse prepared the dessert course for A Night Among the Stars, a seven course gala dinner with Michelin-star chefs Alain Ducasse, Kwong Wai-keung, Tam Kwok-fung, Fabrice Vulin, Hidemichi Seki, and Noah Sandoval. In 2025, Tse joined the Tencent cooking show The Divine Dish as a judge, which drew controversy over alleged plagiarism of the Netflix show Culinary Class Wars.

Personal life

Tse’s earliest acknowledged relationship was with an Italian classmate, whom he met at the age of 15. The relationship ended the same year when Tse went to the United States to study. Heartbroken, he purchased his first second-hand guitar and began writing songs. In 1996, at the age of 16, Tse dated Irene, the daughter of a Canadian businessman; the relationship ended the next year. However, as Tse began taking singing lessons from music teacher Tai See-chung since 14, and later dated Tai's daughter, Wancy Tai, she claimed that she was Tse's first girlfriend.
In 1997, Tse began a relationship with singer Bondy Chiu, which lasted approximately three and a half years. At the end of 1999, Tse entered a relationship with singer Candy Lo, which lasted a few months. Tse had an on-and-off relationship with singer Faye Wong from 2000 to 2003, which ended when Cecilia Cheung became involved. In September 2006, Tse announced that he had married Cecilia Cheung in Pamalican, Philippines. They have two sons: Lucas (謝振軒), born on 2 August 2007, and Quintus (謝振南), born on 12 May 2010. The couple divorced in 2011 due to irreconcilable differences resulting from the Edison Chen scandal. In 2014, Tse rekindled his relationship with Faye Wong.

Car crash cover-up

In the early morning of 23 March 2002, Tse crashed his Ferrari 360 Modena in Hong Kong Central. Initially, it was claimed that Tse's driver was responsible for the crash, but further investigation by the ICAC revealed that the story was fabricated, involving three other men and a police officer. Officer Lau Chi-Wai was sentenced to six months in prison. Tse spent two weeks in prison and was sentenced to 240 hours of community service for obstruction of justice.

Assault on paparazzi

Tse had his share of brush-ups with "paparazzi" in his early years. A photographer of Sudden Weekly magazine accused Tse of hitting him outside a restaurant in Taiwan, bruising his nose and elbow. Although Tse denied the assault charge, there was a settlement in July 2002.

Reckless driving

In 2002, Tse was fined HK$7,000 and had his driving license suspended for a year after he pleaded guilty to two separate charges of speeding. In 2003, Tse crashed his Toyota Camry into Wan Chai train station. He was banned from driving for six months and fined HK$4,000 for reckless driving.