Kent Tong’s Twin Sons, Bruce and Chris, Debut in Donnie Yen’s “Big Brother”
After graduating from college last year, Kent Tong‘s (湯鎮業) twin sons, Bruce (湯君慈) and Chris (湯君耀), kickstarted their acting careers. The 23-year-olds signed with Donnie Yen‘s (甄子丹) company, Bullet Films. Bruce and Chris will debut in Donnie’s new film, Big Brother <大師兄>, which opens in theaters in August.
While attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Bruce and Chris were part-time models and expressed interest in joining the entertainment circle. But their father, Kent, asked them to finish college first and take courses in film studies.
How They Landed Their First Movie
Kent had considered opening his own studio to help his sons make their debuts. But the twins’ mother, former ATV actress Keung Kwan (姜坤), is close friends with Donnie Yen’s wife, Cecilia Wang (汪詩詩). When Donnie was filming Big Brother, he needed young actors to star as students in the film. “Through his wife, Donnie asked our mom if we were interested in filming a movie. Mom felt it was a great opportunity and immediately asked us to return to Hong Kong for auditions.” The twins impressed Donnie and ended up signing under his management company.
Portraying twins in Big Brother, Bruce and Chris had a fight scene together. The director felt their scene was too rehearsed and asked them to be more explosive. The brothers laughed and said they did not have a fight in a long time, and got carried away in the scene. Bruce said, “The director was satisfied with our scene, but we couldn’t stop fighting. The director yelled at us to calm down. Afterward, we felt it was a very amusing experience. We were very involved in the scene. Chris and I haven’t fought in over ten years; usually we just don’t talk to each other.”
Childhood Memories
Born only two minutes apart, Bruce and Chris are very close to each other. But like most brothers growing up, they fought over everything–whether they were toys or video games. The longest time they did not talk to each other lasted two months.
In Form Four, the boys played a basketball game with friends and had a dispute. After punching his younger brother’s nose, Bruce immediately regretted it. “Chris’ nose got crooked and he had a huge nosebleed. Our classmates were scared and called the ambulance. I couldn’t sleep all night. I thought Chris would die, and there won’t be anyone to be with me anymore. After breakfast the next morning, we visited Chris at the hospital. Dad yelled at me and shelled out money to fix Chris’ nose.” After this scare, Bruce learned to cherish Chris and no longer had any more fist fights. Bruce laughed that after the surgery, Chris’ nose became better looking.
Girls That They Like
When asked if the brothers like the same type of girls, Bruce said he preferred quiet and good girls. Although he has not dated for awhile, Chris said he needs to feel a connection with the girl. Asked if they will date twin sisters, Bruce and Chris laughed and said they have not tried it, but many people made the same suggestion.
Inspired by Father, Kent Tong
Since they were little boys, Bruce and Chris visited their father on his filming set. “Dad had a big influence on us. He really wanted us to enter the industry. Slowly, our interest in acting grew.”
After filming Big Brother, Bruce filmed a web series with Kent in Beijing. “Dad said the role suited me and asked the director to cast me. Dad said it’s important to try different roles in the beginning, whether it’s a big or small role. In the ancient drama, I portray a good character while Dad is a villain. Dad has high expectations. Although the director was satisfied with my scenes, Dad thought I could do better and asked them to be re-shot. Dad’s eyes are very expressive. Finally, I have a chance to learn from his acting.”
Although they are still living in Kent’s house, Bruce and Chris set goals to become financially independent. “We’re starting to earn money and don’t need Dad to give us allowances anymore. He cut our credit cards already. We can pay for our own expenses. Our next goal is to eventually be able to support Dad.”
“Big Brother” Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgxdcrsWXsA
Source: Ming Pao Weekly, On.cc
This article is written by Jayne for JayneStars.com.
not as handsome as dad when he was young but then their dad was just out of this world handsome
@m0m0 uhm, I didn’t think Ken tong was that handsome when he was young lol! But that’s just me xD these two boys have chiseled face but not handsome to my taste, however, the Chinese seem to into chiseled face boys so maybe they might get popular
I think Kent Tong and Hugo Ng looked alike.
hugo ng is actually more handsome….
@m0m0
Kent Tong was easily more handsome than Hugo Ng since he was probably the most handsome of the ‘five tigers’. Hugo is now by far the better actor of the 2 though. Literally everyone lead actor of the 80’s had surpassed Kent’s after Barbara’s death ended all of his career momentum…
@jimmyszeto I honestly didn’t feel that Kent was the most handsome back then, though yes, it’s true that the general consensus overall back in those days (i.e. audiences in the 1980s) was that Kent was the most handsome out of the 5 Tigers (if I remember correctly, I think the reasoning was that he had the entire package in that he was able to look good in both ancient costume as well as modern / real life, plus he actually was a decent actor back then) — Andy lost out because of his nose, which audiences liked to complain made him look ugly; Felix was kind of average-looking back then (and after LOTCH, he was more “cute” than handsome, lol); Tony was too short in terms of height, which put him at a disadvantage, since a lot of audiences back then got too used to the tall and handsome type (aka Chow Yun Fat, lol), which became the preference on the male side, and Michael Miu didn’t look as suave outside of ancient costume, especially in his early series (need to put down the disclaimer that this was in general what audiences thought back then – opinion not my own, lol). For me personally, I always thought Michael was the most handsome and whenever he was in ancient costume, he pretty much looked like a god (lol) but that’s just me…
And agreed, Hugo wasn’t really considered handsome back then, especially since there were plenty of good-looking guys whose acting was good/above average, many of them in lead roles….but he is definitely the more handsome one now (and absolutely the better actor, especially when compared to Kent).
@llwy12 I thought Michael was the most handsome also. He has this amazing charisma that made you overlook his weaker acting skills. He and Barbara had amazing chemistry that is non-existent in today’s on-screen couples.
For me, Kent was the least likeable tiger because I didn’t like any of his characters. Objectively, he is pretty, but he didn’t have the charm or talent of the others.
@llwy12 the first time I saw Michael Miu, I was like wow, so handsome! And yes, he and Barbara was amazing! I couldn’t stand the 80s series because I can’t stand the colour n darkness of the picture quality, but those two made me mad about CLH, I remembered got so hung up on their onscreen chemistry! They were so perfect for each other!
Never though of Chou Yun Fat as handsome lawl
@littlefish Yes, indeed – Michael and Barbara’s chemistry definitely unmatched, even all these years later. True, 80s series may have had bad color and lighting, but they were more realistic-looking, which to be honest is not an easy feat given all the wuxia series that TVB did during that era – this was in the days prior to CGI (which, in my opinion, has only succeeded in making all series look fake). Watch any of the 80s wuxia series and will definitely see a huge difference.
Ah yes, loved that version of Chor Lau Heung! I agree that Michael and Barbara had the best chemistry in that series, with the second best in my opinion being their collaboration in The Fearless Duo (the ending of which always makes me teary-eyed no matter how many times I re-watch). With CLH though, aside from Michael and Barbara’s chemistry, I also loved the “bromance” between Michael and Chan Wing Chun, lol – Michael’s character always trying to piss Chan Wing Chun off and playing tricks on him, it was hilarious!
LOL….Chow Yun Fat was actually only considered handsome after he did The Bund (where he portrayed his iconic Hui Man Keung character)…prior to that, in most of his earlier series (mostly from the late 70s), he was considered too skinny and scrawny. I actually think CYF is more handsome now in old age than he was back in his youth…in a way, he’s like fine wine — gets better with age! 🙂
@llwy12 I never think Chow is handsome. His height and good acting skills give him charisma.
@m0m0 Kent Tong was more handsome when he was young, but he couldn’t keep on his good looking after leaving TVB. Meanwhile, Hugo’s been so well-kept and still look good at his age.
I think it’s hard for identical twins to break out in the acting industry, just because there is two of them, and it’s hard to promote two people who look exactly the same with no distinction. If one of them pursues acting, while the other twin pursues something outside of the acting industry, then it may work.
I find Ken handsome but in a cold arrogant way. I think he was more handsome than his boys. There are so many handsome dudes so counting looks to make it may not be sufficient. It was unfortunate that Ken had to take the blame for Barbara’s suicide and his career stalled from thereon.