Cheung Wing-fat, also known as Mars , is a Hong Kong actor, action director, stuntman and martial artist. He is one of Jackie Chan's best friends.

Early life

Cheung Wing-fat was born in Hong Kong in 1954. He got the nickname "Weird Fire Star" after being involved in a car accident leaving him with two scars on his head. While working as a stuntman on a film in Thailand he got promoted to a supporting actor and needed a stage name. He picked "Mars" based on his nickname. He became a student of Madame Fan Fok-fa in The Spring and Autumn Drama School. He practiced every day from 5am to 9pm.

Film career

Mars started acting in 1966 at the age of 12. He started out as an extra and later in supporting roles. Lackey and the Lady Tiger (1980) is only the film in which he played the leading role. In 1971, Mars got his nickname "Mars" from a stunt co-ordinator who suggested it to him since his nickname on stage was Martian Monster, and he ended up with the name Mars after filming The Rescue. In 1979, he joined the Jackie Chan Stunt Team and focused more on being a stuntman and action director rather than an actor. Being a very close friend of Chan, Mars has worked with Chan in numerous films starting with The Young Master (1980). He played a major supporting role in Chan's hit films, Project A, Project A II, Police Story and Police Story 2. Mars also had minor villain roles in Chan's other hit films, Crime Story, Drunken Master II and Thunderbolt. He also acted in many of Chan's other films and was also a stuntman in his films. Ever since working in Jackie Chan's 1996 film Mr. Nice Guy, he has been using his real name instead. He had become a senior member in both Jackie Chan's and Sammo Hung's stunt team.

Filmography