Actor Anthony Wong swaps outrageous roles for social justice

room at the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre headquarters knows what to make of the 50-year-old actor when he raises his hand like a schoolboy.

It is near the end of a rehearsal of 18/F Flat C - a new Cantonese play based on a long-running radio show set around a cha chaan tang in Hong Kong - and Anthony Wong Chau-sang wants to share his thoughts after the actors are told they must finish their coffee at every scene change.

"You mother****ers," says Wong, without referring to anyone in particular. "This is a technical problem for the crew. It shouldn't be solved [by compromising] the health of the actors. What if I asked you to finish seven cups of coffee every night?"

There, in a nutshell, you have Wong, who is known to break into profanity as often as he is known to speak out for justice in the interest of the greater good. More often than not, the two happen simultaneously.

"I don't think I'm speaking up for society at large; I'm just looking at things that are happening around me," Wong says when I bring up his newfound heroic status in the eyes of some Hongkongers. Wong's forthright voice has become a constant presence in social media lately.

"Even if you're in primary school," he continues, "you will take an interest if the classmate sitting next to you is being bullied, and nobody else dares to report it [to the teachers]. The bully may say, 'I'll beat you up if you report me.' But if you do report him, you've already done justice to the people around you.