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I was born in Shandong, China, in 1944. I am the eldest in my family.
My childhood was a happy one because I didn’t know what was going on around me. All the burdens were laid on my parents.
Fleeing to Hong Kong was fun and exciting. We went to new places every day.
I used to think the world was like this: Everyone is poor, everyone knows each other, everyone helps each other and every front door is open.
Kids today are under high pressure. Their parents always tell them what their lives should be like. Nobody told me what to do and I turned out fine!
My grandpa and I had a close relationship. He reminded me that success only comes with great effort, while I poked at his bald head.
I worked as a sailor because of the free travel and the things I read in a sailor’s dairy, which I later found out was a liar’s diary.
It was boring at sea. My main duty was to spend hours figuring out what the little black spot reflected in the telescope was. Turned out it was a piece of bird crap.
In postwar Vietnam, I realized what desperation was through the hollowness in people’s eyes. They conveyed absolute hopelessness.
I once got into a lift in which a bomb was hidden. I only knew it after I got off - I could have died. It usually occurs to me that an event is potentially fatal only when it is over. See? I am lucky.
In Vietnam I saw a man being chased by two other men holding bombs. I also saw women who were eight months pregnant working as prostitutes.
The best way to handle anger is to swear with all your might, but only in your head.
I figured out I needed to quit sailing when the young son of one of my colleagues didn’t recognize his father because they’d only met once in two years.
A film crew rented the ship that I worked on. I looked at the actors and thought, maybe I could become one too. So I applied for an actor’s training course and got accepted.
I was a main character and played the so-called handsome guy in TV episodes initially, but the shows failed miserably. Then I worked in supporting roles. Most of these characters were villains.
I broke my back while I was filming the TV series “Strong Man.” I lay in bed for a month. The doctor told me it was a miracle that I did not become a paraplegic. 
There are three stages of acting. First, you overdo it; then you under-do it; and finally, you might get it right.  That pretty much applies to everything in life.
I don’t think there was ever a peak in my acting career.
I am never satisfied with my work. Whenever I replay my show, I always think I could have done better.
My idols include Cheng Ka Wing, Wu Hang Yee and, of course, my son Lau Hoi.
Losing one’s morale is the ultimate misery. Nothing can be worse than that.
My two philosophies of golfing: practice makes perfect, and if you don’t use it, you lose it. The same principles apply to marriage.
While I was filming “A Kindred Spirit,” the casting crew was asked to participate in many charity activities and volunteer work.
I was so sad when I saw the elderly people in a nursing home. My heart aches. There were no smiles on their faces.
I became a politician because I wanted to bring smiles to people’s faces, especially the elderly. My friends told me that I could get more involved in community work by becoming a district councilor.
I didn’t even know what, exactly, a district councilor was, or the difference between an elected and appointed councilor when I first started out.
Hong Kong gives me everything, though I work hard to achieve at the same time.
Three things I have done right in my life: I chose the right profession (acting), I married the right person and I joined the Liberal Party.
My motto: Keep going and don’t let it stop. The world keeps spinning, so get your ass moving!
Retirement is the shortcut to death. I will never retire.


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Veteran actor and TVB star, Danny Lau

Magazines

Veteran actor and TVB star, Danny Lau (“Legend of the Condor Heroes”), has recently switched from acting to politics. Now the district councilor of Sai Kung, he talks to Janet Leung about his experiences in the Vietnam War, at TVB and as a man of the people.
