Simon Yam Tat-wah, a veteran Hong Kong-based actor and film producer, was born on March 19, 1955. He initially started his career as a supermodel before transitioning to acting in the mid-1970s. Yam then joined the Hong Kong television network TVB, starring and co-starring in numerous television series before venturing into the film industry in 1987.
His elder brother, Yam Tak-wing, is a retired former Deputy Commissioner of Hong Kong Police. In 1989, Yam starred in the Japanese-Hong Kong co-production Bloodfight, which was notable for being the first film to feature English dialogue throughout. He gained critical acclaim for his role as Judge in the crime film Full Contact in 1992, where he engaged in a bloody battle against Chow Yun-Fat's character.
Yam's other notable roles include starring as Dhalsim in the action-comedy film Future Cops in 1993, a parody of Street Fighter directed by Jing Wong, and as Chiang Tin-Sung, the leader of the Hung Hing triads, in the first three installments of the Young and Dangerous film series in 1996.
In 2000, Yam played the role of Cheung-sun, the progenitor of all vampires, in the television series My Date with a Vampire II, produced by ATV. He made his Hollywood film debut in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life in 2003 as Shaolin crime lord.
Yam received international acclaim for his performances in films such as Naked Killer, Kill Zone, Election, Election 2, Exiled, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life, and The Thieves.
