Five Tiger Generals (TVB)

Five Tiger Generals
Five Tiger Generals, 1983. Top (L-R): Lau, Wong Bottom (L-R): Miu, Leung, Tong
Background information
Also known as	Five Tigers
Origin	Hong Kong
Years active	1980s
Associated acts	TVB
Members	Michael Miu Kent Tong Felix Wong Andy Lau Tony Leung

The Five Tiger Generals of TVB (無綫五虎將), more commonly referred to as simply the Five Tigers (五虎), were a group of five of the most popular young male actors of 1980s Hong Kong television. The group consisted of Michael Miu ("Big Tiger"), Kent Tong ("Second Tiger"), Felix Wong ("Third Tiger"), Andy Lau ("Fourth Tiger"), and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai ("Small Tiger"). The group was formed to collectively promote the popularity of the five members, as well as to promote the company's various drama and entertainment productions. Five Tiger Generals was a name given to them by the media. The term is a popular appellation in Chinese culture, meaning a ruler's five best military generals.

While all five members were once trainees of TVB's then all-year Artiste Training Academy, they joined the school at different times—Kent Tong joined in 1978; Michael Miu and Felix Wong in 1979; Andy Lau in 1980, and Tony Leung in 1981. Tong was the first to debut with his first role as the supporting character Wu Wang-yuen in the 1980 drama This Land is Mine. Wong's first role was in the 1981 The Misadventure of Zoo. The other three members had debut roles while they were still trainees at the school: Miu's debut role was the 1980 drama The Adventurer's; Lau's first role was in the sitcom Hong Kong '81and Leung had his first major role in the 1982 Soldier of Fortune, which also starred Wong and Tong.

It did not take long for the Five Tigers to become popular. According to Wong during a 2009 interview for the talk show Be My Guest, TVB's first generation of leading actors at the time, which included Adam Cheng and Chow Yun-fat, were leaving the company, and TVB was in need to round up a new generation of popular idols, thus the members of the Five Tigers quickly rose to fame due to many performing opportunities. Wong said that as soon as he graduated from acting class, he was offered a major supporting role. Wong was offered a leading role in his second drama, The Lonely Hunter (1981), which shot him to instant fame in Hong Kong.