John Lone (; born October 13, 1952) is a Chinese-American retired actor. He starred as Puyi in the Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor (1987), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.
A veteran of the East West Players, he appeared in numerous high-profile screen and stage roles throughout the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, in films like Iceman, Year of the Dragon, M. Butterfly, The Shadow, and Rush Hour 2. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in The Moderns.
Biography
Lone was born Ng Kwok-leung () in 1952 in British-ruled Hong Kong.
He was raised in an orphanage and later adopted by a woman from Shanghai. At age 7, he was sent to train in the style of the Peking opera at Hong Kong's Chin Chiu Academy, where he was trained in singing, dance, and classical Chinese theater techniques. It was here that he was given the name Johnny; he chose the surname Lone to reflect the fact that he was an orphan and for its similarity to Leung, part of his given name.
Lone declined an offer to join a Belgian dance company and a contract to make Kung fu films, and he accepted a sponsorship by an American family. before Mako offered him a role as an Asian emigrant trying to assimilate in David Henry Hwang's first play FOB. and his performance garnered him an Obie Award in 1981.
One of his early film roles was as the cook in King Kong. His first major role in films was as the title character in Iceman. In 1985, John Lone played the gang leader Joey Tai in Michael Cimino's Year of the Dragon, for which he was nominated the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Impressed by Lone's performance, Cimino recommended Lone to his longtime friend Bernardo Bertolucci, who was casting for The Last Emperor. Bertolucci met Lone while casting in Los Angeles and chose him as Puyi at first sight. Lone portrayed Puyi at different stages of his life, from an 18-year-old to a man in his sixties. In preparation for his role, he visited China to study the body language of the elderly. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama at the 45th Golden Globe Awards in 1988 for his performance.
In 1987, David Henry Hwang and John Dexter were casting for Hwang's play M. Butterfly. Hwang knew of Lone's Peking opera training and thought of him for the part of Song Liling, an opera singer. He sent him a copy of the script, but Lone was too busy to respond. In 1991, David Cronenberg prepared to direct the film adaptation of M. Butterfly, and invited Lone to play Song Liling. After a three-hour meeting with Cronenberg, Lone agreed to play Song. Lone did his own singing for the film.
In the 1995 film The Hunted, Lone played assassin Kinjo alongside Christopher Lambert. Other international film appearances included the role of corrupt Hong Kong cop Ricky Tan in Rush Hour 2 (2001) and the antagonist Shiwan Khan in The Shadow (1994).
Lone's focus then shifted to the Chinese market.
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| 1993
! scope="row" | M. Butterfly
| Song Liling
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| 1994
! scope="row" | The Shadow
| Shiwan Khan
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| 1995
! scope="row" | The Hunted
| Kinjo
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| 1997
! scope="row" | Task Force
| Thug
| Cameo appearance
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| 2001
! scope="row" | Rush Hour 2
| Ricky Tan
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|-
|2004
! scope="row" | Master of Everything aka Bamboo Shoot
|Mi Jihong
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| 2007
! scope="row" | War
| Li Chang
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1976
! scope="row" | The Blue Knight
| Terry Chow
| TV series
|-
| 1978
! scope="row" | Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid
| Houseman
| TV movie
|-
| 1978
! scope="row" | Sword of Justice
| The Destructors
| TV series
|-
|1979
! scope="row"|Eight Is Enough
|Member of the Chinese Trade Mission
|