Dante Lam

Over the course of his lengthy career, Hong Kong action director Dante Lam has seen his popularity with audiences and critics ebb and flow. In 1989, Lam began working his way up the production ladder as an assistant producer on director Gordon Chan's comedy "The Yuppie Fantasia." Chan would go on to direct some of the most notable Hong Kong action films of the 1990s, such as the 1994 Jet Li vehicle "Fist Of Legend." Lam was his collaborator on many productions, finally graduating to the role of co-director for the smash 1998 dirty cop drama "Beast Cops." Encouraged by Chan, Lam displayed his versatility by directing a string of comedies. A noted firearm fanatic who kicks off every take by firing a gun, Lam decided to return to his action roots with the 2009 blockbuster "Sniper." The film was set to be released a year earlier, but when star Edison Chan's computer was hacked and pictures of his sex life became publicly available, "Sniper"'s premiere was pushed back. In the meantime, Lam completed production on another gritty crime thriller, "Beast Stalker." Released within half a year of each other, the films' combined success propelled Lam back into the upper ranks of Hong Kong directors.