Simon Yam

Simon Yam is one of those actors who makes every scene feel like it costs more than it does — there's a weight to him that you just can't manufacture. Born in British Hong Kong in 1955, he built his career through sheer range: playing coldly menacing villains one film, then deeply wounded, sympathetic men the next, often within the same year. His work with director Johnnie To is where I'd point anyone who wants to understand what Hong Kong cinema at its peak looked like — PTU, Election, Sparrow — he fits into To's world like the films were built around him. And then there's SPL: Sha Po Lang, where he goes toe-to-toe with Donnie Yen and holds his own completely. He's a craftsman in the truest sense: no flash, just presence.

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Name (English)

Simon Yam

Name (Japanese)

サイモン・ヤム

Reading

さいもん・やむ

Born

March 19, 1955 (age 71)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Goat

Origin

British Hong Kong, United Kingdom

Occupation

actor / film director / film actor / film producer / television actor

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon%20Yam
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%A4%E3%83%A0
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q667260

Tags

• actor
• film director
• film actor

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.