In the 2025 Hong Kong Film Awards, 34-year-old Hong Kong actor Yau Hok-sau was nominated for Best Actor for his role as Yip Chi-shun in the film “Watch How I Say Today.” This YouTuber from the post-90s generation may still be associated by many with the comedic web series “Seriously?”, but after diving into serious film work, he is stepping towards the Golden Horse Award, breaking free from the “internet celebrity” label and showcasing a different acting prowess.
Yau Hok-sau once had a line in the film “One Day We Will Fly” saying, “I believe that if I stay here, stay in Hong Kong, I will surely make it big in the future, in ten years or twenty years or I don’t know…” This line may just reflect his inner thoughts when he first started out.
During this golden decade, he experienced nearly five years of career downturn. How did he break free from this slump and carve out his own path?
Born in 1990, Yau Hok-sau grew up in the internet era. Even in his teenage years, he keenly observed the decline of traditional television platforms and boldly turned to YouTube for development, carving out his own niche.
During his formative years, he often watched movies on TVB’s “Pearl 930” slot with his father, planting the seed of a film dream in his heart. Due to less-than-ideal academic performance in high school and failing to enter a traditional university, he applied to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, completing the scriptwriting course in 2014.
In December of the same year, he and a friend founded the YouTube channel “Echo Bird,” producing satirical short films on social issues. The first video, “Chan Ho-nam Teaching Episode 2014 [Police Recruitment Day],” adapted from the movie “97 Young and Dangerous: The Ultimate Showdown,” quickly garnered attention by humorously commenting on current affairs.
Subsequently, he and Ho Kai-wa (Ah Dee) adapted a song by Andy Lau, “Going Alone to Have Some Fun,” creating the work “Go Shopping Daily” (a pun on “shopping”), performing on the streets of Mong Kok, becoming a talking point.
However, due to limited resources, “Echo Bird” was mainly supported by volunteers and ultimately ceased production in early 2016. Yau Hok-sau then joined the more resource-rich channel “CapTV,” continued filming short videos, and met his two future close partners – Hui Yin and So Chi-ho.
In 2020, the trio founded a new channel “Seriously?”, with distinct content style, quickly gaining recognition.
Yau Hok-sau’s journey in films began in 2015 with the youth romance film “One Day We Will Fly” directed by Wong Sau-ping, where he portrayed the younger version of Lam Hoi-fung, making a breakthrough. His performance with his on-screen counterpart Su Lai-saan received praise, but only Su Lai-saan received nominations for Best New Actor in the Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards while Yau Hok-sau missed out on the nominations.
He once said, “You ask a new actor if they don’t strive for awards? Don’t joke with me! I don’t quite believe that, maybe some don’t, but very few!” He also wondered, “After this film, will I have the chance for the next role?”
In the following years, despite appearing in works like “Ten Years: Self-Immolator,” “Cellmates,” and “No. 1 China Street,” he did not achieve any significant breakthrough in the industry. After 2018, there were almost no roles, leading to a prolonged period of unemployment and desolation, spending days and nights playing video games. It wasn’t until his 30th birthday in September 2020 that he woke up, realizing, “I’m already 30, I can’t continue like this,” then he reinvested in creation and reorganized the team in the following month to establish “Seriously?”.
The content of “Seriously?” channel ranged from comedy sketches, film reviews to variety game shows, gradually garnering popularity. In early 2021, a “YouTube Great Debate” even further propelled his fame. Seasoned filmmaker Siu Yeuk-yuen once asserted that there was no chance for a revival in Hong Kong cinema and criticized online short films as “playing house.” Yau Hok-sau promptly shot back, pointing out that online creations could provide constant training opportunities and questioned, “Why can’t web videos become films?”
Speaking passionately, he said, “In the new media era, why can’t we use new methods to create the next superstar?”
This statement sparked heated discussions among netizens and attracted more audiences to the channel. Currently, the subscriber count of “Seriously?” has exceeded 550,000, and the production team continues to expand.
However, on April 1st this year, “Seriously?” suddenly announced that it would cease operations on its fifth anniversary on October 26, clarifying it was not an April Fools’ joke. The three founders explained during a live broadcast on April 4th that the main reason for the shutdown was exhaustion, with Yau Hok-sau bluntly stating, “I haven’t stopped in these few years, I want to live for a while.”
He also admitted to having “dug his own grave” in the past, apologizing to the audience and critics, acknowledging his shortcomings, and expressing regret for inconveniencing the team.
In 2023, during the tenth anniversary of the theater founded by Best Actor Anthony Wong, a stage play titled “Polar Mystery” was specially presented. Starring Anthony Wong and Yau Hok-sau, the two engaged in a battle of wits and words. Through the portrayal of a frantic young reporter by Yau Hok-sau and the Nobel Prize-winning author enacted by Anthony Wong, they gradually unravel three mysterious plots, oscillating between speculation and confrontation.
Known for his talkative and witty nature, Yau Hok-sau, when asked about his first collaboration with the serious and distinctive Anthony Wong, was questioned if he felt nervous, he cleverly turned the question back, asking, “When working with a new generation actor like me, do you feel scared?” To which Anthony Wong humorously replied, “I’m most afraid of children throwing tantrums, I don’t know how to comfort a child! Fortunately, Ah Sau didn’t throw tantrums. Ma Lao-shi from drama school often said, the theater is a cruel place, not a nursery, you have to handle your emotions yourself.” Yau Hok-sau also quipped, “That’s why I usually hide behind the staircase to cry and process my emotions.”
Yau Hok-sau admitted that upon learning of his collaboration with Anthony Wong, he did feel a bit nervous initially, even searching online to understand more about him. After a period of rehearsals and bonding, he described Anthony Wong as actually being like a “child”: “While his initial impression may seem serious, he is an experienced, talented child.” Yau Hok-sau added that the most valuable and joyful aspect of rehearsing a stage play is the childlike atmosphere of playfulness and creativity maintained by the entire team on and off the stage.
While managing the channel, Yau Hok-sau quietly filmed movies like “On the Way to the Hospital” and “Watch How I Say Today.” Among them, “Watch How I Say Today” is his third collaboration with director Wong Sau-ping, where he played a deaf character, undergoing over a year of sign language training, at its peak attending three to four classes per week, fully immersing himself.
This dedication ultimately earned industry recognition, with him ranking second in the Golden Horse Awards’ Best Actor category for this film. Though he narrowly missed the award, he brought pride to Hong Kong actors. Moreover, he was nominated for Best Actor at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, competing alongside film industry giants like Raymond Lam, Aaron Kwok, Sean Lau, and Koo Tin-man.
Despite the challenges in his film journey, he never gave up on his dreams, persistently forging his own path in the entertainment industry, seizing different opportunities between new media and traditional cinema, and finding his place.
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