John Lone

John Lone Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: October 13, 1952

Age: 72 years old

Birth Place: Hong Kong

A Hong Kong-born actor of film and stage, John Lone became established on stage initially via several collaborations with playwright David Henry Hwang. On film, he is probably best recalled for his portrayal of Emperor Pu Yi in Bernardo Bertolucci's lavish, Oscar-winning epic "The Last Emperor" (1987).

Orphaned as a young boy, Lone began rigorously training as an actor at the Chin Ciu Academy of the Peking Opera in Hong Kong at age 10. He resided at the school for eight years, undergoing all day training in acting, singing, dance, mime, poetry, weaponry, acrobatics, and martial arts. At age 18, Lone moved to America and settled in Los Angeles where he quickly snared small roles on film and TV, as well as joined the East-West Players.

After earning attention for his performance in David Henry Hwang's "F.O.B." in L.A., he headed to NYC to recreate the role Off-Broadway in 1981, netting an OBIE Award. The playwright then wrote "Dance and the Railroad" specifically for Lone who starred in, directed, choreographed and scored the production at the Public Theatre. The movies soon beckoned and Lone made an impact with an impressive nonverbal performance as a defrosted caveman in "Iceman" (1984), following up with "Year of the Dragon" (1985), playing a ruthless Chinese Mafia boss.

Here, without mounds of obscuring makeup, he displayed his glamorous movie-star looks to the American public for the first time. Lone has not had a prolific feature career, apparently by choice. He shifts back-and-forth from stage to screen, directing to acting. He has a successful pop singing career in Asia as well as and his own lines of cosmetics and apparel. The actor has made quirky film choices opting for roles in foreign and small independent films (e.g., Alan Rudolph's "The Moderns" 1988) rather than standard commercial Hollywood fare.

Lone continued in this vein with David Cronenberg's film version of Hwang's "M. Butterfly" (1993), where he played the Asian object of desire of a French diplomat (Jeremy Irons). Subsequent high profile feature roles have cast the handsome player as nefarious types. In 1994's "The Shadow," Lone was the descendent of Genghis Khan battling Alec Baldwin's Lamont Cranston, while "The Hunted" (1995) saw him portray a cold-blooded assassin.

After a long absence, Lone graced US audiences with his charismatic presence playing yet another suave ganglord in "Rush Hour 2" (2001).

Credits

Der letzte Kaiser

Actor
Emperor (Henry) Pu Yi
Show
2022

WarStream

Actor
Chang
Movie
2007
13%

Paper Moon Affair

Actor
Keiko's Husband
Movie
2005

Bamboo Shoot

Actor
Mi Jihong
Movie
2004

Rush Hour 2Stream

Actor
Ricky Tan
Movie
2001
51%

The Hunted

Actor
Kinjo
Movie
1995
8%

The Shadow

Actor
Shiwan Khan
Movie
1994

M. Butterfly

Actor
Song Liling
Movie
1993

Shadow of China

Actor
Henry
Movie
1991

Shanghai 1920

Actor
Billy Fong
Movie
1991

The Moderns

Actor
Bertram Stone
Movie
1988

Echoes of Paradise

Actor
Raka
Movie
1987

The Last EmperorStream

Actor
Emperor (Henry) Pu Yi
Movie
1987
86%

Year of the DragonStream

Actor
Joey Tai
Movie
1985
58%

L'Année du dragon

Actor
Joey Tai
Movie
1985

El Hombre de los Hielos Eternos

Actor
Movie
1984

Iceman

Actor
Charlie
Movie
1984

Eight Is EnoughStream

Guest Star
Series
1977