Jiro Lee

Lee was born on 20 February 1981, in Hong Kong.^[1] He attended Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College and became interested in comedy when he was at school.^[2] After getting three As, one B and one C in Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination, he entered the University of Hong Kong to study architecture.^[3] However, he found himself not interested in the coursework and became pressurized with the heavy workload of internships and graduation thesis.^[4] He decided to dropped out in his third year and went backpacking in South America for half a year.^[3][4]

After returning to Hong Kong, Lee joined Hong Kong Cable Television as an entertainment journalist and co-hosted a program with Jan Lamb.^[5] The program sparked comedy film actor and director Stephen Chow's interest and Chow invited Lee to cast in a minor role in the 2008 sci-fi film CJ7.^[6] However, in 2010, Lee was severely injured in a car accident and was hospitalized for six months. He was forced to turn down all the roles offered to him by that time.^[7]

After recovery, he returned to Cable TV and continued to host television programs.^[7] He started the Casa Series [zh] and Undercover Tour [zh-yue] in 2013 and 2014 respectively, which were both well-received and garnered Lee public recognition.^[8][9] Chow also invited Lee to co-write and star in the role of Sha Wujing in the 2013 fantasy film Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.^[6][10] Lee and Chow, along with Derek Kwok and Ivy Kong, were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay in the 50th Golden Horse Awards.^[11] Lee was cast in a lead role in the satirical comedy film The Midnight After in 2014.^[3] He also featured in Chow's 2016 fantasy film The Mermaid and the 2017 horror film Vampire Cleanup Department.^[5][12] In 2019, Lee landed his first major television role in the black comedy series Hong Kong West Side Stories [zh],^[13] and had a main role in the crime thriller film Guilt By Design [zh].^[14]

In 2023, Lee appeared in the black comedy film Over My Dead Body.^[15] He portrayed a comically priggish security guard and both his performance and sense of humour received universal acclaim.^[16] He received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards.^[17]