Andy Lau Picks New Daughter Over Big Role in Iron Man 3

Andy Lau turned down a role in Iron Man 3 to devote time to his first child with wife Carol Chu, according to the Taiwanese newspaper Want Daily.

The 50-year-old Hong Kong superstar actor and singer was approached by the producers for a leading role in the third installment of the Iron Man series but turned it down because he wanted to spend time with a daughter born on May 9. Lau had secretly wed Carol Chu in 2009 after having dated her for nearly a quarter century, since he was 24 and Chu was 18.

Chu is an ethnic Chinese Malaysian born into the family of a successful seafood restaurateur. She was a runner-up in a beauty pageant at the time she met Lau through a mutual friend. She and Lau apparently fell in love immediately and began seeing each other sporadically as Lau’s hectic schedule permitted, all the while trying to keep their relationship a secret. Over the years, however, Lau is said to have gifted Chu with 10 mansions. He also invested in a travel agency that Chu has been operating.

Lau has become Hong Kong’s all-time biggest box-office draw while simultaneously building himself into its leading Canto-pop star. Lau landed his first leading role in 1983 in a Shaw Brothers film called On the Wrong Track. His stardom was built on his knack for wooing audiences with his “heroic gangster” roles, as in Wong Kar-wai’s As Tears Go By (1988) and Johnnie To’s A Moment of Romance (1990).

Lau first won international acclaim in Infernal Affairs (2002) which was followed up by a prequel and a sequel. it was also remade by Martin Scorsese as Dearly Departed (2006). Lau also won global exposure as one of the stars of Zhang Yimou’s extravagant martial arts romance House of Flying Daggers (2004).

With Lau out of the picture the Iron Man project will seek out an actor over the age of 40 with strong English skills, said Dan Mintz, one of the producers and CEO of DMG Intertainment Group. Leading contenders for the role are believed to be Chinese actors Chen Daoming and Wu Xiubo. Chen, 57, played Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the Jet Li film Hero (2002). Wu, 43, built his popularity as the star of the Chinese television drama Before the Dawn.

“The audience will be familiar with the Asian faces in Iron Man 3,” said Mintz in May. “Our stand is to invest and produce a Chinese flavor and Chinese element international film.”

The producers have also begun casting Chinese female roles. So far they have contacted Yao Chen, 32, who has the most fans on the popular microblog Sina Weibo, and Fan Bingbing, 30, China’s top-earning actress.

Iron Man 3 is the first major Hollywood feature to be co-produced by a Chinese production company. Production began in May in the US. A crew has reportedly begun scouting locations in China. The film is set for release in May 2013.

The collaboration with a Chinese production company arose from the film’s plot, said Mintz. The film’s stars will be chosen for their fit with the roles and not their potential impact on Chinese box office, he added.