At 62, Raymond Cho Is Still Singing

TVB has a long list of ageless male stars. Michael Miu gets more handsome with age. Joe Ma looks preserved. Ben Wong and Michael Tong stay in shape. Raymond Cho is a different case. He is 62.

Born in October 1964. Sixty-two years old. He has not had a new drama in the past year. He still appears on variety shows. He formed Hey Brother with Michael Tong, Evergreen Mak, Johnson Lee, and Ben Wong. They perform on stage. He also did the “Three Lives of Luck” concert with Edwin Siu and Kenneth Ma. His face has not changed much. His body has gained a little weight. That is about it.

The first time I saw him was in The Double-Faced Beauty. He played Fong Tak-shun. Glasses. Gentle voice. Then the mask came off. The contrast was sharp. The male lead was Ekin Cheng. Raymond Cho is not tall. Fong Tak-shun still made people remember him. I did not know then that he had been a singer. His music career did not go far. He joined TVB at 35.

Thirty-five. Then 28 years.

He has played hundreds of roles. Many villains. Surface gentleman, deep scheming. My Dearly Sinful Mind. Criminal Investigation 12. He has also played good men. Forensic Heroes. Healing Hands. On Call 36 Hours. Most of the time he was a supporting actor. The roles stood out. In Girlie Days, he was the male lead once. The drama did not do well.

In TVB, some actors play leads for decades. The audience cannot remember them. Some actors play supporting roles for decades. The audience knows their face. Raymond Cho is the second kind.

Roles are not big or small. If acted well, the audience will like them. Supporting roles sometimes stand out more than leads.

A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch 2 is going to be filmed. The original female lead may be hard to find. The male trio can return. Edwin Siu is still handsome. Matthew Ho has gained maturity. Raymond Cho is the most exaggerated. After so many years, his condition is still good. He has confirmed he will appear. The plot is unclear. Continuation or sister piece. We do not know. As long as the male lead is not replaced, we can wait.

Do many people like Raymond Cho? Which drama did you first know him from? Fong Tak-shun in The Double-Faced Beauty? Forensic Heroes? Healing Hands? On Call 36 Hours? Or some role whose name you cannot even recall.

There is a particular kind of TVB actor who never becomes a superstar, but never disappears either. Raymond Cho is one of them. He is not the face on the poster. He is not the name that trends on social media. But when he walks on screen, you stop scrolling. You know that face. You may not know his name immediately. You know you have seen him before. That kind of fame does not arrive with a headline. It builds over 28 years.

He started as a singer. His music career did not take off. He joined TVB at 35. That is late for an actor. Many people at that age think about slowing down. He was starting. And then he kept going for 28 years.

He played villains. Not the shouting kind. Not the kind who twirl their mustache. His villains were quiet. They wore glasses. They spoke softly. They smiled. Then they did something that made your skin crawl. Fong Tak-shun in The Double-Faced Beauty was the template. A mild-mannered man. A gentleman. Then the mask came off. It was not a loud reveal. It was a cold one. That is harder to do.

He also played doctors, police officers, and reliable professional men. In Forensic Heroes, Healing Hands, and On Call 36 Hours, he was often the supporting actor who made the lead look better. That is not a small thing. A drama needs those people. A story needs those people. Without them, the lead has no one to talk to or react against.

He had one male lead role, in Girlie Days. The drama did not do well. But that is not his fault. Some dramas work. Some do not. An actor can only do his part. And he did.

What makes Raymond Cho interesting is his energy. He is 62. He is performing, singing, and dancing. He formed a boy band with other middle-aged actors. Hey Brother. The name is a joke. The concept is a joke. But the performances happen. They sing. They dance. They make people laugh. And somehow, it works.

He also does concerts with Edwin Siu and Kenneth Ma. “Three Lives of Luck.” Again, it sounds like a gimmick. Three TVB actors, not known primarily as singers, standing on stage. But they sell tickets. People come. People enjoy it. That says something. Audiences show up to watch people they grew up with. They want to see them on stage, trying, having fun.

That is what Raymond Cho offers. He shows up. He performs. He keeps going.

And now, A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch 2. The original series was a hit. It was funny. It was silly. It was the kind of drama TVB does well: time travel, mistaken identity, broad comedy, and a trio of men who should not work together but do. The sequel has been talked about for years. Now it is happening. The original female lead may not return. That is a loss. But the male trio is the heart of the show. Edwin Siu. Matthew Ho. Raymond Cho.

Edwin Siu is still handsome. Matthew Ho has grown into a more mature actor. And Raymond Cho? He is the one who makes you do a double-take. He is 62. He looks like he could play the same role he played years ago. Good genes help. So does discipline. So does luck. He also refuses to let time win easily.

So yes, TVB has many ageless male stars. Michael Miu. Joe Ma. Ben Wong. Michael Tong. The list goes on. Raymond Cho is a special case. He is not the most famous or the most awarded. He is one of the most recognizable. At 62, he is on stage, singing, making people smile.

Which drama did you first see him in? Was it The Double-Faced Beauty? Was it Forensic Heroes? Was it Healing Hands? Was it On Call 36 Hours? Or was it some small role, in some forgotten drama, that made you pause and think: who is that guy? That guy is Raymond Cho. And he is still here.