THE name is Fatt — Chow Yuen Fatt. Eh, wait a minute. It's Chow — Chow Yuen Fatt. Or Chow Yun-Fat, as Hollywood has simplified it. But whether he's referred to as Mister Chow or Mister Fat (a common mistake by those ang mohs who can't tell a Chinese first name from the family monicker), his widespread fame is no mystery to those of us who have known of him for ages.

The man is famous, the man is a superstar, because he has charisma. And more importantly, because he can act. Can he ever! From comedies to romances to TV serials to dramas to the genre he is most famous for — the bullet-riddled, ichor-splattered "heroic bloodshed" films — Chow has made himself an icon of Asian cinema.