Leslie Cheung's character in the Oscar-nominated Farewell, My Concubine was a gay Chinese opera singer who commits suicide. But on April 1, the actor himself did likewise, leaping from a hotel to his death at age 46.
The Chinese media, mainland and elsewhere, found parallels inescapable, as with the United Daily News in Taiwan asking in a headline, "Life Imitating Art?" Cheung, also known as a popular singer, had a loyal following in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and even mainland China, but the Associated Press noted that his film roles as openly gay characters set him apart from his peers among Chinese film stars.
"Leslie used to jokingly call himself a legend," Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai told the AP. "We, too, called him by this name. But no one had ever imagined a legend would be consummated this way."
Cheung first became famous as a bad-boy singer in the 1980s, but he moved easily enough into film work and took on homosexual roles uncommon in Chinese-langauge film, the AP said. Such work included Happy Together, Days of Being Wild, and Ashes of Time, all of which Wong directed. He was nominated for a best actor award at this year's Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Inner Senses.
"Through all the days we worked together, we shared great moments and the occasional different point of view," Wong told the AP. "This is because we are all dreamers."
Many first thought the actor's suicide was a tasteless joke because it happened on April 1. But Cheung plunged from the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong's main business district, and police told reporters a note on his body indicated he'd been plagued by emotional trouble.
