Having attained such unparalleled popularity in Asia, it was almost inevitable that Chow would make the crossover to American films. He did so in 1998 as the star of Antoine Fuqua’s The Replacement Killers. Unfortunately, the film — which cast Chow as an assassin alongside Mira Sorvino — received largely negative reviews, and sank at the box office. The following year, Chow played a man on the other side of the law in The Corruptor, starring as an NYPD officer in charge of keeping peace in Chinatown. Like Chow’s previous film, The Corruptor didn’t do as well as expected, though it allowed the actor to continue to demonstrate his action prowess. That same year, he showed his softer side in Anna and the King, playing the titular King of Siam (Thailand) opposite Jodie Foster as a strong-willed governess. It was Chow’s first mainstream, non-action Hollywood film, something that further signaled recognition of the actor as one of the cinema’s true international stars.

Perhaps ironically, Chow would find his biggest crossover success with a film steeped in Chinese folklore, director Ang Lee’s martial arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Released to standing ovations at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, the picture — which cast Chow as a warrior haunted by the unavenged death of a friend — enjoyed a long and healthy life at the North American box office, eventually becoming the most successful foreign-language picture ever released in the States up to that point. Better yet, Chow’s work was universally cited by critics as one of the actor’s most soulful, compassionate turns. Although Tiger would garner an impressive ten Academy Award nominations, Chow and his equally deserving co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi were denied nods in a year that was admittedly over-crowded with Oscar-caliber performances.

Despite Crouching Tiger’s success, Chow was largely absent from the big screen over the next several years, surfacing only for the action-fantasy Bulletproof Monk. While a fairly satisfying actioner for undemanding fans, Bulletproof Monk still failed to capture that old Hong Kong magic and many were left wondering whether Chow would ever live up to his former glory under the direction of a stateside filmmaker. For his next film, a dramatic adaptation of author Ann Hui’s novel The Postmodern Life of My Aunt, Chow would head back to China to portray an amateur opera singer and con man who takes advantage of a trusting sexagenarian. Though the 2006 film garnered considerable praise back home — where it was nominated for three Golden Horse awards — American audiences would next see Chow in House of Flying Daggers director Zhang Yimou’s The Curse of the Golden Flower. A lavish and romantic period adventure set against the backdrop of the Tang Dynasty, The Curse of the Golden Flower presented a distinguished-looking Chow as the oppressive emperor struggling against a fierce rebellion. Though The Curse of the Golden Flower featured stunning cinematography courtesy of Zhao Xiaoding and took home multiple honors at the Hong Kong Film Awards, many fans felt that wasn’t as cohesive as such previous Yimou efforts as Hero and the aforementioned House of Flying Daggers, and perhaps as a result, the film performed rather poorly at the American box office. Chow’s next film, however, was almost certain to become a worldwide blockbuster.

Despite seemingly shying away from big-budget Hollywood efforts since 2003’s Bulletproof Monk, Chow would make a swashbuckling return to the world stage as cunning Chinese pirate Sao Feng in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The eagerly anticipated third installment of the highly profitable Disney film series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End presented Chow in the minor yet pivotal role of the one man who may hold the key to preserving the Age of Piracy against the nefarious East India Trading Company and it’s dreaded leader Lord