Kris Law

Background and Education

Born in George Town (Penang, Malaysia), to a Singaporean doctor father and Malaysian hairstylist mother. After losing his father to a tragic car accident at the age of 3, Law began to escape his misery and loss of everything through play acting. Law was the rightful heir to his father's vast fortune in Singapore but was denied in a court battle against his dead father's first family due to the illegitimacy of his birth where he was born out of wedlock. As an orphaned child, Law first appeared on stage at the age of 10 playing the lead role Dick in "Dick Whittington and his Wonder Cat" in an international private school. Later, he joined the Penang Free School Christian and Drama Society and acted in many plays as the lead. In 1996, Law was selected to be in the first pioneering batch of TV3 Academy, Kuala Lumpur majoring in the field of Broadcasting. During his tenure at the academy, he was selected to be in the panel of distinguished juries to judge in the Anugerah Skrin awards. Law was the youngest and the only non-Malay jury member in the panel. Later, Law transferred his studies and graduated in Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, London with major in Business Communication in 1999.

In Kuala Lumpur, he started his career in the creative industry as a copywriter in Leo Burnett in 2000, working under film director Yasmin Ahmad.

Early career

In 2004, Law received his first major media spotlight when he participated in the reality TV competition show Malaysian Idol. Law performed in yellow shorts when other contestants wore normal clothes got him onto the front page of all national newspapers. His yellow shorts performance video went viral in the Internet to the tune of 100 million viewers worldwide, making him the world's first person to become a viral video star celebrity spearheading the term "instant fame" and "social media" long before the establishment of social media like it is today. Law's yellow shorts became an iconic fashion statement and frenzy among the youths when the viral video debuted, entering into pop culture lexicon. Numerous and popular references were made about his "sexy shorts" in politics, fashion, academia and eventually identified by many as a form of performance art, thus making him a cultural provocateur with a clear social zeitgeist against the racial, government-controlled media and race-segregated Malaysian society.

In 2005, Law participated again in Malaysian Idol season 2. Two more offers to star in other reality TV shows followed due to incredible ratings success of his yellow shorts performance. Law won the Most Favourite Contestant title for the Gillette Vector Challenge and was a finalist on Malaysian Top Host. Law was the only reality TV star to appear in 3 different show genres in one year. In a 2005 radio interview, Law already foreseen the dangers of social media when he expressed the reasons he limited his presence away from it was due to the amount of haters present and its manipulative nature that doesn't bring any credibility.

As an Actor, Law appeared in the commercially successful Anak Mami Kembali (2005) directed by Abdul Razak Mohaideen. In his next big screen role, he played a communist in the big budget national film 1957: Hati Malaya (2007) directed by Shuhaimi Baba. Law's controversial portrayal of the communist in 1957: Hati Malaya was censored due to the intense violent scenes which sparked the Malaysian public's outrage on the historic validity of communism and negative stereotyping of the ethnic Chinese race in the country. Despite receiving unjustified tabloid condemnation and being isolated by the local film industry, Law continues to star in critics pleasing work internationally that breaks racial barriers and stereotypes worldwide.

Career Breakthroughs

Law is the first ever Malaysian Actor to play and portray a gay person character in the Malaysian media during prime time on an episode of the TV drama serial "Ampang Medikal" aired in 2007 - at a time when being gay is illegal and punishable by law in the country. Law's portrayal of the gay person was the first realistic, non-stereotypical and most identifiable to the every man.

Law's main starring role in the film Talent House (2012) was awarded Best Actor by BMW.

Law's most successful TV commercial was "KFC Black Pepper Chicken", which was aired during the peak of the World Cup 2010. Law's talent as a commercial Actor has taken him around the world with his most recent and biggest market commercial to date was for the Indian MInistry of Tourism's Incredible India! thematic ad campaign titled Atithi Devo Bhav with Aamir Khan in 2015 - making him the first ASEAN commercial Actor to debut in the world's biggest market.

Law is also a model, having posed for a poster calendar shot in Bangkok, Thailand (2006). Law was later chosen by French photographer Francoise Huguier to model for her worldwide photo collection debut in New York, Paris, London and other major cities of the world under the Vertical/Horizontal series (2012-2013) which won the Paris Beaux-Arts Academy Photography Prize.

Law hopes to continue his work as an Actor that champions equal human rights for everyone regardless of race, sexuality, religion or background; and to give a voice to the minority youths in the media who are discontent over racial bias in his country.