Crouching Tiger star has it licked

Philatelic fame: Chow Yun-Fat

The star of the Oscar-tipped martial arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is being honoured with a set of stamps depicting his finest movie roles.

The six colourful stamps featuring Chow Yun-Fat were released in the South American country of Guyana, but have also gone on sale in his native Hong Kong.

Chow is one of Asia's most celebrated film stars and has appeared in more than 70 movies. Since his break into Hollywood in 1998 he has become a worldwide name.

"I am happy, touched and moved. It means a lot to me," he said at the Hong Kong launch of the limited edition collection.

But had to admit he could not identify all the stamps.

"Every one was so specially drawn, so much so that even I can't remember which movie it is," he explained.

Stamps: Chow follows in the footsteps of Jackie Chan

Crouching Tiger won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language film last month, and garnered 14 Bafta nominations. Chow is hoping it will go onto Oscar success in March.

At the centre of the movie are the noble warriors Li Mu Bai, played by Chow Yun-Fat, who also starred in Anna and the King, and Yu Shu Lien, played by Michelle Yeoh, from Tomorrow Never Dies.

Chow is not the first actor in a film about martial arts to achieve philatelic fame. The immensely popular Jackie Chan has also appeared on stamps in Tanzania.