Mak Kay began his film career at age 20 when he entered the newly formed Shaw Brothers Cantonese Division's Actors Training Course. He appeared in the studio's first Cantonese movies, "Pearl of the Island" (1957) and "The Fairy Sleeves" (1957), and gained his Teddy Boy fame with "Sweet Girl in Terror" (1958). Though specializing in Cantonese films, he also had roles in many Mandarin pictures, such as Shaws' "Les Belles" (1960). Mak's prolific motion picture career ended with his emigration to America in the late 1960's. A devout Christian, he returned to Hong Kong in the 1990's and has since been engaged in religious activities. His Teddy Boy image retains a great deal of nostagic appeal, and in "Rose Rose I Love You" (1993), a spoof of old Cantonese movies, Simon Yam played a character named Mak Kay.