Hong Kong comic actor and director Stephen Chow is one of the world's 50 hottest bachelors, according to the latest edition of the U.S. entertainment magazine People, which hits newsstands on Friday.

Chow, whose Kung Fu Hustle is the highest-grossing local film in Hong Kong, told the Apple Daily newspaper that he was honored to be the only Hong Kong star to make the list.

Of course I'm honored, although I don't know why I was selected, the 42-year-old comedian was quoted as saying.

Other hot bachelors include actors Hayden Christensen, Orlando Bloom and Colin Farrell. Chow told People he'd like to make a romantic film with Nicole Kidman, but would need to wear platform shoes to make up the height difference.

He said he believed the success of the Hollywood-financed Kung Fu Hustle in Europe and the United States may be one of the reasons why he was considered a hot bachelor. The film is about a neighborhood of kung fu masters who battle gangsters.

Kung Fu Hustle is only the beginning of my efforts to break into the international market. The global movie market still has a lot of room for me, Apple quoted Chow as saying.

(CRI.com June 20, 2005)