'Is he or is he not gay' Andy Lau has recently confessed to reporters that he has no "courage" to act in a gay role, in reference to him not winning the Best Actor award during last week's prestigious Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan's equivalent to the Oscars.

The 40-year-old Hong Kong superstar was a hot favourite but instead the coveted award went to Liu Ye, a 22-year-old newcomer who played the lead role in Lan Yu, a film by openly gay Hong Kong art house director Stanley Kwan about the tortured romance between a gay student and an older businessman.

According to a report citing Hong Kong's The Sun, the actor/singer is worried that his image would be affected as he admits to being influential as a role model to teenagers and does not want to portray that kind of image.

Lau had also turned down a gay role opposite in Happy Together which earned Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai the Best Director award at Cannes in 1997.