Louis Koo will be everywhere at Lunar New Year

It says something about Louis Koo Tin-lok's ridiculously high level of popularity that he feels obliged to deny it - and you get the impression this is less out of modesty than to maintain the illusion that he isn't on the verge of overexposure.

As I remark to him during our late January interview that he's virtually everywhere these days, Koo replies with a succinct "I'm grateful". But when I specifically list the dozen occasions - in TV commercials, Facebook promotions and the entertainment news, on magazine covers and ambassador duties, to name just a few - I have spotted him in the few hours leading up to this afternoon's appointment, he gets defensive.

"It's just that you have great observation skills," says the 44-year-old actor. An expert in generic one-liners, Koo's numbers speak for themselves. In 2014, he topped a chart of highest-earning local celebrities with a reported income of HK$300 million.

After appearing in seven movies released last year - starring in Pang Ho-cheung's , Johnnie To Kei-fung's , action thrillers and , as well as eye-catching cameos in Lunar New Year films and , and bawdy comedy - Koo is already looking on course to repeat that feat.

Only this time around, he has three new movies - , , and - slated to open on the same day: February 19, the first day of the Lunar New Year. Does he see that as a career milestone? Koo pauses for seconds, and says, "Is that my personal record? I don't look at it that way. It doesn't matter how many movies I have around this time. The most important thing is that the audiences have fun."

The Lunar New Year turns out to be one of Koo's favourite times of the year. "It's one of those rare occasions where you can sit down with the entire family to watch a movie. When I'm paying a New Year call to my relatives, I'd suggest going to the cinema too. It's a festive period for all. Watching movies, going to the flower markets, singing karaoke and playing mahjong: these are all options."