With ancestral roots from Tianjin, China, Shek was born as Lau Wai-sing on 17 June 1949, Beijing, before moving to Hong Kong at the age of 3.

[4] Shek began his career as a contracted actor at Shaw Brothers Studio in 1968,[5] making his first brief appearance in the film Twin Blades of Doom (1969).

The same year, he appeared in Master with Cracked Fingers, the first film to feature Jackie Chan in a starring role.

Throughout the late 1970s, Shek continued to work with the likes of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung on period kung fu films including Broken Oath (1977), Warriors Two (1978), Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978), Drunken Master (1978), Odd Couple (1979) and Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979).

In 1992, Shek retired from acting at the age of 42, after working as a producer in 1992 fantasy horror film, Angel Hunter.