Hu Ge (, born 20 September 1982), also known as Hugh Hu, is a Chinese actor and singer. He rose to fame for his role as

Li Xiaoyao ''The Legend of Sword and Fairy'' is a role-playing video game developed by the Taiwanese company Softstar Entertainment and its subsidiaries. The game incorporates elements of wuxia, shenmo and fantasy. Since its release in 1995, the game has sp ...

in the 2005 television series '' Chinese Paladin'', and has since starred in a succession of popular television series, such as '' The Little Fairy'' (2006), '' The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' (2008), '' Chinese Paladin 3'' (2009), '' The Myth'' (2010), '' Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky'' (2012), ''

Sound of the Desert ''Sound of the Desert'' ( pl, Głos pustyni) is a 1932 Polish romantic film adventure directed by Michał Waszyński.The Disguiser'' (2015), '' Nirvana in Fire'' (2015) and '' Blossoms Shanghai'' (2023). He received the Best Actor Award at the 22nd Magnolia Awards and the Golden Eagle Awards for his role in Nirvana in Fire. Hu ranked 63rd on the "Forbes China Celebrity List" in 2015, 18th in 2017, 3rd in 2019. and 24th in 2020.

Early life and education

Hu Ge was born in

Xuhui District Xuhui District is a core urban district of Shanghai. It has a land area of and a population of 982,200 as of 2008. The Xuhui District is named after its namesake, the historic area of Xujiahui. Xujiahui was historically land owned by Ming dyna ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, on 20 September 1982. His father was a tennis coach and his mother was a teacher. He received his first training in performing arts in Little Stars Performing Arts School run by Shanghai Media Group ( SMG). Hu Ge attended Shanghai Xiang Yang Elementary School (1989–94) and Shanghai No.2 High School (1994–2001), both known for their educational rigor. In addition to excellent academic work, Hu Ge's talents in a variety of extracurricular endeavors were also recognized. At age 14, Hu Ge started to host a popular TV show ''Sunshine Youth'' on Shanghai TV Education Channel for three years. Meanwhile, he was also selected to host a program in East Radio Shanghai. Hu Ge began his acting career by appearing in TV commercials, which helped him gain financial independence before graduating from high school. In 2001, Hu Ge was admitted to two prestigious art institutes in China: the

Central Academy of Drama The Central Academy of Drama (), abbreviated Zhong Xi (), is a drama school in Beijing, China. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university identified by the Ministry of Education of China. The school is the first theatre ...

and Shanghai Theatre Academy. Hu Ge decided to attend the latter, particularly attracted by its strong major in acting.

Career

2002–2006: Beginnings and rise to fame

While he was still studying, Hu Ge was recommended by his friend to Chinese Entertainment Shanghai (now known as

Tangren Media Tangren Media Co. Ltd. (), formerly known as Chinese Entertainment Shanghai Limited (), is a Chinese entertainment and media company established in 1998 that provides investment, production and publishment of films, TV series, and cartoons. It ...

) where he acted as a dub

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

for the 2002 television drama ''

The Book and the Sword ''The Book and the Sword'' is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised between 8 February 1955 and 5 September 1956The date conforms to the data published in Chen Zhenhui (陳鎮輝), ''Wuxia Xiaoshuo Xiaoyao Tan'' (武 ...

'' (书剑恩仇录). Following which, he signed on with the company. After appearing in numerous commercials, Hu starred in the film ''Pretend There's No Feeling'' (假裝沒感覺) with a minor role. His first television role was in the romance drama ''Dandelion'' (蒲公英). Hu rose to prominence in 2005 when he was cast to play the protagonist

in '' Chinese Paladin'', the first television

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

of the popular adventure

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

'' The Legend of Sword and Fairy''. The television series was a major hit in China and launched Hu to instant fame. The theme song sung by him, "June Rain" was also widely popular. The same year, he also portrayed Ning Caichen in the television series ''Strange Tales of Liao Zhai''. After ''Chinese Paladin'', Hu Ge embarked on a number of other TV projects, most of which were

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

s and historical fantasies, most notably as

Dong Yong Dong Yong (other names: 董勇, Tung Yung; born 15 December 1968, China) is a Chinese actor. He studied singing, opera and kung-fu. Biography Yong moved into television shortly after he graduated and has since become one of the most sought-af ...

in '' The Little Fairy'' (2006); based on the Chinese folktale ''

Tian Xian Pei ''Tian Xian Pei'' (), sometimes translated as ''Fairy Couple'', is a Chinese legend that existed in oral tradition before any written versions. It has since become a major subject of several Chinese Chinese opera, opera, films and TV series. Stor ...

'' and as Yang Yanzhao in '' The Young Warriors'' (2006); based on the play ''

The Generals of the Yang Family ''The Generals of the Yang Family'' is a collection of Chinese folklore, plays and novels on a military family from the earlier years of imperial China's Song Dynasty (960–1279). The stories recount the unflinching loyalty and the remarkable b ...

''. He then starred in the horror film '' The 601st Phone Call'' (2006), where he received rave reviews for his performance. In October 2006, Hu made his debut as a singer with the release of his first EP, titled ''Treasure'' (珍惜).

2008–2012: Comeback after accident and continued success

After a hiatus, Hu returned to the screen, reuniting with co-star, Ariel Lin (from '' The Little Fairy'') and starred as Guo Jing in '' The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' (2008), adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. Hu was highly praised for his portrayal, along with co-star Ariel Lin. He also co-starred with

Wu Chun Wu Chun ( zh, t=吳尊; born Goh Kiat Chun, Joseph Wu on 10 October 1979) is a Bruneian actor, singer, and model. He was a member of Fahrenheit, a Taiwanese Mandopop vocal quartet boy band, from its debut in 2005 to June 2011, singing bass. Wu ...

and Charlene Choi in ''

The Butterfly Lovers The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story of a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo () and Zhu Yingtai (), whose names form the title of the story. The title is often abbreviated to Liang Zhu (). The story was selected as one o ...

'' (2008), based on the famous Chinese legend Butterfly Lovers. On 15 May 2008, Hu released his second album, ''Start'' (出發), and embarked on his first solo concert in Shanghai. Hu played three different

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

s of the main character in '' Chinese Paladin 3'' (2009), while also reprising his role as Li Xiaoyao in a time-travelling

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

. The series, adapted from the third game of '' The Legend of Sword and Fairy'' series, achieved high ratings and was awarded the Ratings Contribution Award at the Sichuan Festival. Hu next starred as the male protagonist in '' The Myth'' (2010), based on the 2005 Hong Kong film of the same title. The drama acquired very high viewership ratings, and boosted Hu's popularity to a new high. Hu won the Popularity award at the 1st China Student Television Festival, and Best Actor in the fantasy genre at the 2010

Huading Awards The Huading Awards are a set of entertainment awards in China. The awards were set up by Tianxia Yingcai Cultural Media Co., LTD () in 2007 in Beijing and are held more than once each year across multiple entertainment media from Chinese televisi ...

. To avoid being typecast, Hu subsequently stopped accepting any role in period dramas after he finished filming ''The Myth''. He took on leading roles in modern dramas; ''Bitter Coffee'' (苦咖啡, 2011), ''Modern People'' (摩登新人类, 2012) and ''Unbeatable'' (无懈可击之高手如林, 2012), as well as war drama ''Shangri-La'' (香格里拉, 2012). He also starred in the 2011 historical film ''1911'', playing Lin Juemin, and was nominated as Best New Actor at the 31st Hundred Flowers Awards. Hu returned to historical fantasies in '' Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky'', adapted from the video game of the same name, where he also acted as the series' producer. His excellent portrayal of his character's paradoxical personality earned him another Best Actor in the fantasy genre at the 2012 Huading Awards, as well as the Most Popular Actor award at the 4th

China TV Drama Awards The China TV Drama Awards (), also known as the Domestic TV Series Ceremony, is an award show presented annually on Anhui Television to award excellence in Chinese television. Categories Main Awards *Top Ten Television Series () *Best Web Series ...

. The same year, he participated in CES's nano-movie ''Refresh 3+7''. He wrote the script for one of the stories ''Lights from the City'', and starred in 4 out of the 10 stories.

2013: Forays into theater

2013 has often been referred to as Hu Ge's year of theatre plays. He acted as ''Patient No.5'' in Stan Lai's ''A Dream Like a Dream'', which served as the opening act at the 1st Wuzhen Theatre Festival. Hu's performance in ''A Dream Like A Dream'' especially surprised many theatre critics, and garnered positive reviews all round. He won the Best Actor award at the 2nd Denny Awards for his performance. He then starred as Xu Zhuang Tu in ''Forever Yin Xueyan'', a play based on Pai Hsien-yung's novel of the same title performed in the

Shanghai dialect The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...

. He won the Most Popular Actor award at the Shanghai Culture Center, and the Most Popular Theater Actor of the Year at the BQ Magazine Popular Artists Ceremony.

2014–2016: Career resurgence and critical acclaim

In 2014, Hu Ge starred in modern drama ''Life Revelations'' alongside Yan Ni, and won the People's Choice award at the 9th Seoul International Drama Awards for his performance. He then starred in historical romance drama ''

Sound of the Desert ''Sound of the Desert'' ( pl, Głos pustyni) is a 1932 Polish romantic film adventure directed by Michał Waszyński.Ballad of the Desert ''Ballad of the Desert'' (also known as ''Damo Yao'', or "大漠谣") is a two-volume Chinese Han dynasty romance novel written by author Tong Hua. Both parts were published by Henan Literature Publishers sequentially in 2006 and 2007. This nov ...

'' written by Tong Hua. Originally cast in the role of the leading male role, Hu decided to take on the role of the second male lead instead, as it was a type of character he has never played before. The same year, he garnered a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 21st

Shanghai Television Festival The Shanghai Television Festival (), abbreviated STVF, also known as the Shanghai International Television Festival is the first and one of the largest television festivals in East Asia. Held since 1986, STVF has become one of the most influential ...

for his performance in acclaimed war drama, ''Forty Nine Days: Memorial''. With three successful dramas, Hu won the Most Popular Actor award at the 6th China TV Drama Awards. In 2015, Hu starred in espionage drama '' The Disguiser'', which was popular with viewers and received considerably high ratings, with a market share above 8%. This was followed by '' Nirvana in Fire'', a turning point in Hu's acting career, and a commercial and critical success in its own right. Hu Ge won awards at two of the most prestigious television awards in China for his role in ''Nirvana in Fire''. He won Best Actor at the 22nd

; and snagged a double victory by claiming both the

Best Actor award Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

and the Most Popular Actor award at the 28th

China TV Golden Eagle Award The China TV Golden Eagle Award (), commonly known in China as the Golden Eagle Awards, is one of three main national award ceremonies recognising excellence in the Chinese television industry. The award is presented by the China Television Artist ...

. He then starred in drama ''Good Times'' (大好时光), written by ''Life Revelations'' writer Wang Liping. All three of his dramas in 2015 were listed under the "2015 China TV Drama Selection" by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. In 2016, Hu starred in sports drama ''Go! Goal! Fighting!'' as a soccer coach. He returned to the big screen in December 2016, starring as an antagonist in the crime suspense film ''

Cherry Returns ''Cherry Returns'' is a 2016 Chinese-Hong Kong suspense crime thriller film directed by Chris Chow and starring Song Jia, Gordon Lam Gordon Lam Ka-tung (林家棟; born 21 September 1967) is a Hong Kong actor, film producer and screenwr ...

''. The same year, ''CBN Weekly'' crowned him the most commercially valuable actor in China.

2017–present: Hiatus and focus on films

The unprecedented surge in popularity in 2015 brought immense pressure. Hu admitted at the end of that year that he wished to take a break from acting. That wish was eventually fulfilled in the spring of 2017. He disappeared from the public eye for much of the year. In 2017, Hu starred in ''

Game of Hunting ''Game of Hunting'' (Chinese: 猎场) is a 2017 Chinese television series directed and written by Jiang Wei, which focuses on the occupation of Headhunters. It stars Hu Ge as the protagonist. The series aired on Hunan TV from 6 November to 9 Decem ...

'', a drama produced by critically acclaimed director and screenwriter Jiang Wei. The series was filmed back in 2015 and premiered on Hunan TV in November 2017. Hu was later nominated for the Best Actor award at the

for his role as a headhunter. In 2018, Hu was cast in Diao Yinan's drama film ''

The Wild Goose Lake ''The Wild Goose Lake'' () is a 2019 Chinese neo-noir crime thriller directed by Diao Yinan and starring Hu Ge, Gwei Lun-mei, Liao Fan, and Wan Qian. It garnered $31 million at the box office and was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the ...

''. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the

2019 Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president. The Palme d'Or went to the South Korean film ''Parasite'', directed by Bong Joon-ho; Bong became t ...

. The same year, Hu made a guest appearance in romance film '' Last Letter'' directed by

Shunji Iwai is a Japanese film director, video artist, writer and documentary maker. Life and career Iwai was born in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. He attended Yokohama National University, graduating in 1987. In 1988 he started out in the Japanese entertainment ...

. In 2019, Hu was cast as the male lead in the sports biographic film about tennis player Li Na, directed by Peter Chan. The same year, he was cast in the adventure drama film '' The Climbers'' . In the winter of 2019, cast in the lead male role, Hu joined co-star Wen Qi in "A Touch of Warm,” a crime film directed by Kang Bo. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming was suspended until the winter of 2020. The almost one-year gap rendered many of the finished scenes unusable and had to be re-shot. It wrapped on February 22, 2021, and is currently in post-production. In 2023, Hu returned to the small screen with drama ''Blossoms Shanghai'' directed by Wong Kar-wai, based on the award-winning novel ''Blossoms'' by

Jin Yucheng Jin Yucheng (; born 18 December 1952) is a Chinese novelist. He is best known for ''Blossoms'', one of the few novels written in Shanghainese, which won the Mao Dun Literary Prize (2015), one of the most prestigious literature prizes in China. ...

Personal life

Accident

Hu Ge was involved in a highway car accident on 29 August 2006 while traveling from

Hengdian Hengdian may refer to: * Hengdian, Zhejiang, a town in Dongyang, Zhejiang, China * Hengdian World Studios, film studio in Hengdian, Dongyang, Zhejiang, China * Hengdian East Railway Station, railway station on the Shijiazhuang–Wuhan High-Speed Ra ...

to Shanghai. According to later interviews, he didn't remember anything from the accident because he was asleep in the passenger seat at the time of the crash and suffered from

post-traumatic amnesia Post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) is a state of confusion that occurs immediately following a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in which the injured person is disoriented and unable to remember events that occur after the injury. The person may be unable ...

. He survived with severe injuries while his assistant died. Hu had to undergo surgeries, some to repair disfiguring wounds to his face, and the entire healing process took approximately one year. The filming of '' The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', which he was working on then, was temporarily halted due to his injury, in addition to being unable to complete promoting his finished project '' The Young Warriors'' with his fellow cast members. Hu Ge expresses how he felt of the incident through the performance of his

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Dare to Love", and filmed a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

with his co-star from the two series and friend

Cecilia Liu Liu Shishi (; born 10 March 1987), also known as Cecilia Liu, is a Chinese actress best known for portraying Long Kui in the television series ''Chinese Paladin 3'' and Ruoxi in the Chinese time-travel drama ''Scarlet Heart'' and '' Imperial Doc ...

. After the accident, he published a book ''Scavenger of Happiness'', filled with his thoughts on the accident and post events, interesting childhood events, well wishes from good friends and previously unexposed pictures. This book documented in detail the process of how Hu Ge changed from a young idol with a smooth career path into an increasingly mature actor who could truthfully face life's problems as a scavenger of happiness.

Relationships and Marriage

Hu Ge was in a relationship with actress Xue Jianing from 2006 to 2008, and later with actress Jiang Shuying from 2013 to 2014. On January 31, 2023, Hu announced on

Weibo Weibo may refer to: * Microblogging in China, or China-based microblogging services (), including: ** NetEase Weibo (), launched by NetEase ** People's Weibo (), launched by ''People's Daily'' ** Phoenix Weibo (), launched by Phoenix Television ** W ...

that he was married and had a newborn daughter. His wife is Huang Xining, who worked as his assistant.

Filmography

Film

Animation film

Television series

Theater

Discography

Albums

Singles

Other appearances

Bibliography

Endorsements and ambassadorship

Following his surge in popularity and public awareness, Hu has also been appointed the Shanghai Tourism Ambassador in 2015. Professional designers from

Madame Tussauds Shanghai Madame Tussauds Shanghai (上海杜莎夫人臘像館) is a wax museum located on the 10th floor of the New World Department Store, Nanjing Xi Road, Shanghai, China. Opened May 1, 2006 it was the second Madame Tussauds museum to open in Asia after ...

took measurements from Hu to make two wax figures of him; one of himself and one of his character Mei Changsu from ''Nirvana in Fire'', which was unveiled in September 2016. In 2016, Hu Ge was named brand ambassador of Emporio Armani in China and Asia Pacific. In the same year, he also became brand ambassadors for

Piaget Piaget () may refer to: People with the surname * Édouard Piaget (18171910), a Swiss entomologist * Jean Piaget (18961980), a Swiss developmental psychologist * Paul Piaget (disambiguation), several people * Solange Piaget Knowles (born 1986) ...

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

Perfume and Cosmetics, and EF Education First. In 2020, Hu Ge was promoted from regional ambassador to global ambassador of

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...

, the first actor to hold such a title.

Awards and nominations

Forbes China Celebrity 100

References

External links

*
Official Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Ge 1982 births 21st-century Chinese male actors Male actors from Shanghai Living people Chinese Mandopop singers Chinese male voice actors Singers from Shanghai Chinese male film actors Chinese male television actors Shanghai Theatre Academy alumni Tangren Media 21st-century Chinese male singers Tisch School of the Arts alumni