Wang Luoyong (; born 24 December 1958) is a Chinese actor who has appeared in American films. He first appeared in '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'' as James Yim Lee. He had recently appeared in CCTV's ''

The Legend of Bruce Lee ''The Legend of Bruce Lee'' (''Chinese'': 李小龍傳奇) is a 2008 Chinese biographical television series based on the life story of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. The 50-episode series was produced and broadcast by CCTV and began airing o ...

'' as Shao Ruhai, a master of

Hung Ga Hung Ga (), Hung Kuen (), or Hung Ga Kuen () is a southern Chinese martial art belonging to the southern Shaolin styles. The hallmarks of Hung Ga are strong stances, notably the horse stance, or "si ping ma" (), and strong hand techniques, not ...

and the first to train

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

(played by

Danny Chan Danny Chan Pak-Keung (; 7 September 1958 – 25 October 1993) was a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, records producer and actor. He is widely recognised as the first modern day pop idol in Hong Kong, gaining fame alongside performers Alan Tam, ...

). His character "Shao Ruhai" is partially based on

James Yimm Lee __NOTOC__ James Yimm Lee (January 31, 1920 – December 30, 1972) was an American martial arts pioneer, teacher, author, and publisher. James Lee is known for being a mentor, teacher and friend of Bruce Lee. Early life Lee was born on January 31 ...

. He is also the first Chinese

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

singer.

Early life and education

Wang was born in

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, on 24 December 1958, where his parents came to for participating in the construction of key projects. The art enlightenment teacher was his uncle, who taught Wang to play the

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

. In 1971, he forced to take part in the

Down to the Countryside Movement The Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement, often known simply as the Down to the Countryside Movement, was a policy instituted in the People's Republic of China between mid 1950s and 1978. As a result of what he perceived to ...

, and he was admitted to the Shiyan Peking Opera Troupe. In the troupe, due to he liked the sound of the

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

in ''

Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy ''Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy'' ( Chinese: 智取威虎山; pinyin: zhì qǔ wēi hǔ shān) is a Peking opera play and one of the eight model plays allowed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The plot is based on parts of the popular ...

'', he asked to learn to play it, and he was arranged to study in Hubei Song and Dance Troupe. During that time, he was admitted to

Wuhan Conservatory of Music Wuhan Conservatory of Music is a musical institution of higher learning located in Wuhan City, Hubei Province whose origins can be traced back to 1920 and the Wuchang College of Art located in the Hunan and Hubei College site.Shanghai Theatre Academy Shanghai Theatre Academy () is a public university in Shanghai, People's Republic of China dedicated to dramatic art education. Its predecessor was Shanghai Municipal Experimental Theatre School cofounded by the famous educator Gu Yuxiu (:zh:顾 ...

. After graduating in 1986, Wang pursued advanced studies in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He applied to study at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

, but was not accepted because of his poor English. For living expenses, he had to do odd jobs to earn money, washing dishes, delivering takeout, weeding, etc. Later, he was admitted to the Department of Drama and Performance,

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, earning a master's degree in 1989. After university, he was recruited by the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

Acting career

Wang became widely known to audiences with ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

'' (1992). Since 1993, he played a number of minor roles in various television series including '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'' (1993), '' Vanishing Son III'' (1994), ''

Daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunligh ...

'' (1996), '' Rollerball'' (2002), ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

'' (2004), and ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

'' (2006). Wang returned to China in 2001. In 2003, Wang appeared in ''Tracks In The Snow Forest'', based on

Qu Bo Qu Bo is the name of: *Qu Bo (writer) (1923–2002), Chinese author *Qu Bo (footballer) Qu Bo (; born 15 July 1981) is a Chinese retired footballer. Club career Qu Bo started his football career playing for Tianjin Locomotive's youth team wh ...

's novel of the same name, as Yang Zirong. Wang starred as

Guo Jing Guo Jing is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' by Jin Yong. He also appears as a supporting character in the sequel, ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', and is mentioned by name in ''The Heaven Swo ...

in the 2006

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

television series ''

The Return of the Condor Heroes ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', also called ''The Giant Eagle and Its Companion'', is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the second part of the '' Condor Trilogy'' and was preceded by '' The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' and foll ...

'', adapted from Hong Kong novelist

Jin Yong Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia (" martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong d ...

's novel of the same title. In 2008, he was cast as Shao Ruhai in ''

'', in which

Danny Chan Kwok-kwan Danny Chan Kwok-kwan (born 1 August 1975) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, dance choreographer, and lead singer of the rock band Poet. He is known for resembling Bruce Lee in appearance and has portrayed Lee in the 2008 television series ' ...

played

. Wang portrayed

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...

in the historical television series ''

The Legend of Yang Guifei ''The Legend of Yang Guifei'', also known as ''The Secret History of Concubine Yang'', is a Chinese television series loosely based on the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty and his consort Yang Yuhuan. The series was directed by ...

'' (2009). In 2016, Wang's big break came when Zhang Yongxin cast him in the historical war television series ''

The Advisors Alliance "The Advisors Alliance" is a 2017 Chinese two-part television series based on the life of Sima Yi, a government official and military general who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. The series starred Wu Xiub ...

'', in which he played

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is r ...

, a role which brought him much publicity. Wang appeared in ''

My People, My Country ''My People, My Country'' () is a 2019 Chinese anthology drama film, consisting of seven segments directed by seven directors, Chen Kaige, Zhang Yibai, Guan Hu, Xue Xiaolu, Xu Zheng, Ning Hao, and Wen Muye. It stars many of China's top actors, m ...

'', a seven-part anthology

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

released in 2019 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Filmography

Film

Television

Drama

Variety show

References

External links

Luoyong Wang Biography (1958–)
*
HKMDB entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Luoyong 1958 births Living people American people of Chinese descent Chinese male stage actors Male actors from Luoyang Wuhan Conservatory of Music alumni Shanghai Theatre Academy alumni Boston University alumni Chinese male film actors Chinese male television actors