Steve Ma Jingtao (; born 14 February 1962) is a Taiwanese actor best known for acting in many Taiwanese, mainland Chinese and Singaporean television series since the early 1990s. Most of the more notable television series he acted in are of the ''

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 ...

'' and

historical 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 ...

genres. Some of his notable roles in television series include:

Zhang Wuji Zhang Wuji () is the fictional protagonist of the ''wuxia'' novel ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'' by Jin Yong. Fictional character biography Zhang Wuji's parents are from opposing sides of the ''wulin'' (martial artists' community). His ...

in ''

The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'' (), also translated as ''The Sword and the Knife'', is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the third and final installment in the ''Condor Trilogy'', preceded by ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes ...

'' (1994);

Lü Dongbin Lü Dongbin (796 CE – 1016 CE) is a legendary Chinese scholar and poet said to have lived during the Tang Dynasty. Whether he actually lived the two hundred and twenty years cannot be determined. Elevated to the status of an immortal in the C ...

in ''

Legend of the Eight Immortals ''Legend of the Eight Immortals'' is a Singaporean television series based on stories about the Eight Immortals in Chinese mythology and adapted from the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Dong You Ji'' (东游记; ''Journey to the East'') by Wu Yuantai ...

'' (1999);

Linghu Chong The following is a list of characters from the wuxia novel ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'' by Jin Yong. Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance Mount Hua Sect * Linghu Chong () is the happy-go-lucky protagonist of the novel. An orphan, he was ra ...

in ''

The Legendary Swordsman ''The Legendary Swordsman'' is a Singaporean television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer''. It was first broadcast on TCS-8 (now MediaCorp Channel 8) in Singapore in 2000. It stars Steve Ma, Fann Wong, Ivy Lee ...

'' (2000);

Dorgon Dorgon (, ; 17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650), was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the House of Aisin-Gioro as the 14th son of Nurhaci (the founder of the Later Jin dynasty, predecessor of the Qing dynasty) ...

in ''

Xiaozhuang Mishi ''Xiaozhuang Mishi'', also known as ''Xiaozhuang Epic'', () is a 2003 Chinese television series produced by You Xiaogang. The series is the first installment in a series of four television series about the early Qing dynasty. It was followed by '' ...

'' (2002);

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing (), was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he reigned ...

in '' Taizu Mishi'' (2005);

King Zhou of Shang King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu (wikt:紂, 紂) also refers to a ...

in ''

The Legend and the Hero ''The Legend and the Hero'' is a 2007 Chinese television series adapted from the 16th-century novel ''Fengshen Yanyi'' (also known as ''Investiture of the Gods'' or ''Creation of the Gods'') written by Xu Zhonglin and Lu Xixing. The first season ...

'' (2007).

Early life

Ma was born and raised in

Taichung County Taichung County was a county in central Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Yuanlin Township before 1950 and Fongyuan City after 1950. History Taichung County was established on 26 November 1945 on the territory of Taichū P ...

, Taiwan, as the second of four children in his family. His

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

is in Suizhong County,

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

, China. He attended National Taichung Second Senior High School and graduated from Taipei World News Vocational School's Department of Radio and Television with a certificate in journalism.

Career

Ma started his acting career by appearing in minor roles in Taiwanese television series such as ''The Former Husband'', ''The Morning Fog'' and ''Guilty'', before making his film debut in ''Spring Swallow'' in 1989. In the same year, he was nominated for the

Golden Bell Award for Best Actor The Golden Bell Award for Best Leading Actor in a Television Series () is one of the categories of the competition for the Taiwanese television production, Golden Bell Awards The Golden Bell Awards () is an annual Taiwanese television and rad ...

for portraying Zhang Changgui in ''Spring Come Again After Leave''. He was nominated for the Golden Bell Award for Best Actor again in 1990 for his role as Luo Zhigang in ''Xue Ke''. In 1994, Ma starred as

alongside Hong Kong actresses

Kathy Chow Kathy Chow Hoi-mei (; born 6 December 1966 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong actress and singer who is widely known for her leading roles in Hong Kong TVB series during the late 1980s to 1990s such as ''The Breaking Point'' and ''Time Before Ti ...

and

Cecilia Yip Cecilia Yip Tung (; born 8 March 1963) is a Hong Kong actress whose work is known throughout Asia, especially in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Career She began her acting career in 1982 with ''Nomad'' for which she was nominated for t ...

in the Taiwanese ''

'' television series ''

'', an adaptation of the ''wuxia'' novel of the same title by

Louis Cha 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 dail ...

. In 1998, he portrayed

, one of the

Eight Immortals The Eight Immortals () are a group of legendary ''xian'' ("immortals") in Chinese mythology. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel () that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the "Covert Eight ...

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

, in the Singaporean television series ''

''. In 2000, he starred as

in the Singaporean television series ''

'', an adaptation of the ''wuxia'' novel ''

The Smiling, Proud Wanderer ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'' is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised in Hong Kong in the newspaper ''Ming Pao'' from 20 April 1967 to 12 October 1969. The Chinese title of the novel, ''Xiao Ao Jiang Hu'', literally ...

'' by Louis Cha. Ma became more prominent in television after portraying the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

regent

in the 2002 Chinese historical television series ''

'', which reached the top position in viewership when it was aired in mainland China and Taiwan. In 2003, he portrayed the Qing dynasty prince

Yunreng Yunreng (6 June 1674 – 27 January 1725), born Yinreng, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. He was the second among the Kangxi Emperor's sons to survive into adulthood and was designated as Crown Prince for two terms between 1675 and ...

in ''

Huang Taizi Mishi ''Huang Taizi Mishi'' is a 2004 Chinese television series produced by You Xiaogang. The series is the second instalment in a series of four television series about the history of the early Qing dynasty. It was preceded by '' Xiaozhuang Mishi'' (200 ...

''. He starred as

, the founder of the Qing dynasty, in the 2005 Chinese television series '' Taizu Mishi''. In 2007, Ma starred as the antagonist

in ''

'', a 2007 Chinese television series adapted from the 16th century Chinese mythological fantasy novel ''

Fengshen Yanyi ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese names () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Cons ...

''. In 2012, he appeared as

King Fuchai of Wu Fuchai (reigned 495–473BC), sometimes also written Fucha, was the last king of the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. His armies constructed important canals linking the Yellow, Ji, and Huai River systems of th ...

in the Chinese historical television series ''

The Legend of Xishi ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

''.

Personal life

Ma was twice married. His first marriage was to Tang Yun () and they have a daughter, Ma Shiyuan (; born 1991). After divorcing Tang in 1993, he married Chinese actress Wu Jia'ni () in 2007; the couple divorced in 2017. They have two children, Ma Shitian () and Ma Shixin ().

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Steve 1962 births Male actors from Taichung Living people Taiwanese male film actors Taiwanese male television actors 20th-century Taiwanese male actors 21st-century Taiwanese male actors Manchu male actors Taiwanese people of Manchu descent