Tom Wu (born 15 May 1972) is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

-born British actor who grew up in

Chinatown, London Chinatown is an ethnic enclave in the City of Westminster, London, bordering Soho to its north and west, Theatreland to the south and east. The enclave currently occupies the area in and around Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chin ...

. He is a martial arts expert who has appeared in films such as ''

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

'', ''

Shanghai Knights ''Shanghai Knights'' is a 2003 American martial arts action comedy film. It is the sequel to ''Shanghai Noon'', and the second installment of the ''Shanghai'' film series. Directed by David Dobkin and written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, it ...

'', ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, Liam ...

'' and the

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film ''

Ra.One ''Ra.One'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language superhero film directed by Anubhav Sinha. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan in double roles and Arjun Rampal as the titular antagonist, with Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma, Shahana Goswami, Tom Wu, Da ...

''.

Biography

At the age of ten, Wu began practising various

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

such as

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 ...

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

and

Wing Chun Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is ...

and later took up

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

. In 1988, he competed for Britain at China's International wu-shu (martial arts) tournament, winning two bronze medals and a gold medal. He is one of the founding members of the British theatre company

Yellow Earth Theatre Yellow Earth Theatre is an internationally touring theatre company based in London and established in 1995 to raise the profile of British East Asian theatre. The company also runs several initiatives to support and develop British East Asian tal ...

, which was established in 1995. He is known for playing numerous Chinese Triad gang member or leader roles in various films. Such as '' Out for a Kill'', ''

Wake of Death ''Wake of Death'' is a 2004 American action film directed by Philippe Martinez, Philippe Martínez and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Ringo Lam was the original director, but he left the project after a few weeks of filming in Canada. After that, ...

'', ''

'' and '' Kick-Ass 2'' and most recently, in 2019 playing a criminal and tattoo artist in the ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, a t ...

'' spin-off ''

Hobbs & Shaw ''Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw'' is a 2019 American buddy action comedy film directed by David Leitch and written by Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce, from a story by Morgan. It is the first spinoff of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise ...

'' and playing the Chinese Triad leader Lord George in the British film '' The Gentlemen''. One of his notable roles was in ''

The Scorpion King 2 ''The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior'' is a 2008 American direct-to-DVD sword and sorcery action adventure film prequel to the 2002 film ''The Scorpion King'', itself a prequel to the 1999 reimagining of ''The Mummy''. Filming for the film b ...

'' (2008) where he played Fung, a Chinese Ming dynasty soldier rescued by Mathayus and his allies and who later assists them towards the end of the film. He portrayed the character Hundred Eyes in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

original series ''

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

'' before its abrupt cancellation in late 2016. Recently, Wu has played the role of Sir George, King Arthur's mentor in '' King Arthur: Legend of the Sword'' in 2017. In 2018, Wu played the role of Hong Kong Inspector Daniel Tsui in the series ''

Strangers A stranger is a person who is unknown to another person or group. Because of this unknown status, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, character can be ascertained. Differ ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Tom 1972 births English martial artists Hong Kong emigrants to England Hong Kong male actors Living people English male actors Male actors from London British male actors of Chinese descent People from Westminster Hong Kong martial artists British male karateka