Wu Hsing-kuo () is a Taiwanese actor of the silver screen and theater, known for both his performance of complex movie roles as much as for his innovative adaptations of Western classics into traditional

Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

. Wu was trained in classical

since the age of 11 in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

's state-run Fu-Hsing Chinese Opera School, specializing in ''wu sheng'' (male martial) roles. He was admitted with honors into the Theatre Department of

Chinese Culture University The Chinese Culture University (CCU; ) is a private Taiwanese university located in Yangmingshan in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan. CCU was established in 1962 and is one of the largest universities in Taiwan with an enrollment of about 32,00 ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

, trained under master Chou Cheng-jung (Zhou Zheng-rong) and became the leading dancer of

Lin Hwai-min Lin Hwai-min (; born 19 February 1947) is a Taiwanese dancer, writer, choreographer, and founder of Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan. Biography Family Lin was born in Xingang, Chiayi. He came from an intellectual family. His great-grandfathe ...

Cloud Gate Dance Theater Cloud Gate Dance Theater () is a modern dance group based in Taiwan. It was founded by choreographer Lin Hwai-min in 1973, and later he shared its management with his late protégé, choreographer Lo Man-fei. The troupe was inactive from October ...

. However, his teacher Chou Cheng-jung (Zhou Zheng-rong) considered him as a pretentious student who didn't focus on study and finally abandoned him in 1989. Since then, Chou Cheng-jung (died in 2000) never met him anymore. In addition, most of the traditional Chinese opera audiences do not recognize him as a qualified actor. In 1986, he and a group of enthusiastic friends founded the in

, seeking to revitalize traditional Chinese theatre by adapting Western classical plays to the style and techniques of

. He was the leading actor and director of four

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

adaptations, including the critically acclaimed Kingdom of Desire (慾望城國), an adaptation of

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

, and King Lear (李爾在此), in which Wu plays all the parts. In 1992, Wu was awarded a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

to study in New York with Richard Schechner. That year, he also won the

Hong Kong Film Award The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...

for best new actor. Wu is currently artistic director of the Contemporary Legend Theatre, and continues to take on challenging roles in both the modern theatre and Chinese Opera. He crosses the fields of traditional opera, dance, modern theatre, cinema, and television.

Filmography

Films

TV series

Awards

* Awarded Best New Performer at the

Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...

in (1992). * Nominated for Best Actor at the 13th Hong Kong Film Awards (1994) for his role in ''

Temptation of a Monk ''Temptation of a Monk'' () is a 1993 Hong Kong period drama film directed by Clara Law based on Pik Wah Lee's novel of the same name. The film had Joan Chen and Hsing-Kuo Wu in the lead roles. The film is about a monk named Jing-yi and his ...

External links

*
HK cinemagic entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Hsing-Kuo Taiwanese male film actors Living people 1953 births Male actors from Kaohsiung Taiwanese male television actors Taiwanese male Peking opera actors 21st-century Taiwanese male actors 20th-century Taiwanese male actors Chinese Culture University alumni 21st-century Taiwanese male singers 20th-century Taiwanese male singers