Xia Yu (; born 28 October 1976) is a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
. At the age of 18 years, he rose to international prominence after winning the Best Actor award at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
in 1994 for his leading role in the film ''
In the Heat of the Sun'' and became the youngest actor to win that award in the history of the Venice Film Festival.
Biography
Xia Yu was born on 28 October 1976 in
Qingdao
Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
Province. His father was once an actor and then became a painter.
Xia was initially discovered by
Jiang Wen who cast him in his semi-autobiographical film ''
In the Heat of the Sun'' (1994). Despite being chosen partly because of his facial resemblance to a young Jiang, Xia's spirited and moving performance as a renegade youth conquered audiences.
He was rocketed to international stardom after he won the Best Actor award from the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
(the youngest actor to win that award in the history of the festival),
Singapore International Film Festival
The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform for ...
and
Golden Horse Awards.
Xia wanted to study drama after his first film, he was accepted into 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 ...
. After completing his studies there, Xia remained an active force in Chinese
cinema as well as
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, appearing in many films and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
series.
Xia's second film ''
Shadow Magic
''Shadow Magic'' () is a 2000 historical fiction film about the introduction of motion pictures to China during the early 20th century. The film was directed and co-written by Ann Hu. It was a US-China co-production starring Xia Yu, Jared Harris ...
'' demonstrated his talent as an actor and earned him a nomination for Best Actor at the
Tokyo International Film Festival. His earlier film credits also includes ''
Roots and Branches'' (2001) and ''Where Have All the Flowers Gone'' (2002).
Xia's subsequent films, ''The Law of Romance'' (2003) won him a Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor and ''
Waiting Alone
''Waiting Alone'' () is a 2004 Chinese romantic comedy film written & directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Dayyan Eng (), depicting the lives of a group of hip, affluent, twenty-something Beijing residents. The film features Chinese movie stars X ...
'' (2005) earned him Best Actor at the
Beijing College Student Film Festival.
With five best actor titles at international film festivals, Xia Yu has been named one of the top 4 hottest young actors in China.
Like many of today′s actors in China, Xia Yu also has an extensive TV career, appearing on such shows as ''
Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito
''Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito'' is a Chinese television series revolves around the Manchu-ruling Qing Empire monarch Kangxi Emperor (Zhang Guoli) and the corruption he faces as he tries to make the government run efficiently. The series wa ...
'', ''Classical Romance'' and ''
Sky Lovers''. Most of Xia′s TV roles have been secondary ones until he was cast to star in ''The Ugliest In the World'', where he played Liu Baoshan, a genius of the Qing Dynasty who gave up the opportunity to become an official in order to become a clown.
Aside from local productions, Xia has also starred in two Hollywood films; ''
China: The Panda Adventure'' (2001) and ''
The Painted Veil'' (2006). Xia also starred alongside
Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born Ashwini Shetty; Née Shetty; 8 June 1975) is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi-language films. Shetty made her screen debut in the thriller ''Baazigar'' (1993) which garnered her nominations for two Filmfare ...
in the Indian-Chinese film ''
The Desire'' (2010). In 2016, he took on the role of
Wong Jack-man
Wong Jack-man (born 1941 – December 26, 2018) was a Chinese martial artist and teacher. He was best known for his controversial duel with Bruce Lee in 1964.
Early life
Born in 1941 in Hong Kong, Wong was a master of Taijiquan, Xingyiquan and N ...
in the Bruce Lee biopic ''
Birth of the Dragon
''Birth of the Dragon'' is a 2016 American martial arts action film directed by George Nolfi and written by Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele. The film stars Philip Ng, Xia Yu, and Billy Magnussen. The film is a fictional account on the ...
'', produced by American filmmaker
George Nolfi.
In 2017, Xia reunited with ''
Waiting Alone
''Waiting Alone'' () is a 2004 Chinese romantic comedy film written & directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Dayyan Eng (), depicting the lives of a group of hip, affluent, twenty-something Beijing residents. The film features Chinese movie stars X ...
'' director
Dayyan Eng
Dayyan Eng, known as Wu Shixian in China (), born in Taiwan in 1975, is a Chinese-American filmmaker of Chinese, English, and Persian ancestry, who grew up in three continents. He studied film arts at the University of Washington and transferred t ...
in fantasy comedy film ''
Wished'', which became one of the highest-grossing domestic comedy titles for the summer season.
In 2019, it was announced that Xia will play
Shen Gongbao
Shen Gongbao (申公豹) is a major character featured within the famed classic Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods. Shen Gongbao is a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, Jiang Ziya's junior fellow apprentice.
Background
Shen Gongbao is good at comm ...
in the upcoming fantasy film series ''Fengshen Trilogy'' directed by
Wuershan
Wuershan (''simplified Chinese'': 乌尔善) is a Chinese film director who was born in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia on June 10, 1972. He is of Mongol ethnicity.
Wuershan's first feature film was ''Soap Opera'' (2004), for which he was awarded the FI ...
. The film is based on the novel ''
Investiture of the Gods
''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 ...
''.
Personal life
Xia Yu married actress
Yuan Quan
Yuan Quan (, born 16 October 1977), also known as Yolanda Yuan, is a Chinese actress and singer. She graduated from the Central Academy of Drama where she majored in drama.
Career
Yuan starred in her first film ''Rhapsody of Spring'' (1998), w ...
in 2009, a decade after their first date as students in
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 ...
. They have appeared in 4 films together: ''The Law of Romance'' (2003), ''
Waiting Alone
''Waiting Alone'' () is a 2004 Chinese romantic comedy film written & directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Dayyan Eng (), depicting the lives of a group of hip, affluent, twenty-something Beijing residents. The film features Chinese movie stars X ...
'' (2004), ''Shanghai Rumba'' (2006) and ''
Breakup Buddies
''Breakup Buddies'' is a 2014 Chinese romantic comedy and road film directed by Ning Hao. It stars Huang Bo and Xu Zheng as buddies on a wild 3,000-kilometre cross-country journey from Beijing to Dali City (via Zhangjiajie).
The film premiered a ...
'' (2014). Their daughter was born on 31 March 2010.
Xia is an avid skateboarder. He fell in love with skateboarding after watching it in ''
Gleaming the Cube
''Gleaming the Cube'' (also known as ''A Brother's Justice'' and ''Skate or Die''; released in the Philippines as ''Challenge to Win Again'') is a 1989 American neo-noir film directed by Graeme Clifford and starring Christian Slater as Brian Kelly ...
'', a popular movie when he was young. He finds time to board whenever he is between sets shooting a film. In 2003, Xia began to ski and loved it. In 2006, Xia won the championship of a snowboarding game in amateur group in
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
, Switzerland.
Filmography
Film
Television series
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xia, Yu
1976 births
20th-century Chinese male actors
21st-century Chinese male actors
Living people
Central Academy of Drama alumni
Chinese male film actors
Chinese male television actors
Male actors from Qingdao
Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners