Ethan Juan

Ethan Juan (, born 8 November 1982) is a Taiwanese actor and model. He gained popularity for idol dramas Green Forest, My Home, Wayward Kenting (2007), Fated to Love You (2008), and My Queen (2009) and had a frequent collaboration with Doze Niu, who directed Monga (2010), earning Juan Best Leading Actor at the 47th Golden Horse Awards. His other notable films include The Guillotines (2010), The Assassin (2015), Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018), and The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon (2023).

Early life

Juan was born in a military dependents' village in Taichung, Taiwan, to a military family with their ancestral roots in Zhejiang. His father was a soldier, his mother a military nurse, and his younger brother an air force pilot. Before fourth grade, Juan was raised by his grandparents. His grandfather, a seasoned veteran, transitioned from military service to a civilian role as the secretary of the board of directors at China Medical University. His grandmother was a homemaker. Due to his father's fiery character, Juan's parents split when he was in primary school (and officially divorced in 2021). He followed his mother, who then opened a red tea shop to support their livelihood.

As a competitive swimmer in his early years, Juan's numerous achievements and awards (including first place at the Taichung City Duathlon) gained him admission into the prestigious Taichung First Senior High School. However, due to his rebellious streak, he dropped out and, after being transferred and expelled from five different high schools, eventually graduated from the night school of Taichung's Shin Min High School after five years of high school. Thereafter, Juan attended the China University of Technology in Taipei but dropped out. He then attended the Hsing Wu University from 2004, majoring in tourism for over 6 years. After controversy emerged over his allegedly deliberate evasion of the military service by delaying graduation, he left before graduation to serve one year of alternative service at the Ministry of Education in lieu of military service from 2012 to 2013.

Career In 2002, when he accompanied a friend to an audition, he was chosen for his first showbiz gig in Penny Tai's music video for "Once Fell In Love" (愛過), after which he signed up with model agency Catwalk Entertainment. He then appeared in a series of music videos for popular artists such as Faye Wong, Stefanie Sun, A-Mei and S.H.E.

Ruan made his acting debut in the 2004 TV drama Michael the Archangel, where he plays the role of a talented but moody dancer with an eerie and feminine aura. His performance caught the attention of director Doze Niu, who would become his mentor. Juan had his first breakthrough in Green Forest, My Home (2005) but his subsequent roles in Hanazakarino Kimitachihe (2006) and Summer x Summer (2006) were not outstanding. In 2010, Juan won the Best Leading Actor award at the 47th Golden Horse Awards for his role in Doze Niu's gangster film Monga, making him the youngest actor ever to receive the honor. He subsequently extended his career to mainland China, starring in romance film Love (2012) directed by Niu and wuxia film The Guillotines (2012) directed by Andrew Lau.

In 2012, Juan served one year of alternative service at the Ministry of Education in lieu of military service due to his flat feet (a recognized medical condition) in Taiwan, and was discharged on January 11, 2013. During his post at the Ministry of Education, he received a monthly salary of NT$9,955. After the service, on 5 March 2013, Juan announced that he will be opening a talent management agency (together with Doze Niu and Lee Lieh). He reunited with Doze Niu in the military film Paradise in Service (2014), which earned him a nomination at the Asian Film Awards for Best Actor. In 2017, Juan returned to the small screen with the tomb-raiding drama The Weasel Grave. The same year, he played the role of a psychotic killer in the crime suspense film The Liquidator. In 2018, Juan starred in the fantasy adventure drama Legend of Fuyao alongside Yang Mi. In 2023, the Taiwanese action thriller The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon starring Juan became a sleeper hit in China.

Personal life Upon entering showbiz, Ethan Juan began a relationship with his then-manager, Chang Te Lin, who is 12 years his senior, until he fell for his Green Forest, My Home co-star Esther Liu in 2005. Their relationship was opposed by Liu's agency, leading him back to Chang. From 2006 to 2007, Juan dated Joanna Shao, a wealthy woman four years his senior whom he met at a nightclub. In 2008, Shao revealed Juan's sexual preferences to a gossip magazine and claimed that he had been seeing her and Tiffany Hsu at the same time for nearly a month.

In 2007, the relationship between Juan and Tiffany Hsu was made public by paparazzi photographs of them on a beach date in Kenting. In 2010, Juan was caught in a hotel with another woman. After the news broke, Hsu changed her relationship status on Facebook from "in a stable relationship" to "complicated". In March 2015, Juan was rumored to be in a relationship with Zhou Dongyu. He denied the rumors but admitted to temporarily separating from Hsu. Zhou responded to the rumor on Weibo, "Fake." In October, Apple Daily reported that Juan and Hsu had ended their eight-year relationship due to Juan's affair with a married Chinese actress with children. Juan denied the affair.

Juan was rumored to be in a relationship with Song Zu'er in 2019 and broke up at the end of 2020, although both parties denied it. In February 2022, Juan posted a photo with a woman on his Instagram story and admitted to dating an office worker. They broke up five months later.

Filmography Film Year English title Original title Role Notes2007 Exit No. 6 六号出口 Vance Brotherhood of Legio 神选者 Ah Jian 2008 Orz Boyz 囧男孩 Scammer Cameo2009 New Boy Jiali 男生贾里新传 Teacher Cha CameoL-O-V-E 爱到底 Xiao Tian Segment "Lucky" (三声有幸) 2010 Monga 艋舺 Monk (He Tianyou) 2012 Love 爱love Xiao Kuan The Guillotines 血滴子 Team Leader Cold 2014 Paradise in Service 军中乐园 Xiao Bao 2015 The Unbearable Lightness of Inspector Fan 暴走神探 Fan Ruyi The Assassin 刺客聂隐 Xia Jing Cities in Love 恋爱中的城市Xiao Mai 2016 Kill Time 谋杀似水年华 Qiu Shou New York New York 纽约纽约 Lu Tu Never Said Goodbye 谎言西西里 Tian Bo 2017 The Liquidator 心理罪之城市之光 Jiang Ya 2018 Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings 狄仁杰之四大天王 Yuan Ce 2019 The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang 神探蒲松龄之兰若仙踪 The Eight Hundred 八佰 2022 The Abandoned 查無此心 Lin You-sheng 2023 Be With Me 車頂上的玄天上帝 Mr. Yu The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon 周處除三害 Chen Kui-lin 2026 Arrested Memory Detective Lee

Television series Year English title Original title Role Notes 2004 Michael the Archangel's Dance 米迦勒之舞 Ghost 2005 Green Forest, My Home 绿光森林 Owen 2006 Hanazakarino Kimitachihe 花样少年少女 Shen Le 2007 Summer x Summer 热情仲夏 Qiao Shan Wayward Kenting 我在垦丁天气晴 Shao Nan 2008 Fated to Love You 命中注定我愛你 Ji Cunxi Invincible Shan Bao Mei 无敌珊宝妹 Ji Cunxi Cameo 2009 My Queen 敗犬女王 Lucas 2017 The Weasel Grave 鬼吹灯之黄皮子坟 Hu Bayi Web series 2018 Legend of Fuyao 扶摇 Zhangsun Wuji 2019 Love in a Fallen City 一身孤注掷温柔 Yu Haoting 2020 Cupid's Kitchen 舌尖上的心跳 Jiang Qianfan

Variety show Year English title Original title RoleNotes 2015-2016 The Great Challenge 了不起的挑战 Cast member 2016 Date ! Super Star 約吧！大明星 2021 The Pursuit of Happiness 念念桃花源

Discography

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2010 47th Golden Horse AwardsBest Leading Actor Monga 54th Asia-Pacific Film FestivalBest Actor 12th Taipei Film AwardsBest Actor 2011 5th Asian Film Awards Best Actor 2015 9th Asian Film Awards Paradise in Service 2016 8th Macau International Movie Festival Best Supporting Actor Never Said Goodbye 201824th Huading AwardsBest Actor (Ancient Drama) Legend of Fuyao 2023 60th Golden Horse AwardsBest Leading Actor The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon2024 5th Taiwan Film Critics Society AwardsBest Actor 26th Taipei Film AwardsBest Actor