Tseng Jing-hua

Tseng Jing-hua (; born 30 December 1997) is a Taiwanese actor from Yilan. He is best known for playing the character of Birdy in the 2020 film Your Name Engraved Herein, the highest-grossing LGBT film in Taiwan. He also appeared as Wei Chung-ting in the supernatural horror Detention, for which he received a nomination for Best New Performer at the 56th Golden Horse Awards.

In 2025, he won Best Supporting Actor at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards for his performance in Family Matters.

Education In high school, Tseng was encouraged by his parents to play the saxophone as a member of his high school band and initially intended to pursue a career in swimming, but ultimately chose to study film instead. He chose to attend college at I-Shou University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree from its Department of Film and Television.

Career

In his first film role, Tseng played Wei Chung-ting, the main male character in Detention who "awakens awakens to the reality of Taiwan’s authoritarian regime" over the course of the film. Set in the 1960s, during the White Terror era, the 2019 production was a box office hit, becoming the only domestically-made movie that year to gross more than NT$100 million in its first week of release. Tseng was nominated for Best New Performer at the 2019 Golden Horse Awards for this role.

The next year, he co-starred in Your Name Engraved Herein as Birdy, one of the two male leads, alongside Edward Chen. The two characters fall in love as Taiwanese high school students in the late 1980s. The production became the highest-grossing LGBT film in Taiwan's history and was also reviewed positively by The New York Times, which lauded their "believable chemistry" and "pretty pining."

In the 2025 film A Foggy Tale, Tseng returned to an artistic work set in the White Terror era. He plays the protagonist's loving older brother 阿雲 A Yun ("cloud"), a soulful artist and political dissident, hiding in a sugarcane field in rural Chiayi to evade the authorities. A Yun uses his knack for charcoal illustrations and storytelling to entertain his younger sister, 阿月 A Yue ("moon"), and inspire her to pursue further education. A Yun's capture and subsequent execution by KMT secret police set in motion the protagonist's quest to retrieve his body in Taipei. All of Tseng's dialogue is in the Taiwanese language.

He also took on the role of serial killer Li Jen-yao, who confesses to murdering former classmates, in the 2025 Taiwanese Netflix production Had I Not Seen the Sun alongside Moon Lee and Alice Ko. The series delves into psychological trauma, school bullying, and criminal behavior, blending suspense with coming-of-age drama.

In the same year, he also played the role of Hsiao Tzu-hsia (Big Summer) in the movie Family Matters, for which he won Best Supporting Actor at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Short film

Music video appearances 2020: Crowd Lu - "Your Name Engraved Herein" 2020: Yo Lee - "One Who Will (Find Me)" 2022: A-Lin - "Best Friend" 2024: Terence Lam - "Nocturne" 2024: The Chairs - "Survivor" 2025: Young Posse - "Cold (ft. 10cm)"

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2019 56th Golden Horse Awards Best New Performer Detention 2020 22nd Taipei Film Awards Best Male Actor 2024 59th Golden Bell Awards Best Leading Actor in a Television Series Oh No! Here Comes Trouble 2025 62nd Golden Horse Awards Best Supporting Actor Family Matters 2026 Global OTT Awards Best Lead Actor (Male) Had I Not Seen the Sun