Xia Yu

Xia Yu (; born 28 October 1976) is a Chinese actor. At the age of 18 years, he rose to international prominence after winning the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival 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, Shandong 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.

Xia wanted to study drama after his first film, he was accepted into the Central Academy of Drama. After completing his studies there, Xia remained an active force in Chinese cinema as well as television, appearing in many films and television series. His earlier film credits also includes Roots and Branches (2001) and Where Have All the Flowers Gone (2002).

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, 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 in the Indian-Chinese film The Desire (2010). In 2016, he took on the role of Wong Jack-man in the Bruce Lee biopic Birth of the Dragon, produced by American filmmaker George Nolfi.

In 2017, Xia reunited with Waiting Alone director Dayyan Eng 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 in the upcoming fantasy film series Fengshen Trilogy directed by Wuershan. The film is based on the novel Investiture of the Gods.

Personal life Xia married actress Yuan Quan in 2009, a decade after their first date as students in Central Academy of Drama. They have appeared in 4 films together: The Law of Romance (2003), Waiting Alone (2004), Shanghai Rumba (2006) and Breakup Buddies (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, 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, Switzerland.

Filmography

Film Year English title Chinese title Role Notes/ 1994 In the Heat of the Sun 阳光灿烂的日子 Ma Xiaojun 2000 Shadow Magic 西洋镜 Liu Jinglun 2001 Roots and Branches 我的兄弟姐妹 Qi Tian 2001 China: The Panda Adventure Quentin Young 2002 Where Have All the Flowers Gone 那时花开 Gao An 2003 Cala, My Dog! 卡拉是条狗 Police 2003 The Law of Romance警察有约 Zhao Xingan 2004 My Early Days in France 我的法兰西岁月 Xiao San 2004 Electric Shadows 电影往事 Mao Dabing 2004 Bamboo Shoot 自娱自乐 Wang Shengli 2004 Waiting Alone 独自等待 Chen Wen 2005 Dragon Squad 猛龙Luo Zaijun 2006 Shanghai Rumba 上海伦巴 Ah Chuan 2006 Sun Plant 太阳花 Boy Short film 2006 The Painted Veil 面纱 Wu Lien 2007 Getting Home 落叶归根 Bei Baorong 2007 江北好人Zhang Weiyang 2007 Dangerous Games 棒子老虎鸡 Li Dachun 2009 Tiny Dust, True Love寻找微尘 Reporter Cameo 2010 Life of Sentime感情生活 Xiao Ke 2010 Wind Blast 西风烈 Zhang Ning 2010 The Desire Jai Leang 2012 Double Trouble宝岛双雄 Ocean 2012 The Sino-Japanese War at Sea 1894一八九四·甲午大海战 Itō Sukeyuki 2013 Love Deposit爱情银行 He Muyang 2013 Christmas Rose 圣诞玫瑰 Xue Zhaowen 2014 Breakup Buddies心花路放 Kang Xiaoyu's exCameo 2015 Crazy New Year's Eve 一路惊喜Zhong Wei 2015 Romance Out of the Blue浪漫天降 Lin Zida 2015 Mojin: The Lost Legend 鬼吹灯之寻龙诀 Big Gold Tooth 2016 Papa洛杉矶捣蛋计划 Huang Guolun 2016 Birth of the Dragon Wong Jack-man 2017 Wished反转人生Ma Fendou 2018 Goddesses in the Flames of War 那些女人 Cameo 2019 Love Song to the Days Forgone 东北往事之二十年 Mei San 2019 The Coldest City 红尘1945 2020 Fengshen Trilogy 封神三部曲 Shen Gongbao 2022 Breaking Through 我心飞扬 Qin Shan

Television series Year English title Chinese title Role Notes/ 1994 Temporary Family临时家庭 Cameo 1998 Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito 康熙微服私访记 Wo Laiye 2001 The Best Clown Under Heaven 天下第一丑Liu Gansan 2001 Buddha Jumps佛跳墙Zhao Baochu 2002 Sky Lovers天空下的缘分Xia Sanlang 2002 You Light Up My Life点燃我生命的是你Huo Ran 2003 Return of Judge Bao I包公出巡之龙凤肚兜 Gao Tianyou 2004 The Thundering Sword 残剑震江湖 Wang Xiaohu 2004 Classical Romance 经典爱情Chen Guang 2004 Bring Your Smile Along啼笑因缘 Lu Yizhi 2005 The Vinegar Tribe醋溜族Xiao Long 2005 Falling in Love with a Single-Eyelid Guy爱上单眼皮男生Han Zitong 2006 Waves Washing the Sand 浪淘沙Ouyang Tong 2006 The Identity of Friend以朋友的名义 Luo Jie 2006 Secret History of Kangxi康熙秘史Kangxi 2007 Justice Department 青天衙门 Rui De 2008 Firewall 5788防火墙5788 Tong Jun 2009The Innocent Years我们的八十年代 Yin Yugang 2009 Great Porcelain Merchant大瓷商Tao Jingnan 2009 The North Wind Blows北风那个吹Shuai Hongbin 2009 The Flying Military Flag军旗飘扬Ma Bayi 2011 Shi Fu 师傅Xu Feng 2011 Yang Liu Qing杨柳青Yang Liuqing 2013 The Standing Year而立之年Cao Baiwan 2013 Jinan City is our Hometown我们这拨人Yang Ruo 2018 Operation Moscow 莫斯科行动Chen Yali 2018 Mystery of Antiques古董局中局 Xu Yuan 2020 Antique Bureau Midgame 古董局中局2 Xu Yuan 2020 Traditional Chinese Medicine 大中医

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1994 51st Venice Film Festival Best Actor In the Heat of the Sun 7th Singapore International Film Festival 1996 23rd Golden Horse Awards 2000 5th Changchun Film Festival Shadow Magic 13th Tokyo International Film Festival 2003 23rd Golden Rooster Awards The Law of Romance 2004 27th Hundred Flowers Award 2005 7th Changchun Film Festival Electric Shadows 12th Beijing College Student Film Festival Waiting Alone 10th Golden Phoenix Awards Society Award 2006 13th Beijing College Student Film Festival Most Popular Actor Shanghai Rumba 2009 1st Macau International Movie Festival Best Actor Life of Sentime 2016 33rd Hundred Flowers Award Best Supporting Actor Mojin: The Lost Legend201824th Huading AwardsBest Actor Operation Moscow 20196th The Actors of China Award Ceremony Best Actor (Web series)Mystery of Antiques 26th Huading AwardsBest Actor (Modern drama) Jinri Toutiao Awards Ceremony Music Creator of the Year 20207th The Actors of China AwardsBest Actor (Web series)