Hu Ge
Hu Ge, also known as Hugh Hu, is a Chinese actor and singer. While studying at the Shanghai Theater Academy, he was invited to play the leading role Li Xiaoyao in the 2005 television series Chinese Paladin, and immediately skyrocketed to fame as one of China's most popular actors. Since then, he has starred in several iconic historical television series; such as The Little Fairy, The Young Warriors, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Chinese Paladin 3, The Myth, and Sound of the Desert.
In September 2012, he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 31st Hundred Flowers Awards for his role as Lin Juemin in Chinese historical film 1911.
Hu gained widespread acclaim with his roles as Ming Tai in the spy drama The Disguiser and Mei Changsu in the wuxia drama Nirvana in Fire, for which he received the Best Actor Award at the 22nd Magnolia Awards and the Golden Eagle Awards.
Early life and education
Hu Ge was born in Shanghai on 20 September 1982. He received his first training in performing arts in Little Stars Performing Arts School run by Shanghai Media Group. Hu Ge attended Shanghai Xiang Yang Elementary School and Shanghai No.2 High School, both known for their educational rigor.In addition to excellent academic work, Hu Ge's talents in a variety of extracurricular endeavors were also recognized. At age 14, Hu Ge started to host a popular TV show Sunshine Youth on Shanghai TV Education Channel for three years. Meanwhile, he was also selected to host a program in East Radio Shanghai. Hu Ge began his acting career by appearing in TV commercials, which helped him gain financial independence before graduating from high school.
In 2001, Hu Ge was admitted to two prestigious art institutes in China: the Central Academy of Drama and Shanghai Theatre Academy. Hu Ge decided to attend the latter, particularly attracted by its strong major in acting.
Career
2002–2006: Beginnings and Rise to fame
While he was still studying, Hu Ge was recommended by his friend to Chinese Entertainment Shanghai where he acted as a voice dub actor for the 2002 drama The Book and the Sword. Following which, he signed on with the company. After appearing in numerous commercials, Hu starred in the film Pretend There's No Feeling with a minor role. His first television role was in the romance drama Dandelion.Hu rose to prominence in 2005 when he played Li Xiaoyao in Chinese Paladin, a TV adaptation of the action RPG The Legend of Sword and Fairy. The television series was a major hit in China and launched Hu to instant fame. The theme song sung by him, "June Rain" was also widely popular. The same year, he also portrayed Ning Caichen in the television series Strange Tales of Liao Zhai.
After Chinese Paladin, Hu Ge embarked on a number of other TV projects, most of which had a historical theme, most notably as Dong Yong in The Little Fairy ; based on the Chinese folktale Tian Xian Pei and as Yang Yanzhao in The Young Warriors ; based on the play The Generals of the Yang Family. He then starred in the horror film The 601st Phone Call, where he received rave reviews for his performance.
In October 2006, Hu made his debut as a singer with the release of his first EP, titled Treasure.
2008–2012: Comeback after accident and Continued success
After a hiatus, Hu returned to the screen, reuniting with co-star, Ariel Lin, from The Little Fairy and starred as Guo Jing in The Legend of the Condor Heroes, adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title., and was highly praised for his portrayal, along with co-star Ariel Lin. He also co-starred with Wu Chun and Charlene Choi in The Butterfly Lovers, based on the famous Chinese legend Butterfly Lovers.On 15 May 2008, Hu released his second album,Start, and embarked on his first solo concert in Shanghai.
Hu then reprised his role as Li Xiaoyao Chinese Paladin 3 while simultaneously acting as three other characters. The series achieved high ratings and was awarded the Ratings Contribution award at the Sichuan Festival.
He next starred as the male protagonist in The Myth, based on the 2005 Hong Kong film of the same title. The drama acquired very high viewership ratings, and boosted Hu's popularity to a new high. Hu won the Popularity award at the 1st China Student Television Festival, and Best Actor in the fantasy genre at the 2010 Huading Awards.
To avoid being typecast, Hu subsequently stopped accepting any role in period dramas after he finished filming The Myth. He took on leading roles in modern dramas; Bitter Coffee , Modern People and Unbeatable, as well as war drama Shangri-La. He also starred in the 2011 historical film 1911, playing Lin Juemin, and was nominated as Best New Actor at the 31st Hundred Flowers Awards.
Hu returned to period drama in , adapted from the video game of the same name, where he also acts as the series' producer. His excellent portrayal of his character's paradoxical personality earned him another Best Actor in the fantasy genre at the 2012 Huading Awards, as well as the Most Popular Actor award at the 4th China TV Drama Awards. The same year, he participated in CES's nano-movie Refresh 3+7. He wrote the script for one of the stories Lights from the City, and starred in 4 out of the 10 stories.
2013: Forays into theater
2013 has often been referred to as Hu Ge's year of Theatre plays. He acted as Patient No.5 in Stan Lai's A Dream Like a Dream, which served as the opening act at the 1st Wuzhen Theatre Festival. Hu's performance in A Dream Like A Dream especially surprised many theatre critics, and garnered positive reviews all round. He won the Best Actor award at the 2nd Denny Awards for his performance.He then starred as Xu Zhuang Tu in Forever Yin Xueyan, a play based on Pai Hsien-yung's novel of the same title performed in the Shanghai dialect. He won the Most Popular Actor award at the Shanghai Culture Center, and the Most Popular Theater Actor of the Year at the BQ Magazine Popular Artists Ceremony.
2014–2016: Career resurgence and critical acclaim
In 2014, Hu Ge starred in modern drama Life Revelations alongside Yan Ni, and won the People's Choice award at the 9th Seoul International Drama Awards for his performance. He then starred in historical romance drama Sound of the Desert, based on the novel Ballad of the Desert written by Tong Hua. Originally cast in the role of the leading male role, Hu decided to take on the role of the second male lead instead, as it was a type of character he has never played before. The same year, he garnered a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 21st Shanghai Television Festival for his performance in acclaimed war drama, Forty Nine Days: Memorial. With three successful dramas, Hu won the Most Popular Actor award at the 6th China TV Drama Awards.In 2015, Hu starred in espionage drama The Disguiser, which was met with critical acclaim and dominated ratings. This was followed by Nirvana in Fire, a turning point in Hu's acting career, and a commercial and critical success in its own right. Global Times praised the story, acting and cinematography of the series, stating that it had restored viewers' confidence in Chinese period dramas. Hu then starred in modern drama Good Times, written by Life Revelations writer Wang Liping. All three of his dramas in 2015 were listed under the "2015 China TV Drama Selection" by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
Hu Ge won awards at two of the most prestigious television awards in China for his role in Nirvana in Fire. He won Best Actor at the 22nd Shanghai Television Festival; and snagged a double victory by claiming both the Viewers' Choice award and the Most Popular Actor award at the 28th China TV Golden Eagle Award.
In 2016, Hu starred in sports drama Go! Goal! Fighting! as a soccer coach. He returned to the big screen in December 2016, starring as an antagonist in the crime suspense film Cherry Returns. The same year, CBN Weekly crowned him the most commercially valuable actor in China.
2017–present: Hiatus and focus on films
Hu announced that he will be departing temporarily from the film industry for the next two years, to seek further education at New York University. The same year, Hu starred in Game of Hunting, a drama produced by critically acclaimed director and screenwriter Jiang Wei. The series was filmed back in 2015 and premiered on Hunan TV in November 2017. Hu was later nominated for the Best Actor award at the Shanghai Television Festival for his role as a headhunter.In 2018, Hu was cast in Diao Yinan's drama film The Wild Goose Lake. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. The same year, Hu made a guest appearance in romance film Last Letter directed by Shunji Iwai.
In 2019, Hu was cast as the male lead in the sports biographic film Li Na directed by Peter Chan. The same year, he was cast in the adventure drama film The Climbers.
Personal life
Accident and recovery
Hu Ge was involved in a car accident on 29 August 2006 while traveling from Hengdian to Shanghai on the highway. He survived with severe injuries while his assistant died. Hu had to undergo surgery and the entire healing process took approximately one year. The filming of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, which he was working on then, was temporarily halted due to his injury, in addition to being unable to complete promoting his finished project The Young Warriors with his fellow cast members. Hu Ge expresses how he felt of the incident through the performance of his single "Dare to Love", and filmed a music video with his co-star from the two series and friend Cecilia Liu.Soon after the accident, he also published a book Scavenger of Happiness, filled with his thoughts on the accident and post events, interesting childhood events, well wishes from good friends and previously unexposed pictures. This book documented in detail the process of how Hu Ge changed from a young idol with a smooth career path into an increasingly mature actor who could truthfully face life's problems as a scavenger of happiness.
Filmography
Film
Animation film
Television series
Theater
Discography
Albums
Singles
Other appearances
Endorsements and Ambassadorship
Following his surge in popularity and public awareness, Hu has also been appointed the Shanghai Tourism Ambassador in 2015. Professional designers from Madame Tussauds Shanghai took measurements from Hu to make two wax figures of him; one of himself and one of his character Mei Changsu from Nirvana in Fire, which was unveiled in September 2016.In 2016, Hu Ge was named brand ambassador of Emporio Armani in China and Asia Pacific. In the same year, he also became brand ambassadors for Piaget Chanel Perfume and Cosmetics, and EF Education First.