George Hu

George Hu (Chinese: 胡宇威; pinyin: Hú Yǔwēi; born 24 July 1982)[1] is an American-born actor and singer based in Taiwan. He speaks fluent English, Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien. Since 2011, he has been signed to Yang Deng-kui's management company Polyland International Entertainment.

George Hu
Hu hosting the 2015 DramaFever award ceremony
Born (1982-07-24) July 24, 1982
New York City, United States
Other namesHu Yu-wei
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active2006–present
Spouse
(m. 2023)
Musical career
GenresMandopop
Formerly ofWu Hu Jiang
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese胡宇威
Simplified Chinese胡宇威
Hanyu PinyinHú Yǔwēi

Early life

George Hu was born in New York City on 24 July 1982, to parents of Taiwanese descent. Eldest of a two children family, he has a sister who is two years younger and a mother and father who all currently still reside in New York. When he was seven, he began training in Chinese martial arts.[2] His mother who had martial arts training herself was a huge influence on him learning martial arts.[3] He studied under Master Marlon Ma at NY Wutang Chinese Martial Arts Institute where he learned the fighting style of the long fist, praying mantis, and baji. He participated in several martial arts competitions in the US and has won several competitions such as 1995 S. Henry Cho America Open, Shi Fu Yang Shu-Ton Martial Arts Association of Ohio Chinese Martial Arts Tournament, Huang Chien Liang U.S.C.K.F, and Wushu Kung Fu Federation. When he was 17, he was appointed as an instructor at Wutang.[4] He attended St. John's University located in Queens, New York, graduating in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Graphic Design. While visiting family and friends in Taiwan after graduating from college he was scouted and asked to audition for a talent agency.[5] Besides martial arts, he also enjoys playing the viola and electric guitar.

Acting career

2005: Move to Taiwan and learning Chinese

In March 2005 he signed under Yang Dengkui's First Media Holdings Corporation and moved to Taiwan to pursue a career in acting. He lived at his uncle's house and shared a bedroom with his cousin when he first moved to Taiwan. As he was unfamiliar with the Chinese language, could only spoke a few words and couldn't read or write Chinese, he spent his entire first year in Taiwan learning basic Chinese and memorizing the lines to his first drama Emerald on the Roof.

2006–2007: Acting debut

In 2006 he made his acting debut as the second male lead alongside Wallace Huo in the idol drama Emerald on the Roof. As his Chinese pronunciation wasn't fluent his voice was dubbed by a voice actor in the drama. His next drama in 2007, a pre-war China comedy, romance, and action drama Love at First Fight starred mostly the same cast from Emerald on the Roof with the addition of Hong Kong actress/singer Miriam Yeung as the female lead. His voice was once again dubbed in both Mandarin and Cantonese for this drama.

2007–2009: Collaboration with "Fahrenheit" members

In late 2007 he moved to more mainstream idol drama Romantic Princess playing Taiwanese boyband Fahrenheit members Wu Chun and Calvin Chen. This is the first drama his real voice can be heard. That same year he also had a minimal role in the second installment of popular Taiwanese idol K.O. drama franchise The X-Family starring alongside the rest of the other Fahrenheit members. In early 2008 he once again played Wu Chun's younger brother in a supporting role for the idol drama Hot Shot working alongside popular Taiwanese idols Jerry Yan and Show Luo. In the summer of 2008, he starred alongside Rainie Yang and Jiro Wang from Fahrenheit in the idol drama ToGetHer as Jia Sen aka Ah Gan. The drama was aired in early 2009. For this role he had to play a 20-year-old college student and swimming captain with the mind of an 8-year-old boy, and he also had to train his body to resemble a championship swimmer.

2009–2010: First leading role and music career

In early 2009 till early 2010 he starred in his first leading role for the 3rd installment of the K.O. drama franchise K.O.3an Guo as a modern version of Chinese historical general Guan Yu. The drama was filmed as it aired. During the beginning filming period of K.O.3an Guo he was involved in a traffic accident while on his way to the film set. His left leg was injured, and he relied on crutches or a wheelchair to get around for three months. Because of his injury he was not able to perform much of his martial arts stunts for the early episodes of the drama. Also due to the popularity of the drama he and his co-stars later formed a five-member boy band called "Wu Hu Jiang" or "Tiger Team" in English.

2010–2011: Difficult times and change of management

His band "Wu Hu Jiang" ceased activity due to restructuring of their management company and he received little to no filming offers. His only work during this period was in a minor role for the idol drama "Me & My Brothers". Due to the minimal work offers he received during this time his father had said to him that if he wanted to quit show business and return to New York it will be fine with his family, but he persisted and signed with Yang Dengkui's new management company Polyland International Entertainment in 2011.[6] His first role under Polyland's management was as the lead in 2011's Hayate the Combat Butler based on the popular Japanese manga of the same name, with Korean actress Park Shin-hye as the female lead.

2012–2013: Turning point and popularity rising

The turning point in his career came in late 2012 starring as the male lead alongside Annie Chen as the female lead in SETTV's romance drama Love, Now. In an interview for LETV he stated that he had accepted the project during the early stages of development and without even knowing the story line or seeing a script to the project in order to re-establish his presence in Taiwan since he had been filming dramas in Mainland China for the past year.[7] He received a lot of notice for his role as Lan Shi-da a cold but caring business family man. His pairing with Annie Chen was so well received that SETTV decided to pair them up again as a couple less than three months after Love, Now ended in 2013's Love Around.

His fame continued to rise in late 2013 after starring in the joint mainland China and Taiwan historical drama Lan Ling Wang as the lead character's younger half-brother An De Wang. His voice was dubbed for his mainland China dramas since he still had a foreigner accent when speaking Chinese Mandarin. His popularity in Taiwan also continued to rise after his second successful collaboration with Annie Chen in the drama Love Around.

2014–present: Film debut

After production of "Love Around" ended Hu took a few months off from acting, only focusing on advertisement work and to prep for his film debut. In March 2014 Hu began filming in Mainland China for his film debut, Where the Wind Settles, a film about China during the World War II wartime period. The latter half of the movie was filmed in Taiwan depicting early Kuomintang rule in Taiwan. Hu played a Chinese soldier who fled to Taiwan after the Communist party took over China. To prep for the role, he had to go through a strict diet in order to lose over 10 pounds from his regular weight of 70 kg (155Lbs).[8][9]

After Where the Wind Settles finished filming in mid 2014, Hu accepted the lead to star in SETTV's weekly drama Love Cheque Charge, a romantic fantasy comedy about a man who is haunted by the ghost of the man he was asked to deliver a message to his girlfriend before he died.

Music career

2009–2011: Wu Hu Jiang

In 2009 due to the popularity of K.O.3an Guo, George, alongside co-stars Benji, Bo Yan, Shao Xiang and Si Wei Hong Zheng, were formed into a five-member boy band called "Wu Hu Jiang" (武虎將 / Tiger Team). The leader of the group was Benji with George as the spokesperson for the group. The group received moderate success and won the Best New Artist Award at Channel V's 14th Annual Global Chinese Chart and Asian Influence awards. Due to the members busy schedules with individual projects and restructuring of their agency the group's activities as a band ceased sometime in 2011 and officially disbanded in 2013. The group has never officially released an album.

2014–present: Solo album

In 2014 Hu signed with music company More! Entertainment Music for his self-titled debut album. The album was published by Sony Music Taiwan. The first single from his album is Do Not Say Good Bye (別說Good Bye). The music video for Do Not Say Good Bye (別說Good Bye) starred his good friend and former Hayate the Combat Butler co-star Tia Lee.

Personal life

In January 2022, Hu announced his engagement to Annie Chen on Instagram.[10] Hu and Chen married in the United States in July 2023.[11]

Injuries

On January 14, 2009, while on his way to the film set of K.O.3an Guo he was injured in a car accident when a taxi after running a yellow traffic light collided with his motorbike.[12][13] He described the accident as being in the movie The Matrix after he was thrown from his bike and landed on the ground heavily. He received minor cuts and grazes on his legs and suffered a fractured left shin. For a month he depended on crutches and a wheelchair for movement. Surgery was not needed, and he recovered with no further complications.

During the summer of 2011 his right lower front leg suffered a minor gash while filming a bike paddling scene for the drama "Summer Fever".[14] The wound left a scar on his right front lower leg that is still visible in his later works when not covered with makeup.[15]

In 2013 while filming the constant baseball batting cage scenes in Love Around Hu sustained a back injury. It was last reported that he had been seeking treatment for over two months and was also going through acupuncture sessions to try to heal his injury.[16]

In October 2015, Hu suffered multiple injures while training for a film project. While training with heavy vehicle equipment, Hu suffered four broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a torn ligament in his right shoulder and showed signs of a collapsed lung. He was rushed to a hospital near the Pingxi district.[17]

Filmography

Television series

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleRoleNetwork
2006Emerald on the Roof屋頂上的綠寶石Nie KaiGTV
2007Love at First Fight武十郎Lei Sheng DaFTV
2007Romantic Princess公主小妹Nan Feng LinCTV
2007The X-Family終極一家Shen Xing Zhe / Qiang Ling WangGTV
2008Hot Shot籃球火Wu Ji WeiCTV
2009ToGetHer愛就宅一起Wei Jia SenCTV
2009K.O.3an Guo終極三國Guan YuFTV/GTV
2010I, My Brother我和我的兄弟~恩DennisAstro
2011Hayate the Combat Butler旋風管家Ling Qisa / Hayate AyazakiFTV
2011Rookies Diary Season 2新兵日記之特戰英雄Zheng QiangFTV
2012Summer Fever戀夏38°CLin Ming KuanCTV
2012–2013Love, Now真愛趁現在Lan Shi DeSETTV
2013Love Around真愛黑白配Zhou ZhenTTV
2013Xin Shen Tan Lian Meng新神探联盟Zhan ChaoCCTV
2013Prince of Lan Ling蘭陵王An De WangJZTV
2014For The Love Of Travel為愛旅行Li Zhen KaiPTS
2014Love Cheque Charge幸福兌換券He Bu FanSETTV
2016Happiness Meets Rainbow幸福又見彩虹Du VanCUTV/Tencent
Girls Lies戀人的謊言Yu Qi Ran
2017Lightning進擊吧,閃電Deng ErhaoHunan TV
2017Art In Love那刻的怦然心動Tao Yu FeiMG TV
2020Wait in Beijing我在北京等你Shan KaiJSTV/ZJSTV
2020Wacko at Law王牌辯護人Mai Da QiEBC TV

Film

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleRoleNotes
2013Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2Flint LockwoodTaiwanese release, voice
2015Where the Wind Settles風中家族Fan Chung-yueh
2019Han Dan寒單Lin Zheng Kun
2019Sunshine in Norway陽光傾城

Award ceremonies

YearTitleNotes
2015The 3rd Annual DramaFever Awards[18]with Arden Cho

Music video appearances

Year Artist Song title
2007 Sara "So I Love You"
2008 Rainie Yang "Cold War"
2009 Nylon Chen "24 Hour Madness"
2010 Chyi Chin "Like Crazy"
2011 Thomas Jack "Buddy"
2011 William Wei "Do Not Ask Me"
2012 Emma Wu "The Flavour Of Summer"
2019 Della Wu "Unlike Us"

Discography

#English titleMandarin titleReleasedLabel
1stGeorge Hu胡宇威14 October 2014Sony Music Taiwan[19]
2ndDo Not Disturb請不要打擾21 July 2017Seed Music[20]

Published works

George Hu - GEO Photobook
AuthorGeorge Hu 胡宇威
CountryTaiwan
Genrephotobook, biography
Published2013 Shui-Ling Culture & Books 水靈文創
Media typePrint hardback
Pages152
ISBN9789868999411
  • 15 October 2013: George Hu - GEO Photobook (胡宇威‧GEO 同名精裝寫真) - ISBN 9789868999411
Shot by star photographer Zeng Jing Fu and styled by internationally renowned stylist Liu Da Jiang, George's self-titled 152-page photobook briefly details his struggles and early days in Taiwan to his current rise in the Asian entertainment circle.[21]
  • 30 September 2013: Love Around Official Photobook (真愛黑白配 寫真書) - barcode 4717095572034
  • 15 August 2013: Lanling Wang Photobook (蘭陵王影像書) - ISBN 9789868901087
  • 25 June 2011: Hayate the Combat Butler Photo Essay (旋風管家 首本官方寫真書) - ISBN 9862872349
  • 10 September 2009: I Love Wu Hu Jiang (我愛武虎將) - ISBN 9789862372548
  • 17 February 2009: ToGetHer Photobook (愛就宅一起甜蜜寫真) - ISBN 9789578037236
  • 20 September 2007: Romantic Princess Photobook (公主小妹 幕後寫真) - ISBN 9789575657932

References

  1. (in Chinese) George Hu's profile Archived 2009-03-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2010-12-17
  2. "胡宇威自嘲人格分裂 穿皮衣跩起來 | 蘋果新聞網 | 蘋果日報". 6 November 2013.
  3. "胡宇崴《新兵》扮魔鬼班長 媽媽飛來台解相思 | 蘋果新聞網 | 蘋果日報". 22 April 2011.
  4. (in English) Archived 2020-08-04 at the Wayback Machine Wu-tang official webpage
  5. (in English) appledaily.com news
  6. (in Chinese) George Hu TW Cosmopolitan interview Retrieved 2014-02-16
  7. (in Chinese) LETV interview Retrieved 2012-12-29
  8. (in Chinese) dieting for film role. Retrieved 2014-3-31
  9. (in Chinese) 風中家族 cast press conference. Retrieved 2014-3-31
  10. CBOOK. "快訊!陳庭妮、胡宇威訂婚了!8年愛情長跑,IG甜藏「一生一世」愛意! | CBOOK". LINE TODAY (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  11. Deng, Christy (31 August 2023). "陳庭妮與胡宇威登記了!愛情長跑秘訣是自在,親曝婚禮進度:「你們可以稱呼她是胡太太了」". ELLE (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  12. (in English) news Retrieved 2013-12-26
  13. (in English) George Hu blog entry Retrieved 2013-12-26
  14. (in Chinese) Archived 2013-12-16 at the Wayback Machine yes.com news Retrieved 2013-12-26
  15. (in Chinese) George Hu blog entry Retrieved 2013-12-26
  16. Archived 2013-10-30 at the Wayback Machine George Hu back injury.Retrieved 2014-3-31
  17. George Hu breaks 4 ribs while training for new film.Retrieved 2016 July 23
  18. The 3rd Annual DramaFever Awards 2015-02-05
  19. "博客來音樂館>胡宇威 / 首張同名Ep (精裝版)". Archived from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2014-11-06. George Hu debut album. Retrieved 11-06-2014
  20. "#Do Not Disturb[#請不要打擾]-預購A版(Ep+貼紙+劇情寫真)".
  21. kinokuniya.com 15 October 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-19
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.