Wallace Huo
| Wallace Huo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | 霍建華 (traditional) | ||
| Chinese name | 霍建华 (simplified) | ||
| Pinyin | Huò Jiànhuá (Mandarin) | ||
| Born |
December 26, 1979 Taipei, Taiwan | ||
| Occupation | Actor, Singer, Producer | ||
| Label(s) | Huajae Studio/Company | ||
| Years active | 2002–present | ||
| Spouse(s) | Ruby Lin (m. 2016) | ||
| Siblings | Huo Chien-yuan | ||
| Ancestry | Longkou, Shandong | ||
| Alma mater | Nan Chiang Industrial and Commercial Senior High School | ||
| Website | huajaecompany on Sina Weibo | ||
|
Awards
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Wallace Huo Chien-hwa (born 26 December 1979) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and producer. He is currently active in the television and movie industry in China. He is known for his roles as Zhong Xiaogang in At Dolphin Bay (2003), Xu Changqing in Chinese Paladin 3 (2009), Linghu Chong in Swordsman (2013) and Bai Zihua in The Journey of Flower (2015), which puts his fame and popularity at the highest peak.
Early life
Wallace Huo Chien-hwa was born in Taipei, Taiwan on 26 December 1979. His family originated from Shandong province, with parents being natives of Longkou, Shandong province and Tianjin Municipality respectively. His grandfather was a follower of Sun Yat-sen and in October 1949, his family moved to Taiwan. Both his parents worked in the court system and his brother is a police officer.[1] Huo once aspired to be a basketball player but then turned to singing in his early teenage days.[2]
Setting the goal as a singer, Huo joined the entertainment business at the age of 17. He was the assistant of Taiwanese TV host Sam Tseng then.[2]
Career
2000-2003
Huo first became known from a cell phone commercial with Angelica Lee in 2000.
After completing his military service in 2002, Huo, in order to have the chance to sing a theme song, became one of the two leading actors in the drama Star. This marked the beginning of his acting career.[2]
Huo rose to fame from the idol drama At Dolphin Bay, which achieved a peak rating of 5.11 and became the most popular idol drama of the year. His role as the talented and capable music director Zhong Xiaogang brought him significant popularity in Taiwan as well as Southeast Asia. He was then in great demand by many producers and was cast in seven idol dramas in the same year (a record yet to be broken), including Pretty Girl, The Great Teacher, My Secret Garden, Westside Story and 100% Senorita etc.[3] While many people regarded him a popular star, Huo had to ride motorcycle to different shooting locations on his own without any assistant. He nearly fell asleep while driving. This overload of work demand together with the formula-type mode of acting sparked his idea of moving his career focus to mainland China.[2]
2004-2007
In 2004, Huo released his first ever solo album Start. Owing to his inability to cope with the excessive spotlight during the advertising of the album, he decided to focus on acting thereafter. Later on, he decided to shift his whole career to mainland China as he felt a stagnation in the development and hoped for more opportunities to refine his acting skills.[2]
In April 2004, Huo starred in his first wuxia drama The Royal Swordsmen directed by Wong Jing. He portrayed the colourful detective character Guihai Yidao and sang the theme song titled "Your Number One". The drama was broadcast in mainland China in 2005 and his melancholic portrayal of Yidao received rave reviews from fans and audiences. It proved to be an important turning point of his career, as it introduced him to mainland audiences.[3] The same year, Huo made his big screen debut in the movie Hands in the Hair alongside actress Rosamund Kwan.[4]
Huo then took the leading role in various dramas, including Sound of Colors alongside actress Ruby Lin, Romance of Red Dust opposite Shu Qi and Emerald on the Roof with Sun Li. Huo himself expressed that the role of Zhou Nianzhong in Emerald on the Roof had given him so much that he could hardly forget and that was also the most important moment of his acting career to date.[2] It has also won him a nomination as Best Actor for the 3rd season of 2007 Sina Drama Award.[5]
In May 2006, Huo starred in the kungfu comedy drama Love at First Fight alongside Hong Kong actress Miriam Yeung. Huo took on an eccentric crazy role of Li Yashuo. His exaggerated expressions and comedic acting showed his ability to take on different roles.[6]
2008-2012
In 2008, Huo appeared in a total of four dramas. In particular, his role as an arrogant and cold CEO in the contemporary romance drama A Mobile Love Story won him a nomination as Best Actor at the 2nd season of Sina Drama Award.
In 2009, Huo rose to mainstream popularity in the drama Chinese Paladin 3, a prequel to Chinese Paladin and an adaptation from the video game of the same title. The television series was broadcast on four major TV channels and garnered a strong audience following. Huo's successful portrayal of the role of Xu Changqing, as well as his chemistry with Tiffany Tang earned praises from both critics and fans, and increased his popularity in mainland China. Huo started to gain recognition in Southeast Asia after the show was broadcast in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
In the latter half of 2010, Huo starred as the lead actor in the dramas Detective Tanglang and Go Yi Yi Go, both of which were broadcast by China Central Television (CCTV) on primetime slots.
In January 2011, Huo starred as the protagonist Li Gexiao in The Vigilantes in Masks which further increased his popularity. He was later invited by Ruby Lin to star in her self-produced drama, The Glamorous Imperial Concubine, where he played the cold and detached Emperor Liu Liancheng. The drama achieved a peak rating of 3.47, placing first in its ratings slot nationally. Huo was named Most Influential Actor at the 2011 Youku Drama Awards.[7]
On 2 February 2012, Huo’s medical drama Inspire the Life premiered on CCTV-1 primetime slot. The drama received several government-issued awards including Best Work Awards and Chinese Television Flying Apsaras Awards. Huo portrayed Han Zihang, an attending surgeon with overseas educational background alongside Wang Zhiwen, Li Chengru and Zhang Tieling who were all well-known and highly respected actors.[8]
In October 2012, Huo's costume mystery drama Lord of Legal Advisors premiered in South Korea and became the 2nd-highest viewed Chinese-language drama in the country, after Scarlet Heart. [9] The drama was subsequently broadcast in Taiwan in April 2013 and achieved the top 4 spot on primetime slots.[10]
2013-2014
In 2013, Huo starred in the historical wuxia drama Swordsman which is based on Jin Yong’s classic wuxia genre novel of the same Chinese title. Swordsman was broadcast on Hunan TV during primetime as a Chinese New Year drama and scored number one ratings on both TV and streaming websites. Alongside the generous and unrestrained leading character Linghu Chong, Huo also played the insidious character Yang Lianting. The success of Swordsman once again brought him to limelight and displayed his popularity among audiences.
Huo then starred in his first war drama, Battle of Changsha, adapted from the novel of the same Chinese title and directed by Magnolia Award winner Kong Sheng. Huo portrayed Gu Qingming, a young soldier from a wealthy and renowned family who fought bravely at the frontlines for his country despite all oppositions. The love story of Gu Qingming and Hu Xiangxiang (portrayed by young actress Yang Zi) was said to be comparable to that in Gone with the Wind. Battle of Changsha was voted Best Drama of 2014 in major streaming website Douban after being broadcast on CCTV-8 beginning mid-July 2014.
In November 2013, Huo starred in The Great Protector, a historical period drama picturing the lives of ordinary people during the period of late Qing Dynasty to The Revolution of 1911. Being his first Qing Dynasty drama, Huo considered it a drama he can show to his descendants.[2] It was broadcast on 25 December 2014 on four major cable TV channels.
The costume drama Perfect Couple, written by Tong Hua, was released on April 21, 2014. It was Huo's first attempt at acting in and producing a drama series after the establishment of Huajae Studio, his own company. Tiffany Tang took the female lead.[11] The series turned out to be a huge success, achieving 7.8 billion hits on major streaming sites and becoming the most popular drama online. Huo later won the Most Influential Male Actor in Taiwan/Hong Kong region at the 6th TV Drama Awards Made in China.
2015
On 9 June 2015, the fantasy-wuxia drama The Journey of Flower premiered on Hunan TV. Huo portrayed the calm and collective Bai Zihua, an immortal tasked to protect the magical realm of Changliu.[12] The Journey of Flower was a commercial hit, capturing the first place spot among TV show ratings in the province of Hunan[13] and online views have already surpassed 18 billion.[14] The success of the drama put Huo's fame and popularity at the highest peak. It was announced in August 2015 that Huo topped the Top 50 Actors ranking for China Television Show in the first half of the year.[15]
On 14 September 2015, Huo became the celebrity spokesperson of SK-II China and starred in its Change of Destiny propaganda which shared his life's philosophy.[15]
On 15 October 2015, the detective thriller series Love Me, If you Dare, premiered simultaneously online on Sohu.com and on air on Dragon Television. Huo portrayed the protagonist Bo Jingyan, a criminal psychologist who works for the police as analyst/advisor for serious crimes and incidents.[16]
Huo's performance in The Journey of Flower allowed him to be chosen by China Newsweek as Artist of the Year on 11 December 2015. He was also distinguished as one of the Most Influential People in China for 2015. This is a very remarkable distinction for him since he was the only recipient of this award in the field of Performing Arts that year.[15] He was also awarded several drama awards, including Most Popular Actor at iQIYI All Star Carnival;[15] as well as Most Popular Actor and Most Favorite Male Character at the 7th TV Drama Awards Made in China.
On 22 December 2015, Huo and Yang Mi started filming for the science fiction action movie Fatal Countdown: Reset, produced by Jackie Chan and directed by Korean director, Chang, in Busan, South Korea. This is his first attempt at acting as a villain since the beginning of his career.[17]
2016 - Present
The action thriller film Inside or Outside was released on 22 January 2016. Huo played two characters, a brave and witty detective and an assassin.
Huo then portrayed Zhu Qizhen, one of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, in the historical period drama The Imperial Doctress. The drama series premiered on 13 February 2016 on both Dragon TV and Jiangsu TV, achieving an average ratings of 1.2 on both broadcasting stations and placing first in its ratings slot nationally. Huo was awarded Most Popular Actor and Most Marketable Artist for his performance in the drama as well as Love Me, If You Dare at the 1st annual China Television Drama Quality Ceremony held on 8 March, 2016.[18]
Huo also began filming several movies in 2016, including Suddenly Seventeen, a romantic comedy produced by Zhang Yimou and the directorial debut of his daughter Zhang Mo; [19] Hide and Seek, directed by Golden Horse winner Liu Jie and an adaptation of the Korean suspense thriller of the same title;[20] as well as The Great Escape, directed by award winning director Ann Hui, in which Huo acted together with Zhou Xun as a couple who has to give up their romance due to war. Ann Hui praised him as a hardworking and serious actor, that “not only his appearance is outstanding, but he also has "talent within"”.[21]
On 2 March 2016, professional designers from Madame Tussauds Shanghai took measurements from Huo to make his wax figure. It is expected to be launched in the latter half of 2016.[22]
On 27 May 2016, the historical costume drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, also known as The Legend of Ruyi, announced that it has cast Huo in the role of Qianlong Emperor, one of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. The drama reunited him with Zhou Xun, who played the titular character.[23] Filming of the drama began on 23 August 2016 and was scheduled to be released in 2017.[24]
Personal life
On 20 May 2016, Huo confirmed his relationship with actress Ruby Lin,[25] his co-star in Sound of Colors (2006) and The Glamorous Imperial Concubine (2011). They got married in Bali on 31 July 2016.[26] The pair also held another wedding reception in Taipei on 2 August 2016.[27]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Hands in the Air | Ah Hua | |
| 2009 | Contract About Interchange Status | Mai Zhelun | |
| 2012 | Ultra Reinforcement | Yang Zhiang | |
| 2015 | The Honey Enemy | Xu Mo | |
| 2016 | Inside or Outside | Xie Tianyou / Qiu Le | |
| 2016 | Hide and Seek | Zhang Jiawei | |
| 2016 | Suddenly Seventeen | Mao Liang | |
| 2017 | Fatal Countdown: Reset | Cui Hu | |
| 2017 | The Great Escape | Li Jinrong | |
| 2017 | The Founding of an Army | Cameo |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Star | Xia Yuanqiao | TTV | |
| 2003 | Pretty Girl | Fu Liheng | CTS | |
| 2003 | The Great Teacher | Huo Jianqi | CTS | Cameo appearance |
| 2003 | My Secret Garden | Li Wei / Huo Jianhua | CTV | |
| 2003 | At Dolphin Bay | Zhong Xiaogang | SETTV | Nom - 39th Golden Bell Awards for Best Actor |
| 2003 | Westside Story | Xingwang | SETTV | |
| 2004 | 100% Senorita | Li Weixiang | CTS | |
| 2005 | The Royal Swordsmen | Guihai Yidao | SZTV, AHTV | |
| 2005 | Romance of Red Dust | Li Jing | ||
| 2006 | Sound of Colors | Lu Yunxiang | CTS, SETV | |
| 2006 | Emerald on the Roof | Zhou Nianzhong | GTV, ZJTV, SETV, NMTV | Nom - 3rd season of Sina Drama Award for Best Actor |
| 2007 | Love at First Fight | Li Yashou | ||
| 2008 | Rouge Snow | Xia Yunkai | LNTV, SETV, SDTV, HEBTV | |
| 2008 | A Mobile Love Story | Lu Yunfei | CCTV-1 | Nom - 2nd season of Sina Drama Award for Best Actor |
| 2008 | Modern Beauty | Yang Guang | ||
| 2008 | Love in the Forlon City | Yan Fei | ||
| 2009 | Chinese Paladin 3 | Xu Changqing | ETTV, JSTV, TTV | |
| 2010 | New One Plum Blossom | Zhao Shijun | JSTV, SETV, GDTV | |
| 2010 | Detective Tanglang | Tang Lang | CTS, CCTV-1 | |
| 2010 | Go Yi Yi Go | Cao Yan | CCTV-8 | |
| 2011 | The Vigilantes in Masks | Li Gexiao | CTS, SETV, SZTV | |
| 2011 | The Glamorous Imperial Concubine | Liu Liancheng | Hunan TV | Special appearance Won - Youku Drama Award for Most Influential Actor at Won - iQiyi All-Star Carnival for Best Actor (Hong Kong/Taiwan) |
| 2011 | Inspire the Life | Han Zihang | CCTV-1 | |
| 2012 | Lord of Legal Advisors | Meng Tianchu | CTV | |
| 2013 | Swordsman | Linghu Chong | Hunan TV | Won - Hunan TV Drama Awards for Most Popular Actor at Won - 8th Chinese TV Audience Festival for Top 10 Actors Won - 8th Chinese Zhejiang TV Audience Festival for Top 10 Actors Nom - 5th TV Drama Awards Made in China for Most Influential Male Actor (Hong Kong/Taiwan) |
| 2014 | Perfect Couple | Jin Yuanbao | JSTV, SZTV | also co-producer Won - 6th TV Drama Awards Made in China for Best Couple (with Tiffany Tang) Won - 6th TV Drama Awards Made in China for Most Popular Actor Won - iQiyi All-Star Carnival for Best Actor (Hong Kong/Taiwan) |
| 2014 | Incisive Great Teacher | Li Daren | Dragon TV | guest appearance |
| 2014 | Battle of Changsha | Gu Qingming | STV, CCTV-8, Hunan TV | Won - 6th TV Drama Awards Made in China for Most Popular Actor Won - iQiyi All-Star Carnival for Best Actor (Hong Kong/Taiwan) |
| 2014 | The Great Protector | Liu Anshun | CNTV, SZTV, SETV | |
| 2015 | The Journey of Flower | Bai Zihua | Hunan TV | Won - iQiyi All-Star Carnival for Most Popular Actor Won - 7th TV Drama Awards Made in China for Most Popular Actor Won - 7th TV Drama Awards Made in China for Most Favourite Character Won - 2015 Conference on Big Data Index on Culture and Entertainment Industry for Most Favourite Character Nom - 19th Huading Awards for Best Actor Nom - 22nd Shanghai Film Festival Magnolia Award for Best Actor |
| 2015 | Love Me, If You Dare | Bo Jingyan / Simon Allen | Dragon TV, Sohu.com | Won - 1st annual China Television Drama Quality Ceremony for Most Popular Actor Won - 1st annual China Television Drama Quality Ceremony for Most Marketable Artist |
| 2016 | The Imperial Doctress | Zhu Qizhen | Dragon TV, JSTV | as above |
| 2017 | Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace | Qianlong Emperor |
Discography
Album
| Year | Title | Album information |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Start |
|
Soundtrack
| Year | Title | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Picking Stars | Star OST | |
| 2002 | Love is like Cotton Candy | Star OST | |
| 2002 | Come and go freely | Star OST | |
| 2002 | Happiness under the Umbrella | Star OST | |
| 2003 | Happiness under the Umbrella | My Secret Garden OST | |
| 2003 | Somebody | 100% Senorita OST | |
| 2005 | Your Number One | The Royal Swordsmen OST | |
| 2005 | That Time | The Royal Swordsmen OST | |
| 2007 | Angel's Wings | in memory of Hsu Wei-lun various artists | |
| 2011 | Pass Away | The Glamorous Imperial Concubine OST | |
| 2013 | Free and Unfettered | Swordsman OST | |
| 2014 | I Will Remember You | Battle of Changsha OST | with Yang Zi |
| 2014 | Good Times | Perfect Couple OST | with Ding Dang |
| 2015 | Not to Mention | The Journey of Flower OST | with Zhao Liying |
Music video appearances
- A-mei-mei / saya (1997)
- Kang Chin Chung - Run Away (2000)
- Somebody / 100% Senorita OST (2003)
- Xing Fu De Di Tu / Elva Hsiao / 100% Senorita OST (2003)
- Ni Hao Jiu Hao, Na Shi Hou, Jian Shang Qing Ting, Your#1 with Rosamund Kwan / Start vol.1 album (2004)
- Da Sha with Miriam Yeung (2006)
Commercial
| Year | Brand |
|---|---|
| 2000 | E-Wap |
| Wrigley’s Gum | |
| 2003 | Mitsubishi Virage IO |
| Timberland | |
| Matrix | |
| 2004 | Siemens CX65 |
| 2005 | Formosa Shades |
| 2015 | SK-II Celebrity Spokesperson of SK-II China |
| 2016 | Hugo Boss - BOSS"Man Of Today" Ambassador of Hugo Boss China |
References
- ↑ 霍建华家庭背景显赫 爷爷曾追随孙中山 [Wallace Huo's family background is renowned, grandfather being a follower of Sun Yat-sen] (in Chinese). wenxuecity.com. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "A date with Lu Yu" interview on 2016-01-13
- 1 2 都知道霍建華很帥 但你知道他這張臉背後的故事嗎？ [We all know Wallace Huo's handsome face, but do we know the story behind?] (in Chinese). chinatimes.com. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- ↑ 關之琳霍建華曖昧"做頭" 趕在"三八"前上映 [Rosamund Kwan and Wallace Huo with their "Hands in the Hair" ambiguously, movie to premiere before "Women's Day"] (in Chinese). Eastday. 2005-03-02. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- ↑ 《屋頂上的綠寶石》暑期首選 霍建華學會演戲 ["Emerald on the Roof" 1st choice in summer, Wallace Huo learns how to act] (in Chinese). sina.com. 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
- ↑ 《武十郎》開機 楊千嬅霍建華聯手搞笑 ["Love at First Fight" starts shooting, Miriam Yeung and Wallace Huo making fun together] (in Chinese). sina.com. 2006-05-18. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- ↑ 2011大劇盛典火熱進行中 星光熠熠獎單全紀 [Complete list of 2011 Youku Drama Awards] (in Chinese). National Business Daily. 2011-12-16. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- ↑ 《感動生命》霍建華首演醫生 與王志文合作受教 [Inspire the life being a surgeon for the first time, Wallace Huo learns from Wang Zhiwen] (in Chinese). sohu.com. 2011-05-09. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- ↑ 《刑名師爺》韓國收視創新高 僅次於《步步驚心》 [Lord of Legal Advisors achieved high rating in South Korea, just after Scarlet Heart] (in Chinese). Xinhuanet. 2012-11-15. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
- ↑ 《刑名師爺》台灣首播 八點檔收視第四 [Lord of Legal Advisors premiered in Taiwan, achieving top 4 spot on primetime slots] (in Chinese). Sina news. 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
- ↑ "Wallace Huo and Tiffany Tang not destined to become real life "Perfect Couple"". Jayne Stars. 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
- ↑ "Wallace Huo's performance in "The Journey of Flower" gets praise". Jayne Stars. 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
- ↑ "Zhao Liying soars to new heights with "The Journey of Flower"". Jayne Stars. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
- ↑ "Drama online ratings". cdramadevotee. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
- 1 2 3 4 "'Artist of the Year': A well-deserved distinction for Wallace Huo". Asia Stars News. 2015-12-15. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ↑ "'Love Me,If You Dare' will air soon". China Topix. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
- ↑ "Jackie Chan to produce Korea-China sci-fi film 'Reset'". variety.com. 2015-12-30. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
- ↑ "Hu Ge and Wallace Huo win the same award, shippers rejoice". Jaynes Stars. 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
- ↑ "Suddenly Seventeen releases first stills; Darren Wang joins for special appearance". Jayne Stars. 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
- ↑ "Chinese "Hide and Seek" shoots for Village Roadshow Asia". Variety.com. 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
- ↑ "HKSAR Film No Top 10 Box Office". 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
- ↑ "Wallace Huo to be waxified in museum". Singapore La. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ↑ addy (2016-05-28). "Wallace Huo to star alongside Zhou Xun in "The Legend of Ruyi"". Jayne Stars. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
- ↑ 周迅宮廷新劇《如懿傳》在京開機 [Zhou Xun's new drama "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace" started shooting in Beijing] (in Chinese). Mtime. 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
- ↑ Zhang Rui (2016-05-20). "Wallace Huo, Ruby Lin reveal romantic relationship". China Internet Information Center.
- ↑ "Ruby Lin and Wallace Huo wed in Bali". The Straits Times. 2016-07-31.
- ↑ "A double celebration for Ruby Lin and Wallace Huo?". Asia One Women. 2016-08-02.
External links
- huajaecompany on Sina Weibo
- huajaestudio on Facebook
- Wallace Huo at the Internet Movie Database
- Wallace Huo at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase