Wu Hsing-kuo (Chinese: 吳興國; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ngô͘ Heng-kok) is a Taiwanese actor of the silver screen and theater, known for both his performance of complex movie roles as much as for his innovative adaptations of Western classics into traditional Peking Opera.
Wu Hsing-kuo | |||||||
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| Born | 12 April 1953 | ||||||
| Awards | Hong Kong Film Awards – Best New Performer 1994 Temptation of a Monk | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 吳興國 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 吴兴国 | ||||||
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Life and career
editWu was trained in classical Peking Opera since the age of 11 in Taiwan's state-run Fu-Hsing Chinese Opera School, specializing in wu sheng (male martial) roles. He was admitted with honors into the Theatre Department of Chinese Culture University in Taipei, trained under master Chou Cheng-jung (Zhou Zheng-rong) and became the leading dancer of Lin Hwai-min's Cloud Gate Dance Theater. However, his teacher Chou Cheng-jung (Zhou Zheng-rong) considered him as a pretentious student who didn't focus on study and finally abandoned him in 1989. After that, Chou Cheng-jung (died in 2000) never met him again. In addition, most traditional Chinese opera audiences do not recognize him as a qualified actor.
In 1986, he and a group of enthusiastic friends founded the Contemporary Legend Theatre in Taipei, seeking to revitalize traditional Chinese theatre by adapting Western classical plays to the style and techniques of Peking Opera. He was the leading actor and director of four Shakespeare adaptations, including the critically acclaimed Kingdom of Desire (慾望城國), an adaptation of Macbeth, and King Lear (李爾在此), in which Wu plays all the parts.
In 1992, Wu was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in New York with Richard Schechner. That year, he also won the Hong Kong Film Award for best new actor.
Wu is currently artistic director of the Contemporary Legend Theatre, and continues to take on challenging roles in both the modern theatre and Chinese Opera. He crosses the fields of traditional opera, dance, modern theatre, cinema, and television.
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Year | English title | Original title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 18 | Weirdo | ||
| Temptation of a Monk | 誘僧 | Shi Yansheng | ||
| Green Snake | 青蛇 | Xu Xian | ||
| 1994 | The Great Conqueror's Concubine | 西楚霸王 | Yu Ziqi | |
| Rock N'Roll Cop | 省港一號通緝犯 | Wong Kun | ||
| Right Here Waiting... | 等愛的女人 | Dickson Koo | ||
| God of Gamblers Return | 賭神２ | Chao Siu-chi | ||
| What Price Survival | 獨臂刀之情 | Wang Ning | ||
| Red Rose White Rose | 紅玫瑰白玫瑰 | |||
| 1996 | Shanghai Grand | 新上海灘 | Fung King-yiu | |
| 1997 | The Soong Sisters | 宋家皇朝 | Chiang Kai-shek | |
| 2000 | Comeuppance | 天有眼 | ||
| 2001 | The Accidental Spy | 特務迷城 | Lee Sang-zen | |
| 2009 | Who Rules Over the Destiny of China | 誰主沉浮 | Chiang Kai-shek | |
| 2011 | Four Hands | 麵引子 | Sun Hou-cheng | |
| 2012 | Love on Gallery Bridge | 爱在廊桥 | Lin Changtian | |
TV series
edit| Year | English title | Original title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Love, Sword, Mountain & River | 情劍山河 | Zhao Kuangyin | |
| The Story of the President | 總統的故事 | Lee Teng-hui | ||
| 1997 | China at War | 烽火中國 | ||
| 1999 | Holiday | 假期 | Chu Chen-hsiang | |
| Dangerous Games | 危险游戏 | Guan Luochuan | ||
| 2000 | Tiger's Tenderness | 老虎的溫柔 | Huang Ho-chun | |
| 2001 | Master Swordsman Lu Xiaofeng | 陸小鳳之決戰前後 | Ye Gucheng | |
| 2003 | Flaming Romance | 天命因緣 | Su Jifei | |
| 2005 | Lovelorn High Heels | 失戀高跟鞋 | Ma Ta-cheng | |
| 2006 | To Live to Love | 长恨歌 | Li Puzhi |
Awards
edit- Awarded Best New Performer at the Hong Kong Film Awards in (1992).
- Nominated for Best Actor at the 13th Hong Kong Film Awards (1994) for his role in Temptation of a Monk