Wu Hsing-kuo () 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 Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became ...

Life and career

Wu was trained in classical

since the age of 11 in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

'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 The Chinese Culture University (CCU; ) is a private Taiwanese university located in Yangmingshan in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan. Established in 1962, CCU is one of the largest universities in Taiwan with an enrollment of about 32,000 student ...

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, 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 in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, seeking to revitalize traditional Chinese theatre by adapting Western classical plays to the style and techniques of

. He was the leading actor and director of four

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

adaptations, including the critically acclaimed ''Kingdom of Desire'' (慾望城國), an adaptation of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', and ''King Lear'' (李爾在此), in which Wu plays all the parts. In 1992, Wu was awarded a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

to study in New York with Richard Schechner. That year, he also won the

Hong Kong Film Award The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual List of film awards, film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies typically take place in April, and have mostly been held at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Cent ...

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

Films

TV series

Awards

* Awarded Best New Performer at the

Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies typically take place in April, and have mostly been held at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre since 1991. The a ...

in (1992). * Nominated for Best Actor at the

13th Hong Kong Film Awards The 13th Hong Kong Awards ceremony, honored the best 1993 in film, films of 1993 and took place on 22 April 1994 at Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The ceremony was hosted by Lydia Shum and John Sham, during the ceremon ...

(1994) for his role in '' Temptation of a Monk''

External links

*
HK cinemagic entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Hsing-Kuo Taiwanese male film actors Living people 1953 births Male actors from Kaohsiung Taiwanese male television actors Taiwanese male Peking opera actors 21st-century Taiwanese male actors 20th-century Taiwanese male actors Chinese Culture University alumni 21st-century Taiwanese male singers 21st-century Taiwanese singers 20th-century Taiwanese male singers