# Xia Yu (actor)

Xia Yu (Chinese: 夏雨; born 28 October 1976) is a Chinese actor. At the age of 18 years, he rose to international prominence after winning the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival in 1994 for his leading role in the film In the Heat of the Sun and became the youngest actor to win that award in the history of the Venice Film Festival.

## Biography

Xia Yu was born on 28 October 1976 in Qingdao, Shandong Province. His father was once an actor and then became a painter.
Xia was initially discovered by Jiang Wen who cast him in his semi-autobiographical film In the Heat of the Sun (1994). Despite being chosen partly because of his facial resemblance to a young Jiang, Xia's spirited and moving performance as a renegade youth conquered audiences. He was rocketed to international stardom after he won the Best Actor award from the Venice Film Festival (the youngest actor to win that award in the history of the festival), Singapore International Film Festival and Golden Horse Awards.
Xia wanted to study drama after his first film, he was accepted into the Central Academy of Drama. After completing his studies there, Xia remained an active force in Chinese cinema as well as television, appearing in many films and television series. Xia's second film Shadow Magic demonstrated his talent as an actor and earned him a nomination for Best Actor at the Tokyo International Film Festival. His earlier film credits also includes Roots and Branches (2001) and Where Have All the Flowers Gone (2002). Xia's subsequent films, The Law of Romance (2003) won him a Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor and Waiting Alone (2005) earned him Best Actor at the Beijing College Student Film Festival. With five best actor titles at international film festivals, Xia Yu has been named one of the top 4 hottest young actors in China.
Like many of today′s actors in China, Xia Yu also has an extensive TV career, appearing on such shows as Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito, Classical Romance and Sky Lovers. Most of Xia′s TV roles have been secondary ones until he was cast to star in The Ugliest In the World, where he played Liu Baoshan, a genius of the Qing Dynasty who gave up the opportunity to become an official in order to become a clown.
Aside from local productions, Xia has also starred in two Hollywood films; China: The Panda Adventure (2001) and The Painted Veil (2006). Xia also starred alongside Shilpa Shetty in the Indian-Chinese film The Desire (2010). In 2016, he took on the role of Wong Jack-man in the Bruce Lee biopic Birth of the Dragon, produced by American filmmaker George Nolfi.
In 2017, Xia reunited with Waiting Alone director Dayyan Eng in fantasy comedy film Wished, which became one of the highest-grossing domestic comedy titles for the summer season.
In 2019, it was announced that Xia will play Shen Gongbao in the upcoming fantasy film series Fengshen Trilogy directed by Wuershan. The film is based on the novel Investiture of the Gods.

## Personal life

Xia Yu married actress Yuan Quan in 2009, a decade after their first date as students in Central Academy of Drama. They have appeared in 4 films together: The Law of Romance (2003), Waiting Alone (2004), Shanghai Rumba (2006) and Breakup Buddies (2014). Their daughter was born on 31 March 2010.
Xia is an avid skateboarder. He fell in love with skateboarding after watching it in Gleaming the Cube, a popular movie when he was young. He finds time to board whenever he is between sets shooting a film. In 2003, Xia began to ski and loved it. In 2006, Xia won the championship of a snowboarding game in amateur group in Lucerne, Switzerland.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | In the Heat of the Sun | 阳光灿烂的日子 | Ma Xiaojun | |
| 2000 | Shadow Magic | 西洋镜 | Liu Jinglun | |
| 2001 | Roots and Branches | 我的兄弟姐妹 | Qi Tian | |
| 2001 | China: The Panda Adventure | — | Quentin Young | |
| 2002 | Where Have All the Flowers Gone | 那时花开 | Gao An | |
| 2003 | Cala, My Dog! | 卡拉是条狗 | Police | |
| 2003 | The Law of Romance | 警察有约 | Zhao Xingan | |
| 2004 | My Early Days in France | 我的法兰西岁月 | Xiao San | |
| 2004 | Electric Shadows | 电影往事 | Mao Dabing | |
| 2004 | Bamboo Shoot | 自娱自乐 | Wang Shengli | |
| 2004 | Waiting Alone | 独自等待 | Chen Wen | |
| 2005 | Dragon Squad | 猛龙 | Luo Zaijun | |
| 2006 | Shanghai Rumba | 上海伦巴 | Ah Chuan | |
| 2006 | Sun Plant | 太阳花 | Boy | Short film |
| 2006 | The Painted Veil | 面纱 | Wu Lien | |
| 2007 | Getting Home | 落叶归根 | Bei Baorong | |
| 2007 | | 江北好人 | Zhang Weiyang | |
| 2007 | Dangerous Games | 棒子老虎鸡 | Li Dachun | |
| 2009 | Tiny Dust, True Love | 寻找微尘 | Reporter | Cameo |
| 2010 | Life of Sentime | 感情生活 | Xiao Ke | |
| 2010 | Wind Blast | 西风烈 | Zhang Ning | |
| 2010 | The Desire | — | Jai Leang | |
| 2012 | Double Trouble | 宝岛双雄 | Ocean | |
| 2012 | The Sino-Japanese War at Sea 1894 | 一八九四·甲午大海战 | Itō Sukeyuki | |
| 2013 | Love Deposit | 爱情银行 | He Muyang | |
| 2013 | Christmas Rose | 圣诞玫瑰 | Xue Zhaowen | |
| 2014 | Breakup Buddies | 心花路放 | Kang Xiaoyu's ex | Cameo |
| 2015 | Crazy New Year's Eve | 一路惊喜 | Zhong Wei | |
| 2015 | Romance Out of the Blue | 浪漫天降 | Lin Zida | |
| 2015 | Mojin: The Lost Legend | 鬼吹灯之寻龙诀 | Big Gold Tooth | |
| 2016 | Papa | 洛杉矶捣蛋计划 | Huang Guolun | |
| 2016 | Birth of the Dragon | — | Wong Jack-man | |
| 2017 | Wished | 反转人生 | Ma Fendou | |
| 2018 | Goddesses in the Flames of War | 那些女人 | | Cameo |
| 2019 | Love Song to the Days Forgone | 东北往事之二十年 | Mei San | |
| 2019 | The Coldest City | 红尘1945 | | |
| 2020 | Fengshen Trilogy | 封神三部曲 | Shen Gongbao | |
| 2022 | Breaking Through | 我心飞扬 | Qin Shan | |

### Television series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | Temporary Family | 临时家庭 | | Cameo |
| 1998 | Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito | 康熙微服私访记 | Wo Laiye | |
| 2001 | The Best Clown Under Heaven | 天下第一丑 | Liu Gansan | |
| 2001 | Buddha Jumps | 佛跳墙 | Zhao Baochu | |
| 2002 | Sky Lovers | 天空下的缘分 | Xia Sanlang | |
| 2002 | You Light Up My Life | 点燃我生命的是你 | Huo Ran | |
| 2003 | Return of Judge Bao I | 包公出巡之龙凤肚兜 | Gao Tianyou | |
| 2004 | The Thundering Sword | 残剑震江湖 | Wang Xiaohu | |
| 2004 | Classical Romance | 经典爱情 | Chen Guang | |
| 2004 | Bring Your Smile Along | 啼笑因缘 | Lu Yizhi | |
| 2005 | The Vinegar Tribe | 醋溜族 | Xiao Long | |
| 2005 | Falling in Love with a Single-Eyelid Guy | 爱上单眼皮男生 | Han Zitong | |
| 2006 | Waves Washing the Sand | 浪淘沙 | Ouyang Tong | |
| 2006 | The Identity of Friend | 以朋友的名义 | Luo Jie | |
| 2006 | Secret History of Kangxi | 康熙秘史 | Kangxi | |
| 2007 | Justice Department | 青天衙门 | Rui De | |
| 2008 | Firewall 5788 | 防火墙5788 | Tong Jun | |
| 2009 | The Innocent Years | 我们的八十年代 | Yin Yugang | |
| 2009 | Great Porcelain Merchant | 大瓷商 | Tao Jingnan | |
| 2009 | The North Wind Blows | 北风那个吹 | Shuai Hongbin | |
| 2009 | The Flying Military Flag | 军旗飘扬 | Ma Bayi | |
| 2011 | Shi Fu | 师傅 | Xu Feng | |
| 2011 | Yang Liu Qing | 杨柳青 | Yang Liuqing | |
| 2013 | The Standing Year | 而立之年 | Cao Baiwan | |
| 2013 | Jinan City is our Hometown | 我们这拨人 | Yang Ruo | |
| 2018 | Operation Moscow | 莫斯科行动 | Chen Yali | |
| 2018 | Mystery of Antiques | 古董局中局 | Xu Yuan | |
| 2020 | Antique Bureau Midgame | 古董局中局2 | Xu Yuan | |
| 2020 | Traditional Chinese Medicine | 大中医 | | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1994 | 51st Venice Film Festival | Best Actor | In the Heat of the Sun | Won |
| 1994 | 7th Singapore International Film Festival | Best Actor | In the Heat of the Sun | Won |
| 1996 | 23rd Golden Horse Awards | Best Actor | In the Heat of the Sun | Won |
| 2000 | 5th Changchun Film Festival | Best Actor | Shadow Magic | Nominated |
| 2000 | 13th Tokyo International Film Festival | Best Actor | Shadow Magic | Nominated |
| 2003 | 23rd Golden Rooster Awards | Best Actor | The Law of Romance | Won |
| 2004 | 27th Hundred Flowers Award | Best Actor | The Law of Romance | Nominated |
| 2005 | 7th Changchun Film Festival | Best Actor | Electric Shadows | Nominated |
| 2005 | 12th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best Actor | Waiting Alone | Won |
| 2005 | 10th Golden Phoenix Awards | Society Award | Waiting Alone | Won |
| 2006 | 13th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Most Popular Actor | Shanghai Rumba | Won |
| 2009 | 1st Macau International Movie Festival | Best Actor | Life of Sentime | Nominated |
| 2016 | 33rd Hundred Flowers Award | Best Supporting Actor | Mojin: The Lost Legend | Nominated |
| 2018 | 24th Huading Awards | Best Actor | Operation Moscow | Nominated |
| 2019 | 6th The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Best Actor (Web series) | Mystery of Antiques | Nominated |
| 2019 | 26th Huading Awards | Best Actor (Modern drama) | Mystery of Antiques | Nominated |
| 2019 | Jinri Toutiao Awards Ceremony | Music Creator of the Year | — | Won |
| 2020 | 7th The Actors of China Awards | Best Actor (Web series) | — | Nominated |