# Yu Xiaoguang

Yu Xiaoguang (Chinese: 于晓光; born 16 May 1981), also known as Ethan Yu, is a Chinese composer and actor. Yu is a former swimmer and sprint canoer. In 2006 he made a crossover from sports to films. Yu made appearances on many television series, most notably My Kung Fu Girlfriend (2006), Fighting in Peking (2009), Mao Anying (2010), The Happy Time of the Spicy and Hot Girlfriend (2012), City and Country Life (2014), and Namchow Mechanic Heroes (2015).

## Early life and education

Yu was born in Dandong, Liaoning, on May 16, 1981. At the age of 7, he entered a sports school to learn to swim and later became a member of the Liaoning swimming team. In the National Youth Swimming Championships, he won the championship two years (1995 and 1996) in succession. In 1997, he started to learn to canoeing and won the championship in the National Canoeing Championships. After his early retirement, he was accepted to Central Academy of Drama, where he majored in acting. In 2002, he pursued advanced studies in Singapore, he studied music under Lee Wei Song.

## Career

Yu had his first experience in front of the camera in 2006, and he was chosen to act as a lead role in My Kung Fu Girlfriend, a comedy television series starring Wang Yang and Ma Su.
In 2007, Yu made his film debut in Crazy in Love, playing Brother Xi. That same year, he co-starred with Yao Chen and Zhang Jiayi in the historical television series Past Events.
In 2008, he appeared in the Game of Life and Death, I'm the Sun and Sailfish Qi yu.
In 2009, Yu portrayed Feng Mu [zh], a writer and critic, in the war television series Fighting in Peking.
Yu portrayed Mao Anying, son of Mao Zedong, in the 2010 biographical drama Mao Anying. That same year, he had key supporting role in Mother, which starred Siqin Gaowa and Song Chunli.
In 2011, two films and one television series he headlined, Wu Yunduo, Beginning of the Great Revival and A Cheng. He played Wu Yunduo, a Chinese ordnance expert during the Second Sino-Japanese War, in the biographical drama Wu Yunduo. He portrayed Liu Shaoqi in China Film Group and DMG Entertainment's production of Huang Jianxin and Han Sanping's Beginning of the Great Revival, alongside Liu Ye, Chen Kun, Li Qin, Huang Jue, and Liao Fan.
Yu starred in the romantic comedy television series The Happy Time of the Spicy and Hot Girlfriend, playing the boyfriend of Choo Ja-hyun's character.
In 2014, Yu portrayed Deng Zhifang, son of Deng Xiaoping, in Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads, created by CCTV and directed by Wu Ziniu. The drama received positive reviews and high ratings. That same year, he starred as Man Cang, reuniting him with co-star Che Xiao, who played his girlfriend Jing Mei, in the romantic television series City and Country Life. The series was one of the most watched ones in mainland China in that month.
Yu starred opposite Yu Rongguang, Choo Ja-hyun and Zhu Xiaoyu in 2015 television series Namchow Mechanic Heroes.
In 2017, Yu guest-starred on Billy Chung's Eternal Wave, an action film starring Aaron Kwok, Zanilia Zhao, Zoe Zhang, Zhang Han, and Simon Yam. That same year, he was cast in Hero, playing the son of Siqin Gaowa's and Gao Ming's characters.

## Personal life

Yu married Korean actress Choo Ja-hyun on January 18, 2017. They first met while appearing in a Chinese drama The Happy Time of the Spicy and Hot Girlfriend in 2012.
On June 1, 2018, Yu's wife Chu Ja-hyun gave birth to a boy at a hospital in Seoul, South Korea.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
| 2007 | Crazy in Love | 意乱情迷 | Brother Xi |
| 2008 | Sailfish Qi yu | 旗鱼 | Gao Ming |
| 2011 | Wu Yunduo | 吴运铎 | Wu Yunduo |
| 2011 | Beginning of the Great Revival | 建党伟业 | Liu Shaoqi |
| 2017 | Eternal Wave | 密战 | Big Cat |

### TV series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
| 2006 | My Kung Fu Girlfriend | 我的功夫女友 | Du Runnan |
| 2007 | Past Events | 百年往事 | Zhang Xiaolu |
| 2008 | Game of Life and Death | 生死博弈 | Xiao Ke |
| 2008 | I'm the Sun | 我是太阳 | Shao Yue |
| 2009 | Fighting in Peking | 狼烟北平 | Feng Mu |
| 2009 | See A-Lang Again | 又见阿郎 | Zheng Guyi |
| 2010 | Sword Without Front | 利剑无锋 | Shen Hao |
| 2010 | Mao Anying | 毛岸英 | Mao Anying |
| 2010 | Mother | 娘 | Man Cang |
| 2011 | A Cheng | 阿诚 | Jiang Haisheng |
| 2012 | The Happy Time of the Spicy and Hot Girlfriend | 麻辣女友的幸福时光 | Luo Yin |
| 2012 | — | 鹰巢之预备警官 | Jin Rui |
| 2012 | — | 一门三司令 | Yang Tianhong |
| 2014 | Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads | 历史转折中的邓小平 | Deng Zhifang |
| 2014 | City and Country Life | 满仓进城 | Man Cang |
| 2014 | Moving Muzzle | 移动的枪口 | Lu Tianhong |
| 2015 | Beautiful Village Girl | 美丽村姑 | Ding Zhun |
| 2015 | Namchow Mechanic Heroes | 南侨机工英雄传 | Fang Tianhai |
| 2015 | Storm over Ordos | 鄂尔多斯风暴 | Ta La |
| 2016 | Ultimate Mission | 终极使命 | Gao Han |
| 2017 | Soma Flowers | 索玛花开 | Mu Xia |
| 2017 | Hero | 英雄烈 | Liang Tianci |
| 2017 | Her | 咱家 | Guo Hu |
| 2017 | The Dream is Getting Closer | 梦想越走越近 | Zhao Jiaping |
| 2017 | The Wolf Warriors | 百战天狼 | Ma Gaitian |
| 2018 | About Time | 想停止的瞬間: About Time | Zhang Qiang |

### Drama

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Mao Zedong and His Elder Son | 毛泽东和他的长子 | Mao Anying | |

### Music video appearances

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Singer |
| 2003 | Hope | 希望 | |
| 2005 | When You Want to Know Who Alone | 孤独时候你想谁呢 | Yaya Meng |
| 2006 | Message Board | 留言信箱 | Huang Yue |

### Variety show

| Year | English title | Original title | Television |
| 1 December 2010 | Art Life | 艺术人生 | CCTV-3 |
| 6 August 2011 | China Feelings | 中华情 | CCTV-4 |
| 1 September 2011 | Avenue of Stars | 星光大道 | CCTV-1 |
| 25 February 2012 | The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea: Happy New Year | 八仙过海闹新春 | CCTV-8 |
| 9 August 2012 | Best Live | 最佳现场 | BTV |
| 22 November 2012 | Fashionable Tourism | 时尚旅游 | Qinghai Television |
| 1 May 2013 | Thank God You are Coming | 谢天谢地你来啦 | CCTV-1 |
| 20 November 2013 | The Most Unusual National Opera Fan | 最炫国剧风 | Shandong Television |
| 16 December 2013 | I Love My Family | 我爱我家 | BTV |
| 1 September 2014 | Film and Television Drama | 影视风云 | BTV |
| 14 February 2015 | A Letter to Home | 一封家书 | Shandong Television |
| 12 March 2016 | Family and Children | 家游好儿女 | Shandong Television |
| 26 March 2017 | Super Sound Wave | 超强音浪 | Shandong Television |
| 10 July 2017 | Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny | 동상이몽 2 – 너는 내 운명 | SBS |

## Music (as composer)

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Singer | Notes |
| 2006 | I Find Happiness That Year | 找到幸褔那年 | Tarcy Su | |
| 2006 | Love is Never Wrong | 爱一个人没错 | Sun Ho | |
| 2006 | 7-27 | 7-27 | Maggie Teng | |
| 2007 | The Plight We Made | 我们说好的 | Jane Zhang | with Lee Wei Song. |
| 2007 | Secret Love | 暗恋 | Huang Xiaoming | |
| 2007 | Scorpio Lover | 天蝎情人 | Huang Xiaoming | |
| 2008 | Out of Tune | 走音 | Wong Jinglun | |
| 2008 | Experimenting | 试验品 | Stephen Fung | |
| 2009 | Blue Sky | 天空蓝 | Pace Wu | |
| 2009 | Ban | 伴 | Tiger Huang | |
| 2011 | Occasionally Ordinary | 偶尔平凡 | Hacken Lee | with Lee Wei Song. |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Notes |
| 2017 | SBS Entertainment Awards | Hot Star of the Year | Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny | Won | with Choo Ja-hyun |