Hu Ge

Early life and education

Hu Ge was born in Shanghai in 1982. He received his first training in performing arts in Little Stars Performing Arts School run by Shanghai Media Group (SMG). Hu Ge attended Shanghai Xiang Yang Elementary School (1989–94) and Shanghai No.2 High School (1994-2001), both known for their educational rigor.

In addition to excellent academic work, Hu Ge's talents in a variety of extracurricular endeavors were also recognized. At age 14, Hu Ge started to host a popular TV show Sunshine Youth on Shanghai TV Education Channel^[1] for three years. Meanwhile, he was also selected to host a program in East Radio Shanghai. Hu Ge began his acting career by appearing in TV commercials, which helped him gain financial independence before graduating from high school.

In 2001, Hu Ge was admitted to two prestigious art institutes in China: The Central Academy of Drama and Shanghai Theatre Academy. Hu Ge decided to attend the latter, particularly attracted by its strong major in acting.

2002–2006: Beginnings and Rise to fame

While he was still studying, Hu Ge was recommended by his friend to Chinese Entertainment Shanghai (now known as Tangren Media) where he acted as a voice dub actor for the 2002 drama The Book and the Sword. Following which, he signed on with the company. After appearing in numerous commercials, Hu starred in the film Pretend There's No Feeling with a minor role.

Hu rose to prominence in 2005 when he played Li Xiaoyao in Chinese Paladin, a TV adaptation of the action RPG The Legend of Sword and Fairy. He won Best New Actor and Actor with Most Potential awards at the 2nd Enlight Media Awards.

After Chinese Paladin, Hu Ge embarked on a number of other TV projects, most of which had a wuxia theme, most notably The Little Fairy (2006) and The Young Warriors (2006). He then starred in the horror film The 601st Phone Call (2006), which won him the Film Actor with the Most Potential award at the 6th Tencent Star Ceremony.

In October 2006, Hu made his debut as a singer and released his first EP, titled Treasure.

2008–2012: Comeback after accident and Continued success

After a hiatus, Hu returned to the screen and starred as Guo Jing in The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008), adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. He also co-starred with Wu Chun and Charlene Choi in The Butterfly Lovers (2008), based on the famous Chinese legend Butterfly Lovers.

On May 15, 2008, Hu released his second album,Start, and embarked on his first solo concert in Shanghai.

Hu reprised his role as Li Xiaoyao in Chinese Paladin 3 (2009) while simultaneously acting as two other characters. The series achieved high ratings and was awarded the Ratings Contribution award at the Sichuan Festival.

He next starred as the male protagonist in The Myth (2010), based on the 2005 Hong Kong film of the same title. The drama acquired very high viewership ratings, and boosted Hu's popularity to a new high. Hu won the Popularity award at the 1st China Student Television Festival, and Best Actor in the legend genre at the 2010 Huading Awards.

To avoid being typecast, Hu subsequently stopped accepting any role in period dramas after he finished filming The Myth. He took on leading roles in modern dramas; Bitter Coffee (2011), Modern People (2012) and Unbeatable (2012), as well as war drama Shangri-La (2012). He also starred in the 2011 historical film 1911, playing Lin Juemin, and was nominated as Best New Actor at the 31st Hundred Flowers Awards.

Hu returned to period drama in Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky, adapted from the video game of the same name, where he also acts as the series' producer. His excellent portrayal of his character's paradoxical personality earned him another Best Actor in the legend genre at the 2012 Huading Awards, as well as the Most Popular Actor award at the 4th China TV Drama Awards. The same year, he participated in CES's nano-movie Refresh 3+7. He wrote the script for one of the stories Lights from the City, and starred in 4 out of the 10 stories.

2013: Forays into theater

2013 has often been referred to as Hu Ge's year of theatre plays. He acted as Patient No.5 in Stan Lai's A Dream Like a Dream, which served as the opening act at the 1st Wuzhen Theatre Festival. Hu's performance in A Dream Like A Dream especially surprised many theatre critics, and garnered positive reviews all round. He won the Best Actor award at the 2nd Denny Awards for his performance.

He then starred as Xu Zhuang Tu in Forever Yin Xueyan, a play based on Pai Hsien-yung's novel of the same title performed in the Shanghai dialect. He won the Most Popular Actor award at the Shanghai Culture Center, and the Most Popular Theater Actor of the Year at the BQ Magazine Popular Artists Ceremony.

2014–2016: Career resurgence and critical acclaim

In 2014, Hu Ge starred in modern drama Life Revelations alongside Yan Ni, and won the People's Choice award at the 9th Seoul International Drama Awards for his performance. He then starred in Sound of the Desert, based on the novel Ballad of the Desert written by Tong Hua. The same year, he garnered a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 21st Shanghai Television Festival for his performance in acclaimed war drama, Forty Nine Days: Fiesta. With three successful dramas, Hu won the Most Popular Actor award at the 6th China TV Drama Awards.

In 2015, Hu starred in espionage drama The Disguiser, which was met with critical acclaim and dominated ratings. This was followed by Nirvana in Fire, a turning point in Hu's acting career, and a commercial and critical success in its own right. Global Times praised the story, acting and cinematography of the series, stating that it had restored viewers' confidence in Chinese period dramas. Hu then starred in modern drama Good Times, written by Life Revelations writer Wang Liping. All three of his dramas in 2015 were listed under the "2015 China TV Drama Selection" by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

Hu Ge won awards at two of the most prestigious television awards in China for his role in Nirvana in Fire. He won Best Actor at the 22nd Shanghai Television Festival; and snagged a double victory by claiming both the Viewers' Choice award and the Most Popular Actor award at the 28th China TV Golden Eagle Award.

In 2016, Hu starred in sports drama Go! Goal! Fighting! alongside his then-girlfriend Jiang Shuying. He returned to the big screen in December 2016, starring as an antagonist in the crime suspense film Cherry Returns. The same year, CBN Weekly crowned him the most commercially valuable actor in China.

2017–present: Hiatus from the entertainment industry

Hu announced that he will be departing temporarily from the film industry for the next two years, to seek further education. His only upcoming work is Game of Hunting, a drama produced by critically acclaimed director and screenwriter Jiang Wei.

Accident and recovery

Hu Ge was involved in a car accident on 29 August 2006 while travelling from Hengdian to Shanghai on the highway. He survived with severe injuries while his assistant died. Hu had to undergo surgery and the entire healing process took approximately one year. The filming of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, which he was working on then, was temporarily halted due to his injury, in addition to being unable to complete promoting his finished project The Young Warriors with his fellow cast members. Hu Ge expresses how he felt of the incident through the performance of his single "Dare to Love", and filmed a music video with his co-star from the two series and friend Cecilia Liu.

Soon after the accident, he also published a book Scavenger of Happiness, filled with his thoughts on the accident and post events, interesting childhood events, well wishes from good friends and previously unexposed pictures. This book documented in detail the process of how Hu Ge changed from a young idol with a smooth career path into an increasingly mature actor who could truthfully face life's problems as a scavenger of happiness.

Relationships

Hu Ge is known to be close friends with Wallace Huo, Cecilia Liu, Tiffany Tang, Ariel Lin, Eddie Peng, and Yuan Hong. His past relationships include actress Xue Jianing, whom he dated early in his career, and Jiang Shuying, his co-star in Go! Goal! Fighting!.

Hu is known as an avid cat lover, and has revealed that he own five cats.

Endorsements and Ambassadorship

Following his surge in popularity and public awareness, Hu has also been appointed the Shanghai Tourism Ambassador in 2015. Professional designers from Madame Tussauds Shanghai took measurements from Hu to make two wax figures of him; one of himself and one of his character Mei Changsu from Nirvana in Fire, which was unveiled in September 2016.

In 2016, Hu Ge was named brand ambassador of Emporio Armani in China and Asia Pacific. In the same year, he also became brand ambassadors for Piaget and Chanel Perfume and Cosmetics.