- Born
- Birth nameDaniel N. Wu
- Nickname
- Dan
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Daniel Wu, is a renowned Hong Kong- American actor, director, and producer. With a career spanning over twenty five years, Wu has made significant contributions to the Asian film industry, and gained recognition for his roles in martial arts and action films as well as drama, showcasing both his broad acting range and physical agility.
Wu's journey in the entertainment world began when he moved to Hong Kong in the late 1990s and was discovered by auteur director Yonfan who cast him in the lead role of gay art house film, "Bishonen". He then quickly rose to fame, starring in films like Benny Chan's "Gen-X Cops", "Purple Storm", and most notably in "City of Glass" for which he earned the first of five Hong Kong Film Award nominations, as Best New Performer.
He received two more Hong Kong Film Award nominations in 2005, for Best Actor in "One Night in Mongkok", Best Supporting Actor in Jackie Chan's "New Police Story", an iconic role that also brought him Taiwan's Golden Horse Award as Best Supporting Actor. The following year Daniel made his directorial debut with "The Heavenly Kings" , a humorous glimpse into the Hong Kong music industry, which won him the prestigious Hong Kong prize as Best New Director for his 2006 feature. Daniel was again nominated for Best Actor in 2015 for his role in Dante Lam's psychological thriller "That Demon Within".
His string of international film hits includes Frank Coraci's 2004 remake of "Around the World in 80 Days", "Blood Brothers" (2007), "Overheard" (2009), Quentin Tarantino's presentation of "The Man with the Iron Fists" (2012), "Europa Report" (2013), China's submission to the 88th Academy Awards "Go Away Mr. Tumor," Duncan Jones' adaptation of the renowned video game, "Warcraft" (2016), "Geostorm" (2017), as well as the remake of "Tomb Raider" (2018). He also starred and executive produced the AMC TV show "Into the Badlands" (2015-2019). Most recently, Wu starred in the box office hit "Caught in Time" (2020), as well as appearing in Lisa Joy's feature directorial debut, romantic sci-fi noir thriller "Reminiscence" (2021), and the HBO series, "Westworld" (2022).
He can also be seen in the Disney+ limited series, "American Born Chinese" (2023) based on the award-winning graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. Wu appears as Sun Wukong, better known as The Monkey King, a mythological and all-powerful god who journeys into our world in a pursuit to find his son.
Beyond his cinematic accomplishments, Daniel Wu is recognized for his advocacy work, supporting the Asian American community as well as other charitable causes. Daniel was also the 2022 recipient of The Bruce Lee Award, in honor of the legendary actor, presented each year by AWFF and the Bruce Lee Foundation to an individual in the film industry whose efforts in the field of martial arts has created a legacy of excellence. Daniel is also an accomplished race car driver currently racing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series. Daniel Wu's multifaceted career, marked by talent and versatility, has solidified his status as a prominent figure in the global entertainment landscape and making him a household name throughout the global Chinese community.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Michael Garnett
- SpouseLisa S.(April 6, 2010 - present) (1 child)
- ParentsDiana WuGeorge Wu
- Speaks English, Shanghainese, Cantonese and Mandarin. Wu's parents are from Shanghai. He grew up speaking Shanghainese and English.
- Founder and first instructor of the University of Oregon Wushu (Chinese Martial Arts) Club.
- He was born in Berkeley, California, grew up in Orinda, California and went to high school in Oakland, California.
- Education: University of Oregon (BA of Architecture)
- Hobbies: Kung Fu practice, travelling, photography
- I really feel that Hong Kong is my home, and Hong Kong is my identity as an actor.
- At Diversion, we want to do genres that people are not doing - or, if we're doing genres that people are doing, to do them in a fresh way.
- You've gotta understand camera angles, camera movement - a kick that may not be very powerful may look very powerful from a certain angle.
- If you're down to 6% body fat, which I've done before, you burn out really quickly. Like, in a couple hours, you're pretty much done, and then you're useless.
- I went to Hong Kong in '97 to witness the handover after graduating university, and then I was gonna backpack around Asia and then come back here and look for a job.
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