Nicky Wu
Encyclopedia
Nicky Wu is a Taiwan
ese singer and actor. Wu found fame in 1988, by joining the Taiwanese boy band
, Little Tigers Team, performing alongside Alec Su
and Julian Chen. Since then, his career has also expanded into film and television in Taiwan
, Hong Kong
and mainland China
.
and Taekwondo
. His efforts in these two disciplines earned him three black belt
s in Judo and five in Tae Kwon Do. Moreover, Nicky was the provincial Taiwanese Tae Kwon Do champion for three consecutive years. Nicky also excelled academically during this time, consistently being placed amongst the top three in his class. Besides this, he earned awards in calligraphy, drawing and essay-writing.
, Little Tigers Team. Initially Nicky refused, wishing to focus more on developing his career as an athlete, but he was eventually persuaded to go through with it. The audition was successful and he was chosen to be a part of the band, along with two others – Alec Su and Julian Chen. Nicky was given the name of "霹靂虎" for the band.
With the release of their albums Happy New Year and Leisurely Cruising, in 1988 and 1989 respectively, the Little Tigers Team achieved success and recognition, becoming pop idols
in the region. The band's success is said to have inspired the next generation of Taiwanese pop acts, leading to the creation of other boy bands, such as F4
.
and Cantonese albums, with hit singles such as "Best Wishes to You" and "Waiting Day by Day". Going solo proved to be successful, when Wu won the 1993 Best New Artist award in Hong Kong
, accompanied by the box office success of the Tsui Hark
movie, The Butterfly Lovers, the following year in which he starred as the male protagonist, Liang Shangbo, alongside Charlie Yeung
.
Nicky continued starring in other films such as Love in the Time of Twilight (1995), Thunder Cops (1996) and Never Say Goodbye (2001), though none of these films were able to match the critical and commercial success of The Butterfly Lovers. His musical success, however, earned him the title of one of Taiwan's "four small heavenly kings" (given to the four most popular teen idols
of the 1990s) along with Alec Su, Jimmy Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro
.
series At the Threshold of an Era
, ATV
series Treasure Venture and Taiwanese series Treasure Raiders in mainland China, Nicky Wu achieved fame in the television industry. Since then, he has been working consistently in both film and television, recently starring in the high-budgeted A Battle of Wits
, alongside Andy Lau
. Wu currently provides the voice of Dexter, in the Chinese version of Dexter's Laboratory
.
and Hong Kong actress Charlie Yeung
. In 1999, Nicky was in the public eye for his much-publicized relationship with actress Ada Choi
. The couple broke up in 2002 and Nicky began dating mainland actress Ma Yashu, a few months later. This newly-formed relationship had drawn criticism from the media, for Ma Yashu was rumored as "the third woman", in connection with Ada Choi. Nonetheless, the couple got married in December 2006. However, Nicky and Ma Yashu filed for divorce in 2009.
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...
ese singer and actor. Wu found fame in 1988, by joining the Taiwanese boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
, Little Tigers Team, performing alongside Alec Su
Alec Su
Alec Su is a Taiwanese pop star and versatile actor in films and television dramas. He became famous as a member of the Taiwanese Idol Band The Little Tigers, formed in 1988, and later for his first Chinese TV series Princess Returning Pearl .-Little Tigers:Alec Su's career started in 1988, at...
and Julian Chen. Since then, his career has also expanded into film and television in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
.
Childhood
Nicky Wu is the second child of the Wu family, with one older and one younger brother. He has been described as being athletic in his childhood, having participated in JudoJudo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
and Taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
. His efforts in these two disciplines earned him three black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
s in Judo and five in Tae Kwon Do. Moreover, Nicky was the provincial Taiwanese Tae Kwon Do champion for three consecutive years. Nicky also excelled academically during this time, consistently being placed amongst the top three in his class. Besides this, he earned awards in calligraphy, drawing and essay-writing.
Rise to stardom
In 1988, at the age of 17, Wu was spotted by an entertainment agent, while working part-time; the agent advised him to audition for Taiwanese boy bandBoy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
, Little Tigers Team. Initially Nicky refused, wishing to focus more on developing his career as an athlete, but he was eventually persuaded to go through with it. The audition was successful and he was chosen to be a part of the band, along with two others – Alec Su and Julian Chen. Nicky was given the name of "霹靂虎" for the band.
With the release of their albums Happy New Year and Leisurely Cruising, in 1988 and 1989 respectively, the Little Tigers Team achieved success and recognition, becoming pop idols
Pop icon
A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The categorization is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction. Moreover, "pop icon" status is distinguishable from...
in the region. The band's success is said to have inspired the next generation of Taiwanese pop acts, leading to the creation of other boy bands, such as F4
F4 (band)
F4 is a Taiwanese boy band. The group began in the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden as F4 with members Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu, and Vic Chou...
.
Going solo
After selling millions of copies, the band was forcibly put on hiatus due to Julian Chen's compulsory military service. Nicky continued in the entertainment industry by himself, branching out into MandarinStandard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
and Cantonese albums, with hit singles such as "Best Wishes to You" and "Waiting Day by Day". Going solo proved to be successful, when Wu won the 1993 Best New Artist award in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, accompanied by the box office success of the Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...
movie, The Butterfly Lovers, the following year in which he starred as the male protagonist, Liang Shangbo, alongside Charlie Yeung
Charlie Yeung
Charlie Yeung Choi-Nei, sometimes spelled Charlie Young, is a Chinese film actress and singer. She was first noticed after appearing in a jewellery commercial with Aaron Kwok...
.
Nicky continued starring in other films such as Love in the Time of Twilight (1995), Thunder Cops (1996) and Never Say Goodbye (2001), though none of these films were able to match the critical and commercial success of The Butterfly Lovers. His musical success, however, earned him the title of one of Taiwan's "four small heavenly kings" (given to the four most popular teen idols
Teen Idols
The Teen Idols were a pop punk band originally from Nashville, Tennessee. They were formed in 1992 by Phillip Hill and originally broke up in 2003...
of the 1990s) along with Alec Su, Jimmy Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro
Takeshi Kaneshiro
Takeshi Kaneshiro , born October 11, 1973, is a Taiwan-born Japanese actor and singer.-Name:...
.
Developing further
With the broadcast of the TVBTelevision Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
series At the Threshold of an Era
At the Threshold of an Era
At the Threshold of an Era was a Hong Kong epic drama series broadcast by TVB Jade Channel from October 11, 1999 to December 18, 1999 and March 13, 2000 to May 26, 2000, and was extensively promoted by TVB as its cross-milliennium, one-hundred-episode-long epic...
, ATV
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
series Treasure Venture and Taiwanese series Treasure Raiders in mainland China, Nicky Wu achieved fame in the television industry. Since then, he has been working consistently in both film and television, recently starring in the high-budgeted A Battle of Wits
A Battle of Wits (2006 film)
A Battle of Wits is a 2006 Hong Kong film based on a Japanese historical novel, written by Ken'ichi Sakemi. A manga series was written by Hideki Mori, also based on the novel. Directed by Jacob Cheung, the film starred Andy Lau, Ahn Sung-ki, Wang Zhiwen, Fan Bingbing, Nicky Wu and Choi Siwon...
, alongside Andy Lau
Andy Lau
Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
. Wu currently provides the voice of Dexter, in the Chinese version of Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter's Laboratory is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Cartoon Network Studios . The show is about a boy named Dexter who has an enormous secret laboratory filled with an endless collection of his inventions...
.
Personal life
Throughout the years, Nicky has been linked to stars in the entertainment industry such as Taiwanese singer Vivian HsuVivian Hsu
Vivian Hsu is a Taiwanese singer, actress, and model who has gained remarkable popularity in East Asia, mainly in Taiwan and Japan.Hsu rose to prominence in Japan, where she made her first appearance in 1995 and has become a highly-recognized celebrity with her countless appearances in media...
and Hong Kong actress Charlie Yeung
Charlie Yeung
Charlie Yeung Choi-Nei, sometimes spelled Charlie Young, is a Chinese film actress and singer. She was first noticed after appearing in a jewellery commercial with Aaron Kwok...
. In 1999, Nicky was in the public eye for his much-publicized relationship with actress Ada Choi
Ada Choi
Ada Choi Siu-fun is a Hong Kong actress best known for her work for TVB television, and to a lesser extent, for her film work. She was the second runner-up in the 1991 Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant....
. The couple broke up in 2002 and Nicky began dating mainland actress Ma Yashu, a few months later. This newly-formed relationship had drawn criticism from the media, for Ma Yashu was rumored as "the third woman", in connection with Ada Choi. Nonetheless, the couple got married in December 2006. However, Nicky and Ma Yashu filed for divorce in 2009.
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Ticket (车票) | |
| 2007 | Change You (调包) | |
| The Valiant Ones New (忠烈圖) | ||
| 2006 | A Battle of Wits A Battle of Wits (2006 film) A Battle of Wits is a 2006 Hong Kong film based on a Japanese historical novel, written by Ken'ichi Sakemi. A manga series was written by Hideki Mori, also based on the novel. Directed by Jacob Cheung, the film starred Andy Lau, Ahn Sung-ki, Wang Zhiwen, Fan Bingbing, Nicky Wu and Choi Siwon... (墨攻) |
Zi Tuan (as Qi-Long Wu) |
| 2001 | First Story of Love (初戀的故事) | |
| Never Say Goodbye (有人說愛我) | ||
| 2000 | A Matter of Time (新賭國仇城) | |
| 1999 | Deja-Vu (緣, 妙不可言) | |
| My Heart Will Go On (我心不死) | ||
| Boy Girl (好孩子) | ||
| 1997 | Stand Behind the Yellow Line (生日多戀事) | |
| The Kid vs The Cop (天生絕配) | ||
| Jail in Burning Island (火燒島之橫行霸道) | ||
| 1996 | Naughty Boys and Soldiers (狗蛋大兵) | |
| King of Comic (漫畫王) | ||
| Thunder Cops (新喋血雙雄) | ||
| Forever Friends Forever Friends (film) Forever Friends is a Taiwanese comedy war film released in 1996. It features Taiwan's popular "four little heavenly kings" as friends serving in the army of Taiwan... (號角響起) |
||
| 1995 | Young Policemen in Love Young Policemen in Love Young Policemen in Love is a 1995 Hong Kong movie directed by Chu Yin-ping.-Cast:* Takeshi Kaneshiro * Nicky Wu* Charlie Yeung* Wong Yat Fei* Yip Chuen Chan -External links:*... (新扎師兄追女仔) |
|
| Remember M Remember E (那有一天不想你) | ||
| Love in the Time of Twilight (花月佳期) | ||
| 1994 | The Lovers The Lovers (1994 film) The Lovers is a 1994 Hong Kong romance film based on the Chinese legend of the Butterfly Lovers. It was directed and produced by Tsui Hark, and starred Nicky Wu, Charlie Yeung, Elvis Tsui and Carrie Ng... (梁祝) |
|
| 1993 | In-Between (新同居時代) | |
| 1992 | To Miss With Love (逃學歪傳) | |
| 1990 | Wandering Heroes (游俠兒) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Startling by each step" (步步惊心) | Si A Ge (Yong Zheng) |
| 2006 | Da Ma Tou (大碼頭) | |
| Legend of the Book's Tower (Feng Man Lou) (風滿樓) | Ao Xietian | |
| 2005 | Li Hou Zhu Yu Zhao Kuang Yin (李後主與趙匡胤) | |
| Jing Wei Tian Hai (精衛填海) | (guest star) | |
| 2004 | Iron Fisted Drifter (鐵拳浪子) | |
| Six-Fingered Demon Lute (六指琴魔) | (guest star) | |
| Heroes on a Silk Road (絲路豪俠) | ||
| 2003 | Musketeers and Princess (名捕震關東) | |
| Wesley (冒險王衛斯理) | 衛斯理 | |
| 2002 | Pursuing Dreams (追夢) | |
| Treasure Raiders (蕭十一郎) | 蕭十一郎 | |
| 2000 | Treasure Venture (俠女闖天關) | |
| 1999 | At the Threshold of an Era At the Threshold of an Era At the Threshold of an Era was a Hong Kong epic drama series broadcast by TVB Jade Channel from October 11, 1999 to December 18, 1999 and March 13, 2000 to May 26, 2000, and was extensively promoted by TVB as its cross-milliennium, one-hundred-episode-long epic... (創世紀) |
|
| IT Files (IT檔案) | ||
| 1990 | Little Hero, Dragon Whirlwind (小俠龍旋風) |
Little Tigers Team albums
- January 1, 1989: Happy New Year
- April 30, 1989: Leisurely Cruising
- September 21, 1989: Boys Don't Cry
- February 28, 1990: Red Dragonfly
- September 30, 1990: Meeting of the Stars
- October 31, 1991: Love
- December 22, 1991: Goodbye
- January 31, 1992: Best Dance Remix
- December 7, 1994: The Stars Still Shine
- December 22, 1995: Little Tigers 1995 Concert (live)
Mandarin albums
- May 1, 1992: Youth Chasing Wind
- January 5, 1993: Pursuing Dreams