5 things you didn’t know about Daniel Wu
Daniel Wu is more than just an actor. A veteran in the Hong Kong movie industry who got his big break with a lead role alongside Shu Qi and Stephen Fung in Bishonen, a renowned 1998 gay romance film, Wu has been a trailblazer ever since. Here are five things you might not have known about the man who turns 45 today.
1. He is in awe of his Tomb Raider co-star Alicia Vikander
In 2018 Daniel Wu got ahead in Hollywood starring alongside Alicia Vikander, the Swedish-born Oscar-winning actress, in the action-adventure movie Tomb Raider, directed by Roar Uthaug. Vikander plays the iconic Lara Croft – a young and courageous daughter searching for her missing father, previously played by Angelina Jolie – while Wu plays sailor Lu Ren, Croft’s friend.
Wu said he enjoyed being on set with Vikander, filming the 2018 movie, and described her as “a beast”.
“She’s a powerhouse. She is really great,” he says. “She just put her head down and was like turning on beast mode and it really kind of powered it out. I’ve never really done big commercial action film before, but she really got into it.”
2. He is not just an actor
The 45-year-old star was not only the lead actor but also executive producer of the AMC martial arts show Into the Badlands. The production wrapped this year after three successful seasons, with the finale airing on May 6, 2019.
3. He founded a boy band
The actor formed a band called Alive with Terence Yin, Andrew Lin and Conroy Chan in 2005. He then directed a movie called The Heavenly Kings that chronicled the formation and events of the band. The film was believed to be a mock-umentary of the Hong Kong pop music industry, which earned him the Chinese Film Media Award for best director.
4. He married a model in South Africa
In 2010, the Berkeley-born actor tied the knot with American model Lisa Selesner in a low-key ceremony in a small village in South Africa. The couple had a daughter in 2013, named Raven and aged six at the time of his 45th birthday.
5. He is an award-winning architect
The Chinese-American actor, who graduated from University of Oregon’s architecture programme in 1997, earned a nomination in the Royal Institute of British Architects International Prize. The awards are regarded as the UK’s “Oscars” of the architecture world. He was nominated for his design of a library building in China.
The library, located in Mulan Paddock, China’s northern Chengde city in Hebei Province, is inspired by the traditional Mongolian yurt. The library adopted the design of a skylight, allowing abundant sunlight to come through during the day as well as stargazing at night.
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Successful actor, producer and martial artist Daniel Wu Yin-cho shows no signs of slowing down. On his 45th birthday, check out five things you need to know about Hong Kong’s Hollywood heartthrob