Daniel Wu – IMDb: Daniel Wu, Actor: Warcraft. Daniel Wu was born on September 30, 1974 in Berkeley, California, USA as Daniel N. Wu. He is an actor and producer, known for Warcraft (2016), Europa Report (2013) and The Man with the Iron Fists (2012). He has been married to Lisa S. since April 6, 2010. They have one child.
SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL / A model, actor, singing sensation (well, sort of) and now a director: SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL / A model, actor, singing sensation (well, sort of) and now a director Daniel Wu once hosted a Hong Kong version of “Jackass,” and when he and three friends created a boy band as a private joke, then made a film out of it, his target was the fakery of the Hong Kong music industry. Yes, Cantopop music executives and publicity-driven pop idols were punk’d, all right, but perhaps Wu’s legacy with his first directorial effort, “The Heavenly Kings,” will be something more substantial than a karaoke whoopee cushion. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Wu has spent the past decade trying to sort out what’s real and what’s not — he began as a model, after all — and, in the process, has become one of Hong Kong’s biggest movie stars. Just after graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in architecture (his father worked at Bechtel, his mother teaches at St. Mary’s College, and they now live in Walnut Creek), Wu went to Hong Kong to witness the 1997 handover from British sovereignty to Chinese authority. Under the tutelage of manager Willie Chan, who also manages Jackie Chan, Wu improved his Cantonese, appearing in dozens of films of varying quality, including “Purple Storm,” an action film with Joan Chen; “Love Undercover,” a romantic comedy with Miriam Yeung; and “Cop on a Mission,” a gangster flick. Most recently, he starred with Ziyi Zhang in the period martial arts fantasy “The Banquet” and Andy Lau in the gangster film “Protege,” which has pulled in an exceptional $33 million in the Chinese territories. Despite his stardom, financial independence (he has residences in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing) and a so-far successful romance with his girlfriend, model Lisa Selesner, Wu is not taking anything for granted.
Fast road to stardom: At least in Hong Kong terms, that day for 24-year-old Daniel Wu may be approaching faster than anyone would have thought this time last year, when the Bay Area native was filming his first movie, “Beauty,” which just played the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and opens Friday at the Lumiere. Or certainly two years ago, when the soft-spoken martial arts expert was graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in architecture. A bunch of young adults – Wu, his “Beauty” co-star Stephen Fung and “Made in Hong Kong” star Sam Lee – are leaping, shooting each other, falling from great heights and smashing around in sports cars. […] in part, I’m trying to plan out what I want to do. Because I came from a design background, I’ve always wanted to do production design. Wu, who had gone over to Hong Kong to try his hand at modeling shortly after graduating from Oregon, was discovered by “Beauty” director Yonfan in a magazine layout, and a week later by none other than Jackie Chan, Willie Chan’s partner at The JC Group, at a restaurant opening. […] with many of Hong Kong’s biggest stars opting for Hollywood – Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan himself – Willie Chan and Media Asia producer Thomas Chung decided to help jumpstart the industry by introducing the next generation of stars in a series of sleekly produced films with high production values. The role was a long way from his athletic days at Head-Royce High School in Oakland ( “It’s funny, because in high school I kind of always laughed at the thespians” ), and it caused his parents – his father is a retired engineer, his mother a business professor at St. Mary’s College in Moraga – some concern.
PROFILE / Daniel Wu / Bay Area actor ‘discovered’ as a model in Hong Kong / Daniel Wu of ‘Cop’ has since made 17 films in four years: PROFILE / Daniel Wu / Bay Area actor ‘discovered’ as a model in Hong Kong / Daniel Wu of ‘Cop’ has since made 17 films in four years Footloose Bay Area native Daniel Wu went to Hong Kong in 1997 for the handover to China, got stranded and became a movie star. Wu, 27, has been a working actor on the hectic Hong Kong movie assembly line ever since. In this film, Wu, who can be ferocious and plays a villain, has what amounts to a charisma face-off with one of the pretty-boy heroes, Nicholas Tse, who also stars in Tsui Hark’s “Time and Tide,” now at the Lumiere in San Francisco. Before he ran out of money during the handover trek, Wu was planning to travel in Asia, using Hong Kong, where one of his sisters lives, as home base. Wu also has a part in Yonfan’s latest film, “Peony Pavilion,” which is not about the ancient Chinese opera of that title but a lesbian singer who performs in that opera. Daniel Wu has another sister, Greta, of San Francisco, who, he says, “decided to leave the corporate lifestyle” and become a writer. A student of martial arts since he was 11 and saw action star Jet Li in “Shaolin Temple,” Wu still keeps in shape by training. The action thriller starring Daniel Wu, Nicholas Tse and Eric Tsang opens today at the Four Star, 2200 Clement St., San Francisco, where Wu’s “Cop on a Mission” continues.
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: he is known as a “flexible and distinctive” leading actor in the Chinese language film industry . since his film debut in 1998, he has been featured in over 60 films . his parents, Diana, a college Wu has two older sisters, Greta and Gloria and an older brother who died when he was two . his childhood role model was Jackie Chan, a man who now considers Wu “like a son” Wu attended the he founded the University of Oregon Wushu Club in 1994 and served as the club’s first coach . during this time, he also took film classes and frequented local theaters . Wu also came to enjoy the works Wu’s breakthrough performance came in 1999 with his role in Benny Chan’s Gen-X Cops . he followed this success with roles in a variety of movies including big-budget thriller Purple Storm . his in 2001, Wu received criticism from the Hong Kong media for sexual scenes with Suki Kwan in Cop on a Mission . his first experience in film production came with his starring role in Julian Lee’s 2003 film, Night Cor in 2005, Wu was nominated as best actor at the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards . at the 41st Golden Horse Film Awards, Wu won the award for best supporting actor for new police story . Wu and his band in 2006, Wu made his writing and directorial debut with The Heavenly Kings . the film’s characters represented only 10–15% of their real-life counterparts . Wu won the best new director award at the 26th he continues his modeling career as spokesperson for a variety of products . he is an investor in Racks MDB Shanghai, which opened in 2008 . Wu married Lisa S. in south africa. Raven and their son, Raven, were born in June 2013.
