Hu Bing

Hu Bing
Born	(1971-02-14) February 14, 1971 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R.China
Nationality	Chinese
Occupation	Actor, model, singer, producer, host, designer
Years active	1991–present
Height	6 ft 2.4 in (1.890 m)
Website	http://www.hubing.cn

Hu Bing (born February 14, 1971) is a Chinese actor, model, singer, designer, producer, and philanthropist. He started as a fashion model in 1990 and been a male model in China for over 20 years. He won the “Top Chinese Male Model” title in 1991 and was the first Chinese male model to walk the international fashion runway. Since then, Hu has been the image for many top international fashion names such as Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, etc. Hu started his transition from the fashion runway to the TV screen in 1996 and became a household name after the success of the TV drama Love Talks (1999), in which he played the male leading role. Continuously from 2000 to 2005, Hu was voted one of the four most popular young actors in China (Hu left China to further strengthen his performing aptitude in an American institute in 2005). Hu is known for his on-screen portrayals in both China and Japan as an actor, and as a fashion icon all across Asia.

Hu was a professional athlete, a national rowing champion by the age of 16, and a former member of the Chinese National Rowing Team. His athletic career ended after he suffered a back injury at the age of 19. In 1992, he became a professional runway model and was dubbed “the best male model in China” by the Valentino Garavani in 1993. In the early 2000s, due to his successful on-screen performances, Hu became a household name across Asia. At the same time, he was also a singer, TV producer, TV show host (In both China and Japan), and the former editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Men’s Style (China) magazine. In 2005, at the peak of his acting career, he left the spotlight to further strengthen his performing aptitude in a performance arts institution in the United States. In 2008, he returned to the Asian entertainment scene and played leading roles in Japanese and Chinese movies and TV dramas. During the 2010 International Rome Film Festival, Hu was nominated for the Best Actor award for his leading-role performance in the French-Hong Kong co-production (produced by Luc Besson), The Back (2010). The film also received a Best Picture nomination.

Hu is also a philanthropist, helping with Chinese and international charity organizations and acts as the goodwill ambassador for some, especially for those that deal with underprivileged children and the disabled.

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Early life

Hu Bing attends Louis Vuitton Wuxi China Store Grand Opening 2008

Hu Bing Red Carpet 5th Rome International Film Festival with director Liu Bingjian

Hu Bing in "The Back"

Hu Bing with Naoto Takenaka on the set of "Ken and Mary"

Hu Bing in Bandits and Brothers

Hu Bing as the Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty

Hu Bing on the cover of Men's Uno wearing Dolce & Gabbana

Hu Bing in The Bund Fashion Magazine

Hu was born in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. His parents are from military backgrounds and he has an older brother Hu Dong, who’s also an acclaimed Chinese actor/model/singer. After High School, Hu attended the Zhejiang Provincial Athletic Institute, where he majored in health education and sports psychology. Hu started training to become a professional athlete at the age of 11. He became a member of the Zhejiang Provincial team at the age of 14 and won the Chinese National Rowing Championship in the men's single scull event at the age of 16 (the youngest national champion for the event). At age 17, he was drafted into the Chinese National Rowing Team and came in 7th in the 1989 World Rowing Championships (at Lake Bled in SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia) in the men's coxless pair event at the age of 18. He was also a member of the Chinese Olympics Team during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Hu's professional athletic career came to an end when he suffered a back injury due to overtraining in 1990 at the age of 19, and became a fashion model soon after.

Career

In the spring of 1990, due to his looks and physique, he was invited by the Zhejiang Silk Trading Company to be the model for their men’s catalog. In 1991, sponsored also by the Zhejiang Silk Trading Company, he entered the Chinese National Young Models Competition representing the province of Zhejiang and won first place as expected. In 1992, Hu joined the Chinese Fashion Models Association and became a professional runway model. In 1993, filling in last minute for Valentino’s Beijing World Trade Centre Show, Hu’s outstanding performance won worldwide recognition as Valentino exclaimed, "You’re the best male model in China!"

With the success of his modeling career, Hu frequented major magazine covers and became the spokesperson for international luxury name brands such as Valentino, Louis Vuitton, and Toshiba in TV, billboard, and magazine ads. In late 1994, he was signed by the Hong Kong United Artists Entertainment Company who helped him publish his first album and gave him his first acting roles in the TV dramas The New York Storm (1996) and The Everlasting Dream (1997).

Hu became a Chinese household name after he starred in the hit Chinese TV drama Love Talks (1999). Hu’s status was further solidified with the back-to-back successes of the TV dramas Pink Girls (2001) and Saying Goodbye (2002). Between 1997 and 2004, Hu starred in over ten TV dramas and numerous films, making him one of the highest in productivity among Chinese actors at the time.

2005 marked the peak of Hu’s acting career. He honors included the “Ten Most Popular TV Stars”, “Top Ten Actors”, “The No. 1 Chinese Idol”, and “Most Valuable Personality in TV Advertisement”. In late 2005 he moved to the United States and studied under the tutelage of a renowned American performance arts mentor (also mentor to many A-list Hollywood stars).

In 2008, he returned to the Asian entertainment scene after accepting the leading role in the French-Hong Kong co-production, The Back (2010), produced by the Oscar-winning French director/producer Luc Besson and directed by the internationally renowned Chinese 6th generation director, Liu Bingjian. The film obtained critical success as it won a “Best Picture” nomination and a “Best Actor” nomination for Hu during the 2010 International Rome Film Festival.

Hu’s foothold in the Japanese entertainment world was planted in early 2005 as the host of a Japanese traveler’s TV show. He strengthened his reputation in Japan over the years as a TV show host (also co-hosted talk show "Chinese Angel" with Japan's top female celebrity Norika Fujiwara in 2011) and the star in a series of Japanese TV dramas and films, eventually becoming a household name in Japan as well. In 2011, Hu was selected by the Oscar-winning Japanese producer Toshiaki Nakazawa to co-star alongside the world-renowned Japanese mega-star Naoto Takenaka in the film Ken and Mary (2011)

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Filmography

• Who Moved My Dream (2014)^[77]
• Papa (2016)
• Ice Fantasy (2016)

Philanthropy

• Goodwill Ambassador for the Zhejiang Provincial Foundation For The Disabled
• The Asian Goodwill Ambassador for the World Wide Fund For Nature
• Spokesperson for the Capital Collegian Green World Association
• Donated and made celebrity endorsement for the Save The Children Fund
• Ambassador for Environmental Protection for the World Wide Fund For Nature
• Goodwill Ambassador for the “2010 Book House of Happiness” Charity Event

Awards

• 1991 China’s Top Male Model Award
• 1992 The Ultimate Model Achievement Award
• 1999 Fashion Model’s Life Time Achievement Award
• 2000 Outstanding New Musical Artist Award
• 2001 Most Fashionable Actor Award
• 2002 Most Popular Actor Award
• 2003 Soho’s Top Ten Red-Hot Stars Award
• 2004 Best Fashion Model of the Year
• 2004 Top of the Pop Charts Chinese Idol of the Year
• 2004 HK-Shanghai Fashion Icon of the Year
• 2004 Actor with the Most Outstanding Appearance
• 2005 Top Ten Most Popular TV Stars
• 2005 Top Ten Actors of the Year
• 2005 The No. 1 Chinese Idol Award
• 2005 Top Ten Platinum Singles Award
• 2005 Most Valuable Personality in TV Advertisement
• 2006 HK’s Top Ten Fashion Stars Award
• 2009 Asian Fashion Icon Award
• 2010 Fashion Icon of the Decade Award
• 2013 Most Significant Chinese Fashion Icons In The Past 20 years.

References

External links

• Media related to Hu Bing (actor) at Wikimedia Commons
• Hu Bing at the Internet Movie Database