Hu Ge

He received the Best Actor Award at the 22nd Magnolia Awards and the Golden Eagle Awards for his role in Nirvana in Fire.

Hu Ge (, born 20 September 1982), also known as Hugh Hu, is a Chinese actor and singer.

Hu Ge was born in Shanghai on 20 September 1982.

He received his first training in performing arts in Little Stars Performing Arts School run by Shanghai Media Group (SMG).

Hu Ge attended Shanghai Xiang Yang Elementary School (1989–94) and Shanghai No.2 High School (1994–2001), both known for their educational rigor.

In addition to excellent academic work, Hu Ge's talents in a variety of extracurricular endeavors were also recognized.

At age 14, Hu Ge started to host a popular TV show Sunshine Youth on Shanghai TV Education Channel for three years.

Meanwhile, he was also selected to host a program in East Radio Shanghai.

Hu Ge began his acting career by appearing in TV commercials, which helped him gain financial independence before graduating from high school.

In 2001, Hu Ge was admitted to two prestigious art institutes in China: the Central Academy of Drama and Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Hu Ge decided to attend the latter, particularly attracted by its strong major in acting.

While he was still studying, Hu Ge was recommended by his friend to Chinese Entertainment Shanghai (now known as Tangren Media) where he acted as a dub voice actor for the 2002 television drama The Book and the Sword (书剑恩仇录).

Following which, he signed on with the company.

After appearing in numerous commercials, Hu starred in the film Pretend There's No Feeling (假裝沒感覺) with a minor role.

His first television role was in the romance drama Dandelion (蒲公英).

He rose to fame for his role as Li Xiaoyao in the 2005 television series Chinese Paladin, and has since starred in a succession of popular television series, such as The Little Fairy (2006), The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008), Chinese Paladin 3 (2009), The Myth (2010), Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky (2012), Sound of the Desert (2014),The Disguiser (2015), Nirvana in Fire (2015) and Blossoms Shanghai (2023).

Hu rose to prominence in 2005 when he was cast to play the protagonist Li Xiaoyao in Chinese Paladin, the first television adaptation of the popular adventure role-playing video game The Legend of Sword and Fairy.

The television series was a major hit in China and launched Hu to instant fame.

The theme song sung by him, "June Rain" was also widely popular.

The same year, he also portrayed Ning Caichen in the television series Strange Tales of Liao Zhai.

After Chinese Paladin, Hu Ge embarked on a number of other TV projects, most of which were period dramas and historical fantasies, most notably as Dong Yong in The Little Fairy (2006); based on the Chinese folktale Tian Xian Pei and as Yang Yanzhao in The Young Warriors (2006); based on the play The Generals of the Yang Family.

He then starred in the horror film The 601st Phone Call (2006), where he received rave reviews for his performance.

In October 2006, Hu made his debut as a singer with the release of his first EP, titled Treasure (珍惜).

After a hiatus, Hu returned to the screen, reuniting with co-star, Ariel Lin (from The Little Fairy) and starred as Guo Jing in The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008), adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title.

Hu was highly praised for his portrayal, along with co-star Ariel Lin.

He also co-starred with Wu Chun and Charlene Choi in The Butterfly Lovers (2008), based on the famous Chinese legend Butterfly Lovers.

On 15 May 2008, Hu released his second album, Start (出發), and embarked on his first solo concert in Shanghai.

Hu played three different reincarnations of the main character in Chinese Paladin 3 (2009), while also reprising his role as Li Xiaoyao in a time-travelling cameo appearance.

The series, adapted from the third game of The Legend of Sword and Fairy series, achieved high ratings and was awarded the Ratings Contribution Award at the Sichuan Festival.

Hu next starred as the male protagonist in The Myth (2010), based on the 2005 Hong Kong film of the same title.

The drama acquired very high viewership ratings, and boosted Hu's popularity to a new high.

Hu won the Popularity award at the 1st China Student Television Festival, and Best Actor in the fantasy genre at the 2010 Huading Awards.

To avoid being typecast, Hu subsequently stopped accepting any role in period dramas after he finished filming The Myth.

He took on leading roles in modern dramas; Bitter Coffee (苦咖啡, 2011), Modern People (摩登新人类, 2012) and Unbeatable (无懈可击之高手如林, 2012), as well as war drama Shangri-La (香格里拉, 2012).

He also starred in the 2011 historical film 1911, playing Lin Juemin, and was nominated as Best New Actor at the 31st Hundred Flowers Awards.

Hu returned to historical fantasies in Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky, adapted from the video game of the same name, where he also acted as the series' producer.

His excellent portrayal of his character's paradoxical personality earned him another Best Actor in the fantasy genre at the 2012 Huading Awards, as well as the Most Popular Actor award at the 4th China TV Drama Awards.

The same year, he participated in CES's nano-movie Refresh 3+7.

Hu ranked 63rd on the "Forbes China Celebrity List" in 2015, 18th in 2017, 3rd in 2019.

and 24th in 2020.