Xia Yu
At the 2007Shanghai International Film Festival
Born	(1976-10-28)28 October 1976 (age 48) Qingdao,Shandong,China
Alma mater	Central Academy of Drama
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1994–present
Agent	Xia Yu Studio
Spouse	Yuan Quan ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	1 daughter (b. 2010)
Awards	Volpi Cup for Best Actor 1994In the Heat of the SunGolden Horse Awards –Best Actor 1994In the Heat of the Sun
Chinese name
Chinese	夏雨
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xià Yǔ IPA [ɕjâ ỳ]

Xia Yu (Chinese:夏雨; born 28 October 1976) is aChinese actor.^[1][2] At the age of 18 years, he rose to international prominence after winning the Best Actor award at theVenice Film Festival in 1994 for his leading role in the filmIn the Heat of the Sun and became the youngest actor to win that award in the history of the Venice Film Festival.

Xia Yu was born on 28 October 1976 inQingdao,Shandong Province. His father was once an actor and then became a painter.^[3]

Xia was initially discovered byJiang Wen who cast him in his semi-autobiographical filmIn the Heat of the Sun (1994). Despite being chosen partly because of his facial resemblance to a young Jiang, Xia's spirited and moving performance as a renegade youth conquered audiences.^[3] He was rocketed to international stardom after he won the Best Actor award from theVenice Film Festival (the youngest actor to win that award in the history of the festival),Singapore International Film Festival andGolden Horse Awards.^[4]

Xia wanted to study drama after his first film, he was accepted into theCentral Academy of Drama. After completing his studies there, Xia remained an active force in Chinesecinema as well astelevision, appearing in many films andtelevision series.^[4][3] Xia's second filmShadow Magic demonstrated his talent as an actor and earned him a nomination for Best Actor at theTokyo International Film Festival.^[5] His earlier film credits also includesRoots and Branches (2001) andWhere Have All the Flowers Gone (2002).^[6] Xia's subsequent films,The Law of Romance (2003) won him a Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor andWaiting Alone (2005) earned him Best Actor at theBeijing College Student Film Festival.^[4] With five best actor titles at international film festivals, Xia Yu has been named one of the top 4 hottest young actors in China.^[7]

Like many of today′s actors in China, Xia Yu also has an extensive TV career, appearing on such shows asRecords of Kangxi's Travel Incognito,Classical Romance andSky Lovers. Most of Xia′s TV roles have been secondary ones until he was cast to star inThe Ugliest In the World, where he played Liu Baoshan, a genius of the Qing Dynasty who gave up the opportunity to become an official in order to become a clown.^[6]

Aside from local productions, Xia has also starred in two Hollywood films;China: The Panda Adventure (2001) andThe Painted Veil (2006).^{[citation needed]} Xia also starred alongsideShilpa Shetty in the Indian-Chinese filmThe Desire (2010).^[8] In 2016, he took on the role ofWong Jack-man in the Bruce Lee biopicBirth of the Dragon, produced by American filmmakerGeorge Nolfi.^[9]

In 2017, Xia reunited withWaiting Alone directorDayyan Eng in fantasy comedy filmWished, which became one of the highest-grossing domestic comedy titles for the summer season.^[10]

In 2019, it was announced that Xia will playShen Gongbao in the upcoming fantasy film seriesFengshen Trilogy directed byWuershan. The film is based on the novelInvestiture of the Gods.^[11]

Xia Yu married actressYuan Quan in 2009, a decade after their first date as students inCentral Academy of Drama.^[12] They have appeared in 4 films together:The Law of Romance (2003),Waiting Alone (2004),Shanghai Rumba (2006) andBreakup Buddies (2014). Their daughter was born on 31 March 2010.^[13]

Xia is an avid skateboarder. He fell in love with skateboarding after watching it inGleaming the Cube, a popular movie when he was young. He finds time to board whenever he is between sets shooting a film. In 2003, Xia began to ski and loved it. In 2006, Xia won the championship of a snowboarding game in amateur group inLucerne, Switzerland.

• Xia Yu atIMDb

• 1976 births
• 20th-century Chinese male actors
• 21st-century Chinese male actors
• Living people
• Central Academy of Drama alumni
• Chinese male film actors
• Chinese male television actors
• Male actors from Qingdao
• Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners

• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• CS1 uses Chinese-language script (zh)
• CS1 Chinese-language sources (zh)
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• Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020
• Articles with unsourced statements from June 2021