Vic Chou

Vic Chou
Vic Chou at autograph event
Chinese name	周渝民
Pinyin	Zhōu Yùmín (Mandarin)
Birth name	周育民
Origin	Taiwan
Born	(1981-06-09) 9 June 1981
Other name(s)	仔仔 (pinyin: Zǎizai)
Occupation	actor, singer, model
Genre(s)	Mandopop, Rock music
Voice type(s)	Lyric Baritone
Label(s)	Sony Music Taiwan
Years active	2001–present
Associated acts	F4
Spouse(s)	Reen Yu
Awards 48th Golden Bell Awards 2012 Best Leading Actor in a Television Series – Home (TV series)

Vic Chou (Chinese: 周渝民; pinyin: Zhōu Yúmín) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and commercial model. He is a member of the Taiwanese boy band F4, and has starred in Taiwanese dramas. His stage name, 周渝民, literally means “a completely changed person”. It had a variation only in the middle character (from 育 to 渝) from his birth name, 周育民 (pinyin: Zhōu Yùmín), which literally means “a completely nourished or reared person”. ^[1]

Biography

Vic Chou was born on June 9, 1981, making him the youngest of the F4 members. He is considered the baby of F4, being treated the best by other F4 members. His mother has Taiwanese aborigines Atayal bloodline while his father is Taiwanese with ancestry from Linyi, Shandong Province. His grandmother gave him the nickname Zàizài "仔仔", meaning "little boy", which has become a nickname for him among fans.

Education

• Department of Business Administration, Hsing Wu College
• Department of Industrial Management, China University of Technology Chung Kuo Institute of Technology
• Department of Machinery, National LoTung Industrial Vocational High School
• Luodong Junior High School
• Gong Zeng Elementary School.

Entering the Industry

He was discovered when he accompanied a friend auditioning for a role in Meteor Garden. While waiting for a friend at their auditions, he was huddled in a corner near one of the Meteor Garden staff's office, who said he looked like Huā Zé Lèi and was asked to audition. Meteor Garden was adapted from a Japanese, "Boys Over Flowers" (Japanese romanization: Hana Yori Dango). He was asked to play the role of Huā Zé Lèi, a very silent and sensitive guy who befriends the female protagonist Shān Cài, played by Barbie Hsu.

Solo career

Music career

He was the first F4 member to release his own album when Make a Wish (album) was released in January 2002. It was followed by Remember, I Love You which was released in January 2004. He also sang some solo songs included in F4’s albums like two songs in "Meteor Rain", released in August 2001 and 2 songs in "Fantasy 4ever", released in December 2002. His third album, I'm Not F4 was released in October 2007. He has 2 solo songs in F4/JVKV's most recent album "Waiting for You Here" [在這裡等你], released in December 2007. His solo songs also appear in the Original Soundtrack (OST) of "Love Storm" [狂愛龍捲風], "Silence" [深情密碼] and "Wish to See You Again" [這裡發現愛]。 His and F4’s albums were all released under Sony Music Taiwan.

Acting career

Aside from "Meteor Garden" [流星花園], Zhou has appeared in many Taiwanese series such as the four-episode "Meteor Rain" [流星雨], "Poor Prince" [貧窮貴公子], "Meteor Garden II" (sequel of "Meteor Garden I"), "Come To My Place" [來我家吧], and "Love Storm" [狂愛龍捲風]. All of the above-mentioned dramas had a lighter tone to them, and are considered to be very "typical" idol drama faire. However, with his next role in "Mars" 【戰神】, co-starring Barbie Hsu, Zhou has publicly acknowledged that this was a turning point for his career. Zhou plays a set of twins, one of which on the surface seems happy-go-lucky but ends up committing suicide, and the other of which struggles with mental illness and post-traumatic stress syndrome. The plot-line of the series delves deep into issues not generally explored in idol dramas such as the frailty of the human psyche, violence, goodness versus evil, suicide, and sexual abuse, just to name a few. In many interviews, Zhou has pinpointed this as the moment where his interest in acting was truly piqued. Since then, Zhou has taken on increasingly more multi-faceted roles deliberately varying them one from another. "Qi Wei Yi" in Silence was an ambitious but lonely business man whose only moment of happiness took place 13 years ago with a mute girl. He finally finds love only to come down with cancer. "Zhi Tian" in "Sweet Relationship," [美味關係]is a cranky but perfectionist chef who spends most of his time yelling at his apprentices. "Xu Le" in "Wish to See You Again" [這裡發現愛] is an awkward but passionate best-selling novelist who innocently falls in love for the first time. His role in Black and White marks a departure from Taiwanese idol dramas. Zhou takes on the challenging role of a very emotionally complex policeman with a past that is thrown into a dangerous web of corruption. "Sheng Yue Ru" in "The Last Night of Madame Chin" [金大班的最後一夜], a young man from Shanghai high society, has studied abroad, loves painting and theater, and someone who is single-minded and dedicated to love. They fell deeply in love and became lovers. But their relationship faced strong resistance and objections from both families, especially Yue Ru's father, a rich banker.

Vic embarked upon his first movie in 2008, "Linger" [蝴蝶飛]/ Hu Die Fei was released. Mid-summer 2008, Zhou came out with his second movie, "Tea Fight." Due to its popularity, talks of bringing "Black and White" to the big screen are currently taking place.

In 2009, Vic was nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Television Series at the 44th Golden Bell Awards for his role in Black & White (痞子英雄).^[2] He won the Golden Bell for Best Actor for the drama Home (回家) in 2013.^[3]

Filmography

Television series

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Movies

Discography

Solo albums

Soundtrack contribution/other song

F4 albums

Product Endorsements

Release of photographic album

He also released a photographic album in October 2002, entitled "Travel Dream" (流浪夢, pinyin: Liú Làng Mèng) which contains his pictures shot during one of his trips to Hokkaidō, Japan.

His second photobook entitled 4Faces: Taipei & Tokyo was released in October 2006. It showcased ZaiZai's flexibility in front of the camera. There are 4 themes: Natural Face, Cool Face, Stylish Face and Fashionable Face. The first 2 themes were shot in Taipei while the last 2 themes were shot in Tokyo. This photobook is one of the bestsellers in HMV, a leading music and book store.

References

External links

• VicPower.Net
• Vic International Cooperation - Official Fan Club