Kris Wu

Kris Wu

Kris Wu at the Hallyu Star Street on March 2014
Birth name Li Jiaheng
李嘉恒[1]
Ethnicity Chinese
Born (1990-11-06) November 6, 1990
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Occupation
Genre(s)
Label(s) SM Entertainment (South Korea)
Associated acts

Wu Yifan (Chinese: 吴亦凡; pinyin: Wú Yìfán), best known by his stage name, Kris (Korean: 크리스) (born November 6, 1990), is a Canadian-Chinese actor and singer-songwriter currently active in China. He immigrated to Canada at the age of 11 and holds Canadian citizenship; he is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, English, as well as Korean.[2]

Early life

Wu's birth name was Li Jiaheng but he had changed it for personal and unknown purposes. Kevin Li was his English name before becoming the member of EXO[1] (Chinese: 李嘉恒; pinyin: Lǐ Jiāhéng). Wu was born and raised in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

He immigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of 10 with his mother. In 2005, at the age of 15, he returned to China and attended Guangzhou No. 7 Middle School for a short period. In Guangzhou, he served as the captain of the school basketball team. The team had won 1st place in China Junior NBA tournament-South China Region that year. After that, he went back to Vancouver. Then he attended Point Grey Secondary School and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School. He was also the captain of the basketball teams when he studied in these two schools.[3]

At the age of 16, Kris auditioned for S.M. Entertainment's Canadian S.M. Global Auditions, which was held in Vancouver, British Columbia on October 14, 2007. He was attending Point Grey Secondary School (Vancouver) at the time of the casting. After passing the auditions, he moved to South Korea the following year and became an S.M. trainee. Prior to joining EXO, he made an appearance in an intermission video for the Girls' Generation Tour in 2011.

Career

2012–2014

Main article: Exo (band)

Wu was introduced as the eleventh member of EXO on February 17, 2012 as EXO-M's leader.[4] He is one of four Chinese members out of twelve in EXO. He is fluent Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and Korean. EXO debuted on April 8, 2012 with MAMA. The group achieved commercial success with their first studio XOXO and its repackaged version in 2013. The album became the first album in twelve years to sell over one million copies in South Korea and is the 11th best selling album of all time.[5] In December 2013, group released a special Christmas album Miracles in December and returned with Overdose in May 2014 which became the best selling album of 2014.

On May 15, 2014, S.M. Entertainment confirmed through an interview that Wu had filed a lawsuit against the agency to terminate his contract.[6] The same law firm that represented Han Geng of Super Junior in his lawsuit against S.M. Entertainment will also be representing Wu.[7]

On June 24, 2014, Xu Jinglei announced Wu is joining the main cast for her new movie Somewhere Only We Know, which the filming process took place in Prague, through her Weibo.[8] The movie was Wu's debut as an actor after filing his lawsuit. In mainland China, the film grossed US$37.81 million in its first six days debuting at No. 1 at the box office.[9] The movie was considered a very strong performance for all the buzz it made, amid what is normally a quiet period in week in China before the Chinese New Year.[10]

On July 17, 2014, Wu released his first solo song, "Time Boils the Rain (时间煮雨)", which was a movie soundtrack for the Chinese box office movie, Tiny Times 3.[11][12] According to Weibo Music official weibo update, the song broke records, exceeding 1 million plays within 3 hours and 25 minutes on its first day of release. This has broken the previous record of exceeding 1 million plays within 7 hours set by 平凡之路.[13]

On August 12, 2014, according to the movie's representatives, Wu will play one of the three male leads in the movie melodrama based on an internet novel that tells a love story involving three men and one woman. Wu will be acting with Han Geng and Joo Won in the upcoming movie.[14][15] The movie itself was a collaboration by China Films and Wiehwa Entertainment. It was filmed in China and Korea, but Wu reportedly only filmed in China.[16]

Wu was featured on Harper's Bazaar China's October issue.[17] The photoshoot was taken in Prague while he was filming for his first movie, Somewhere Only We Know. He talked about the movie, love, and fashion in the interview. The exclusive interview was claimed to be his first individual talk to the media after his lawsuit.

On October 16, 2014, Huayi Brothers Media Corporation confirmed the news that Wu will play a role in the movie 老炮儿 (Mr. Six). Directed by prominent director Guan Hu, Mr. Six is considered as one of China’s most anticipated film releases for 2015. It also stars legendary actor-director Feng Xiaogang, Li Yifeng, Jiang Wen, Zhang Hanyu, and Zhang Guoli.[18] The movie is expected to be released on December 24, 2015.

On November 6, 2014, his 24th birthday, he released the movie soundtrack for Somewhere Only We Know, "There Is A Place (有一个地方)".[19] The song broke records according to Weibo Music's official update, exceeding 1 million plays in 50 minutes, breaking the previous record he made of reaching the same amount of plays in 3 hours and 25 minutes.[20] The song was co-written and produced by him, with composition provided by former S.M. trainee, Song Bingyang.[21]

Wu became the youngest celebrity (born in 1990) to have his wax figure at Madame Tussauds Shanghai.[22] On December 1, 2014, Wu appeared at an event celebrating the fact that the world famous Madame Tussauds had decided to add his wax sculpture to the Shanghai branch of the museum. Madame Tussauds staff from the United Kingdom flew to China to meet with Wu to measure and make molds for his sculpture. The sculpture is expected to be released in mid-2015.[23]

Esquire China named Wu as 'Rookie of The Year' in their Man At His Best 2014 issue.[24] He was on the cover of the December issue of Esquire alongside other China prominent figures such as Nicholas Tse, Huang Bo, and Jack Ma.[25] On December 31, 2014, he performed at the Zhejiang TV New Year's Eve concert. The concert was held in Tianhe Stadium, Guangdong.[26] He sang the theme song for Tiny Times and the theme song of his own movie Somewhere Only We Know, which was written by himself.

2015

It was confirmed through Sina that Wu will make a cameo appearance in Stephen Chow's upcoming movie, Mermaid. Sina Entertainment stated that his character in the movie was reportedly specially written for him. He will be sharing scenes with Deng Chao. The movie is expected to be released on Chinese New Year in 2016.[27]

Vogue China officially announced that Wu was invited to attend the Met Gala in 2015.[28] Together with Chen Kun, Wu was the first Chinese male actor to make an appearance at the red carpet event.[29] Regarding his involvement at the Met Gala, InStyle reported that according to Twitter, Wu was ranked 4th as the most tweeted-about stars at gala after Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and Beyonce.[30] In June 2015, Wu was invited to the 2015 Paris Men's Fashion Week by Givenchy.[31]

On May 4, 2015, Guo Jingming announced through his Weibo that Wu will be one of the lead actors of his newest movie, L.O.R.D. Wu will act with Fan Bingbing and TFBOYS member Wang Yuan. The roles for each actor have not been announced as of June 2015. The movie is expected to be released in the summer of 2016.[32]

In February 2015, Wu was featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar China with Xu Jinglei.[33] Then in July 2015 issue, he became the first male celebrity to be on the cover of Vogue China since the magazine was established in 2005.[34]

Wu has been appointed as a spokesperson for several brands, such as Tencent Yingyongbao,[35] Mengniu DiLanShengXue Ice Cream,[36] Mengniu Naite Milk,[37] and Tong Yi Iced Tea.[38] Adidas Originals announced Wu as the ambassador of their ZX Flux series.[39] Wu also endorsed Maybelline BB Cushion product.[40]

On December 15, 2015, Luc Besson announced on his Twitter account that Wu would be in his upcoming film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.[41]

2016

Wu made his catwalk debut at Burberry's Fall 2016 Men's Show in London.[42]

NBA officially announced that Wu will be taking part in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game as a member of Team Canada, which will be headed by Drake.[43]

On February 6, 2016, D. J. Caruso announced on his Twitter account that Wu would be in his upcoming action film, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, alongside Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, and Deepika Padukone.[44]

Philanthropy

On June 20, 2014, Wu reposted a Weibo post written by Chinese actress Fan Bingbing. The post read, "Wu Yi Fan has decided to join our community service team, Heart Ali," and "I believe that we can do many more things. For the innocent laughter of children! Thank you."[45]

Heart Ali is a project started by Fan Bingbing and Chen Lizhi (the general manager of Beijing Maite Media). The charity project itself is aimed at helping children suffering from congenital heart disease in Ngari Prefecture in Tibet. Fan has visited them several times so far with medical teams to identify children in need of treatment. After identification, the children and their parents are brought in groups to Beijing or Shanghai for surgery.[46]

"Wu Yi Fan is the second person to participate in Heart Ali activities after Li Ka Shing," wrote Chen Li Zhi to Fan Bingbing′s post. "Despite any hardships or challenges, we will continue to strongly move forward."[47]

On January 21, 2016, Wu launched his charity project called Extraordinary Honorary Court (不凡荣誉球场). It is a collaboration project between Wu, Sina, Weibo Sports, and Weibo Charity. The goal is to spread basketball in middle schools in China to encourage all basketball-loving youth to continue their dreams of pursuing this sport.[48]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Remarks References
2015 有一个地方只有我们知道 (Somewhere Only We Know) Ze Yang Male Lead
老炮儿 (Mr. Six) Xiao Fei
2016 Mermaid TBA Cameo [49]
夏有乔木，雅望天堂 (Passion Heaven) Xia Mu Male Lead
爵迹 (L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties) Yin Chen [50]
TBA 致青春2：原来你还在这里 (So Young 2: Never Gone) Cheng Zheng [51]
2017 Journey to the West 2 Tang Sanzang
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets TBA TBA [52]
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage [44]

Variety shows

Year Title Role Network Notes
2012 Happy Camp Guest HBS: HNTV
2013 After School Club Arirang Ep. 9
Happy Camp HBS: HNTV
Weekly Idol MBC Ep. 103 and 108
Infinite Challenge Special guest Ep. 345
Running Man Guest SBS Ep. 171 and 172 with EXO without Chanyeol
Cool Kiz on The Block Guest KBS
2014 Cool Kiz on The Block Christmas special
2015 Day Day Up HBS: HNTV with Xu Jinglei, Wang Likun, Re Yi Zha, and Zhang Chao
A Date With Lu Yu iFeng: Phoenix Chinese
Happy Camp HBS: HNTV with William Chan, Yang Yang and Zhang Han
Hidden Energy Guest Judge ZRTG: ZJTV
Challengers Union Fixed Cast with Fan Bingbing, Li Chen, Lin Gengxin, Chen Handian, and Da Peng
2016 Day Day Up Guest HBS: HNTV with Jessica

Discography

Main article: Exo discography

Collaborations and soundtracks

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CHN
Baidu Chart
[53]
"Say Yes"
(with Jessica and Krystal)		 2014 — Make Your Move (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
"Time Boils The Rain" 5 Tiny Times 3 OST
"There is a Place" 2 Somewhere Only We Know OST
"Bad Girl" 2015 Single
Greenhouse Girl Mr. Six OST
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2014 Sohu Fashion Awards[54][55] Asian Fashion Icon of the Year N/A Won
2015 Sina 15th Anniversary Outstanding Youth Award
3rd China International Film Festival London Best New Actor Somewhere Only We Know
Best Actor Nominated
Asian Influence Awards Most Influential Internet Male God NA Won
NetEase Attitude Awards Idol With Most Attitude On The Silver Screen NA Won
2016 Sina Weibo Awards Weibo King — Won
Strong New Actor Mr. Six

References

  1. 1 2 "Exo-M's leader Kris' birth name is Li Jiaheng". Baidu (in Chinese). Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  2. ↑ "K-pop star of the week: Introducing newcomers EXO". Sina (in Chinese). 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  3. ↑ "exo member profile kris". Exolove. 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  4. ↑ "EXO introduces Kris in teaser #17". Allkpop. February 16, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  5. ↑ http://www.allkpop.com/article/2013/12/exo-becomes-the-first-million-seller-in-twelve-years
  6. ↑ "EXO's Kris seeking to nullify contract with SM Entertainment". Allkpop. May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  7. ↑ "엑소 크리스, 전속계약해지 소송 "조용히 처리할 것" vs SM "당황"(종합)" (in Korean). Enews. May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Kris stars in Xu Jinglei's new film, Somewhere Only We Know". Sina English. 2014-06-24.
  9. ↑ Coonan, Clifford (February 16, 2015). "China Box Office: Valentine's Day Lifts 'Somewhere Only We Know' Ahead of New Year Face-Off". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  10. ↑ "'Somewhere Only We Know' Rules Valentines". YIBADA. 2015-02-19.
  11. ↑ "Kris (Wu Yi Fan) sings 'Time Boils the Rain' for Chinese film 'Tiny Times 3' OST". Allkpop. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  12. ↑ 吴亦凡新歌《时间煮雨》破百万试听 (in Chinese). China News. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "WeiboMusic Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-07-18.
  14. ↑ "hangeng exos kris to". Channelnewsasia. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  15. ↑ "kriswu joins hangeng upcoming movie". SGentertainment. 2014-09-24.
  16. ↑ "Joo Won cast for "Passion Heaven"". HANCINEMA. 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  17. ↑ "Kris is stunning in the October issue of China's Harper's Bazaar". allkpop. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  18. ↑ "Wu Yifan and Li Yifeng movie "Lao Pao Er" begins filming".
  19. ↑ "有一个地方". Weibo. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "吴亦凡新歌再破微博试听纪录 50分钟播放超百万". Weibo. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  21. ↑ "Wu Yifan posts about "There Is A Place" on his Weibo". Weibo. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  22. ↑ "Wu Yifan (Kris from EXO) gets a Madame Tussauds wax figure!". SBSPopAsia. 2014-12-02.
  23. ↑ "Former EXO-M Leader Kris To Become Wax Sculpture At Madame Tussauds Shanghai". KPopStarz. 2014-12-02.
  24. ↑ "时尚先生Esquire Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-12-17.
  25. ↑ "时尚先生Esquire Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-12-04.
  26. ↑ "Korean celebrities to attend New Year’s Eve concerts in China". 2014-12-30.
  27. ↑ "《美人鱼》邓超杀青亲亲星爷 吴亦凡加盟" (in Chamorro). 2015-01-15.
  28. ↑ "Behind the Theme of This Year’s Met Ball, Fashion’s Biggest Night". Vanity Fair. 2014-05-04.
  29. ↑ "2015 MET GALA (COSTUME INSTITUTE GALA), NYC". Average Socialite. 2014-05-04.
  30. ↑ "The Most Tweeted-About Stars and Brands from the 2015 Met Ball". InStyle. 2015-05-05.
  31. ↑ "Givenchy Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-06-26.
  32. ↑ Matthew, Ilin (May 7, 2015). "Former EXO Member Kris aka Wu Yifan to Share Screen Space with Chinese Actress Fan Bingbing". International Business Times. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  33. ↑ "时尚芭莎 Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-01-20.
  34. ↑ "吴亦凡荣登权威杂志 成封面男星第一人". SINA Entertainment (in Chinese). 2015-06-01.
  35. ↑ "Tencent Yingyongbao Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-12-17.
  36. ↑ "DiLanShengXue Ice Cream Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-02-05.
  37. ↑ "Mengniu Naite Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-02-16.
  38. ↑ "Tong Yi Iced Tea Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-02-03.
  39. ↑ "adidasOriginals Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-05-16.
  40. ↑ "Maybelline Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-07-17.
  41. ↑ Luc Besson (December 15, 2015). "Excited to announce Kris Wu in @ValerianMovie!". Twitter. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  42. ↑ "Zayn Who? Meet Kris Wu, the Former Boy Band Superstar Member Who Took Burberry’s Runway by Storm". Vogue. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  43. ↑ "Drake and Kevin Hart to coach NBA All-Star Celebrity Game 2016: Canada vs. USA". NBA.com. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  44. 1 2 "D.j. Caruso on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  45. ↑ "Kris Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-06-20.
  46. ↑ "Heart Ali". Baidu Baike (in Chinese).
  47. ↑ "Kris Joins Fan Bingbing′s Community Service Project to Help Children with Heart Disease". MWave. 2014-06-23.
  48. ↑ "吴亦凡公益新旅程 不凡荣誉球场正式启动". ent.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  49. ↑ "Wu Yifanto cameo in Stephen Chow's Mermaid.". Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  50. ↑ http://weibo.com/1188552450/CFdDAkY9n?from=page_1035051188552450_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&type=comment#_rnd1446613462309
  51. ↑ "Kris Wu is Male Lead in So Young 2.". QQ.com (In Chinese.). Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  52. ↑ "Luc Besson on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  53. ↑ "Baidu Weekly Music Charts" (in Chinese). Baidu.
  54. ↑ "Jessica, Kris, and Kiko Mizuhara Sit Side-by-Side at 2014 SOHU Fashion Awards". Soompi. 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
  55. ↑ mssylee (2014-12-23). "Jessica, Kris, & Mizuhara Kiko take home awards + sit next to each other at 'Sohu Fashion Awards'". allkpop.com. Retrieved 2015-01-03.

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