Wu was born on November 24, 1982, in a military dependents' village in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, with his family roots in Anhui. His parents divorced when he was young, after which he lived with his mother. He began working at 14, after graduating from junior high school, to support his family. Initially, he tried his hand as an on-site construction welder despite his lack of experience, which resulted in eye burns. He later worked in various jobs, including restaurants, stalls, and supermarkets and enrolled into the Kaohsiung Municipal Chung-Cheng Industrial High School, where he balanced work with studies. He enlisted in Taiwan’s mandatory military service immediately after graduation.[2] After completing his conscription at the age of 24, he moved from Kaohsiung to Taipei, where he worked as a bartender for three years. At 27, he was discovered by director Li Qiyuan, who helped him break into the entertainment industry.[3][4]
Career
2007–2009: Beginnings
He started his career as an ad model.[3] Later, he enrolled into an acting program at National Taiwan University of Arts and moved to being an actor. He made his debut performance in Fragile in Love: Poetry in Motion (沿海岸线徵友). Directed by Mickey Chen and Chi Chen Jun, the short film was featured at The LGBT Civil Rights Movement Film Festival[5] and at the Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival among others.[6] His first television miniseries came the afterwards in Talking With You Boyfriend's Ex-Girlfriend (與男友的前女友密談). The mini-series was awarded the Best Mini-series Screenplay Award and the Best Editing Award at the 43rd Golden Bell Awards in 2008.[7] The same year, he was cast in Hong Kong film Miao Miao with actors Ko Chia-yen and Wing Fan. The film was selected at the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival, but it was later pulled out due to controversies about China's boycott against the film festival,[8][9] as well as premiering at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival.[10] The film was also screened at the 11th Taipei Film Festival.[11]
In 2009, Talking With You Boyfriend's Ex-Girlfriend's director Chen Hui Jing cast him once again in his first idol dramaAutumn's Concerto starring Vanness Wu and Ady An, where he played the role of Hua Tuoye.[12] In later years, he stated that he was often reprimanded by Li Qiyuan as he had difficulties delivering his lines well in shootings.[3] The series was received favorably by viewers.[13][11]
2010–2015: Recognition
Wu started to receive more television and film projects. In TTV's Zhong Wu Yan, he played the character of Howard, a blind man who finds love in Wu Yen, played by Cheryl Yang.[11] He also starred in When Love Comes which garnered multiple nominations from different award-giving ceremonies.[11][14][15]
During the press conference of TTV's Local Hero in 2011, Wu stated that he accidentally injured his left hand while shooting.[16] He still participated in their scheduled charity event game that requires peeling fruits despite his hand injury, nevertheless, because he stated that he wanted the kids to enjoy.[citation needed] A year later, he was cast in four more television series. Among them is TTV's What Is Love co starring Jade Chou.[17]
In 2012, Wu was cast in the role of Rong Guang, a farmer raising his son as a single parent, in the film The Third Wish.[18] In preparation for the role, who is a skinny farmer to be diagnosed of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Wu started running 5-kilometer races in the hot sun, and ate only boiled eggs and guava. He lost 8 kilograms of weight in 10 days.[19] He also started acting as a father to child actor Chen Yu-cheng a week before filming began to study the father-and-son's lifestyle.[20]
I was not born an actor... These experiences (doing manual labor jobs at a young age) made me aware of how money is earned that I try my best to be a hardworking actor. — Wu Kang-jen[3]
In January, Wu was cast in TTV's King Flower co-starring James Wen and Nikki Hsieh. He played the character role of Ouyang Tai, the GM of Shen Da Realty who was engaged to Du Liang Yan, but was later killed by accident. The series consistently topped the viewers' ratings during its timeslot, garnering a 1.57 total average by the end of the series.[21] Before the year ended, his performance in the 2012 TV series Emerging Light (愛在旭日升起時) earned him the Best Actor in a Leading Role award at the 18th Asian Television Awards on December 5, 2013, held in Singapore.[22]
In 2014, he played the role of Zhou Shu Yu and David in Rock N' Road and Winnie the Boob (小胸維妮的幸福旅程), respectively. He was once again paired with Judy Chou, his co-star in What Is Love, in the latter series.[23] He also acted alongside Ella Chen in The Lying Game (謊言遊戲) towards the end of the year.[24]
2016–present: Acclaim
From late 2015 to early 2016, he starred in the period drama A Touch of Green as a young fighter pilot, for which he won the Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Golden Bell Awards 2016.[25] In 2023, he won the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor for his performance in Abang Adik. In 2024, Wu signed with Easy Entertainment, marking his first agency partnership in ten years and expanding his career into mainland China.[26]
Personal life
Wu was in a relationship with White Ant co-star Aviis Zhong from 2015 to 2017.[27] Since 2018, he has an on-and-off relationship with The Perfect Match co-star Ivy Shao. On November 11, 2020, Shao went public with their relationship.
^"金鐘59／導演代吳慷仁領獎死守「黑色側背包」他曝背後真相藏洋蔥" [Golden Bell 59/Director accepted the award on behalf of Wu Kangren and stuck to the "black side backpack". He revealed the truth behind the onion.]. Yahoo! News Taiwan (in Chinese). October 20, 2024.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wu Kang-ren.
