Huo was born in Taipei, Taiwan on 26 December 1979 to Liu Yu and Huo Chao-Ku. He has one brother, Huo Chien-yuan. His family originated from Shandong; his parents were natives of Longkou and Tianjin respectively. His grandfather was a follower of Sun Yat-sen and in October 1949, his family moved to Taiwan. Both his parents worked in the court system and his brother is a police officer.[5] His parents divorced when he was young.[6]
Huo once aspired to be a basketball player but then turned to singing in his early teenage days. With the goal of becoming a singer, Huo joined the entertainment business at the age of 17, as the assistant of Taiwanese TV host Sam Tseng.
Career
2002–2004: Beginnings in Taiwan
After starring in Star (2002), Huo rose to fame for the idol drama At Dolphin Bay (2003),[7] which achieved a peak rating of 5.11 and became the most popular idol drama of the year. He was then in great demand and was cast in seven idol dramas at the same year (a record yet to be broken).[8][9]
In 2004, Huo released his first ever solo album Start. Owing to his inability to cope with the promotion tour of the album, he decided to focus on acting thereafter.[citation needed]
2005–2014: Rising popularity in China
In 2005, Huo starred in his first wuxia drama The Royal Swordsmen directed by Wong Jing.[10]
His melancholic portrayal of Guihai Yidao received rave reviews from fans and audiences. It proved to be an important turning point of his career, as it introduced him to mainland audiences.[11] The same year, Huo made his big screen debut in the movie Hands in the Hair alongside actress Rosamund Kwan.[12]
Huo then took the leading role in various dramas, including Sound of Colors alongside actress Ruby Lin,[13]Romance of Red Dust opposite Shu Qi,[14] and Emerald on the Roof with Sun Li. Huo expressed that his role in Emerald on the Roof had taught him how to act, and has a deep impact on him.[15] Huo also starred in kungfu comedy Love at First Fight, taking on an eccentric and crazy role. His exaggerated expressions and comedic acting showed his ability to take on different roles.[16]
In 2012, Huo starred in the medical drama Inspire the Life.[23] In 2013, he starred in Lord of Legal Advisors, a mystery series in the Ming dynasty,[24] and Swordsman, a wuxia seires based on Jin Yong’s classic novel of the same Chinese title.[25] In 2014, Huo starred in Perfect Couple, written by Tong Hua.[26] The project was Huo's first attempt at producing a drama series after the establishment of his own company Huajae Studio, and reunited him with Chinese Paladin 3 co-star Tiffany Tang.[27] Huo won the Most Popular Actor in the ancient drama genre at the 2014 China Student Television Festival for the drama.[28] Huo then starred in Battle of Changsha. Battle of Changsha was a critical success, as one of the highest rated dramas on Douban.[29][30]
Huo in 2016
2015–2017: Career peak
In 2015, Huo starred in xianxia drama The Journey of Flower with Zanilia Zhao.[31] The drama was a huge success in China, achieving a peak rating of 3.89. It is also the first Chinese drama to surpass 20 billion online views.[32][33] The success of The Journey of Flower brought Huo's career to a new high.[34]
He then starred in crime thriller Love Me If You Dare, which received positive reviews and an international following.[35] Due to his success, Huo was chosen by China Newsweek as Artist of the Year. He was distinguished as one of the Most Influential People in China for 2015, a remarkable distinction since he is the only recipient of this award in the field of Performing Arts.[36]
In 2016, Huo starred in historical medical drama The Imperial Doctress, portraying Zhu Qizhen.[37] It was one of the highest rated dramas that year, and Huo was awarded Most Popular Actor and Most Marketable Artist for his performance in The Imperial Doctress as well as Love Me If You Dare at the 1st China Television Drama Quality Ceremony.[38] He next starred in the crime thrillerInside or Outside alongside Korean actor Jang Hyuk and Hong Kong star Simon Yam,[39] as well as romantic comedy film Suddenly Seventeen and suspense thriller Hide and Seek.[40][41]
In 2017, Huo starred in the science fiction suspense filmReset, produced by Jackie Chan and directed by Korean director, Chang;[42] and war film Our Time Will Come, directed by award-winning director Ann Hui.[43] In 2018, Huo returned to the small screen in the palace drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace playing the role of Qianlong Emperor.[44] In 2019, Huo starred in the period epic drama The Great Craftsman, reuniting with his Chinese Paladin 3 and Reset co-star Yang Mi.[45] The same year, he starred in the romance drama film Somewhere Winter written by Rao Xueman.[46]
2018–present: Hiatus and partial comeback
In September 2018, Huo announced the closure of Huajie Studio’s Weibo and Facebook accounts, which had been managed by his co-founder and manager, Lian Junjie, effectively shutting down Huo's only social media presence amid an acrimonious breakup with Lian[47]. Since then, Huo has largely retired to family life in Taiwan. In December 2020, Huo shut down another production company under his name in Hengdian. In 2021, he had a cameo in Light the Light, a Taiwanese drama produced by his wife, Ruby Lin. Huo returned to acting in 2024 with the Chinese drama The Tale of Rose.
^福布斯中国发布100名人榜 吴京黄渤胡歌位列前三 (in Chinese (China)). Sina Corp. 20 August 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^霍建华家庭背景显赫 爷爷曾追随孙中山. ChinaGate (in Chinese). 20 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
^解密霍建华父母离异. Ladyband (in Chinese). 22 October 2015. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
^霍建华怀念《海豚湾恋人》：台词还会背. ifeng (in Chinese). 5 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
^霍建华获封最具收视号召 自嘲最牛“酱油帝”. China Radio Information (in Chinese). 16 December 2011. Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
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