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Profile | How American-born Chinese actor Daniel Wu juggled Hong Kong and Hollywood to become a star in both films and TV on two continents
- Wu, of Tomb Raider, Westworld and Reminiscence fame, was planning on becoming an architect when he was scouted for an ad while on holiday in Hong Kong
- This led to a lead role in LGBT drama Bishonen, followed by more offers of work. He has now made nearly 70 films in Hong Kong, China and the US
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This is the ninth instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.
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Daniel Wu Yin-cho had never planned to become a star or join the entertainment industry when he was growing up. He trained as an architect, and stumbled upon fame when he travelled to Hong Kong as part of his graduation trip in 1997.
Over the past 25 years, Wu has become a household name in Hong Kong and established himself as one of Hollywood’s most successful actors of Asian descent.
His recent filmography in the West includes disaster action epic Geostorm (2017) with Gerard Butler, the 2018 Tomb Raider remake with Alicia Vikander, and the sci-fi thriller Reminiscence (2021) with Hugh Jackman.
On TV, Wu also starred in the fourth season of Westworld, the popular US dystopian sci-fi series, in 2022, and this year’s wuxia action comedy series American Born Chinese on Disney+, which co-stars Michelle Yeoh.
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“As you know, I spend a lot of time in Asia making films, and I spend a lot of time in America making films,” he told the Post in a recent interview about American Born Chinese.
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