Dylan Kuo
Dylan Kuo 郭品超 | |
---|---|
Chinese name | 郭品超 |
Pinyin | Guō Pǐnchāo (Mandarin) |
Jyutping | Gwok3 Ban2-ciu1 (Cantonese) |
Born |
Taipei, Taiwan | June 8, 1977
Other name(s) | Irons Kwok |
Occupation | Actor, model, Singer |
Genre(s) | C-pop, Mandopop |
Voice type(s) | bass |
Label(s) |
Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG) (2008-2010) HIM International Music (2010-Present) |
Years active | 2003 - Present |
Ancestry | Zhejiang, China |
Website | Dylan Kuo Weibo page |
Dylan Kuo (Chinese: 郭品超; pinyin: Guō Pǐnchāo; born June 8, 1977) is a Taiwanese actor, model and singer. Besides Taiwan he has worked in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Japan. He is also known as Irons Kwok, his earlier western name, and Kwok Bun-chiu,[1] his name pronounced in Cantonese. He speaks Mandarin, Taiwanese, Cantonese (with a Mandarin accent) and limited English. He rose to fame in 2004 after playing the lead role in the GTV drama "The Outsiders". [2]
Early life
Dylan Kuo was born in Taipei, Taiwan on June 8, 1977, the youngest of a two-child family. He has a brother older than him by 4 years. He has been described by family members and teachers as a shy, quiet and reserved child. His parents divorced when he was very young. He grew up in a single-parent home living with his mother and older brother. His mother worked 2 jobs in order to raise him and his brother, working as a kindergarten teacher by day and at night as a YMCA instructor teaching hairdressing courses. His mother died from breast cancer when he was 14 years old, which Kuo has said was the most unforgettable yet saddest moment in his life.
He then went to live with his father while his older brother moved out on his own. He graduated from Taipei College of Maritime Technology. Originally wanting to be an architect like his older brother, he decided it wasn't the career path he wanted after spending one year in the field.[3]
Career
Modeling
At age 17 he was scouted by a modeling agency to become a model. Because he was underage at that time, he needed his father's consent when signing the contract, but his father was highly against him becoming a model and told him to concentrate on his studies instead. Being a filial son, he listened to his father's words and gave up on the idea of becoming a model.
A few years later at age 19 and wanting extra spending money, he decided to try modeling secretly without letting his father know. He signed under the well-known Taiwan modeling agency Catwalk Production House and became a highly sought-after model due to his 6' 2" (1.87 cm) height frame and having Eurasian facial features even though he is a full-blooded Chinese. His early modeling success was short-lived as he decided to fulfill his 2-year conscription at age 20. After finishing his military requirements at age 22, he resumed his modeling career with success.
Acting
In 2003, he made his acting debut in small cameo roles, his most notable one for the idol drama "The Rose" playing one of Cecilia Yip's character Han Li's younger boyfriends. He had originally auditioned for the role "Han Jin" which Jerry Huang was eventually cast in. The director was impressed with his audition and decided to bring him back for a cameo role. After being offered more acting roles, Kuo was then signed under Duo Man Ni Productions to manage all his acting activities while Catwalk Production House still managed his advertisement and modeling activities.
In 2004, he got his big break playing the main lead in the drama "The Outsiders", a drama about triad gangs in Taipei. After the success of "The Outsiders" and its sequel "The Outsiders II", Kuo was invited by Hong Kong Director Joe Ma to play the lead in the 2005 Hong Kong film "Embrace Your Shadow" opposite Hong Kong singer-actress Fiona Sit.
For his movie debut in "Embrace Your Shadow", he plays a small-time cat burglar from Taiwan living in Hong Kong who has to deal with love and triads issues. His character "Juchin" was to originally only speak Mandarin, since director Joe Ma was aware that Kuo did not speak any Cantonese, but wanting to look believable as a person living in Hong Kong, Kuo decided to speak his lines as much as possible in Cantonese. In the behind-the-scenes footage of "Embrace Your Shadow", Kuo can be seen asking the director and production crew on how to pronounce his lines in Cantonese. The movie was well-received and he was invited to film another Hong Kong movie, the horror film "Black Night".
In 2008, he signed with Hong Kong entertainment management company Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG) to handle all his activities for the Hong Kong market due to his growing popularity in Hong Kong. After previously playing romantic, tough, cool and reserved characters, Kuo made his first foray into comedy, playing the dorky, nerdy and immature character "Ning Huan Yu" in CTS's 2008 romantic comedy "Prince + Princess 2". The drama started out promising but received low ratings due to production issues and constant changing of the plotline.
After the unsuccessful run of "Prince + Princess 2", Kuo went back to playing serious, romantic, tough guy roles. In 2009, Kuo made his debut in the Mainland China drama market and since then has mainly concentrated in the Mainland China market. Since his first Mainland China drama "Beauty is Not Bad", all his dramas since then has been aired in Mainland China first and then broadcast in Taiwan months later. In 2010, he switched all of his music, advertisements, modelling and acting activities to be managed only by Taiwanese music and entertainment company HIM International Music.
Kuo is no longer active in Hong Kong since his contract with Emperor Entertainment Group ended in 2010. For the past few years he has mainly concentrated in the Mainland China market.[4]
Music
In 2007, he started his music career signing under record label "Warner Music Taiwan". His first and only album released to date is "Together". Kuo does still occasionally sing the theme songs of the dramas he has acted in.
Personal life
Kuo was previously in a long-term open relationship with a girl simply known as Amy to the public. He and Amy started dating during his early modeling career. It was a long-distance relationship because Amy left Taiwan during the second year of their relationship to study in the United States. Kuo confirmed in 2008 that he and Amy had ended their relationship some time in 2007. Kuo has not been in a steady relationship since his break up with Amy but has been linked by the press to many of his co-stars since.[5]
He has a mild case of Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), Kuo admitting in an interview that he carries a tooth brush, tooth paste and dental floss with him everywhere, and must brush his teeth after every meal. Also showering three times a day to make sure he doesn't have any body odor as he is terrified of others thinking he smells foul. He baths in the morning when he wakes up, after each of his daily workouts and before going to bed. Being terrified of smelling foul has also led him to having to put on cologne whenever he heads outside his home, even if it is a few minute errand to the local market or bank.[6]
Good friends with Taiwan-based Hong Kong actor Peter Ho. The two share an interest in body building and often post pictures on their Weibo accounts of their workout sessions.
Television series
Year | Network | Chinese Title | English | Role | Character |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | TTV | 薔薇之戀 | The Rose | Cameo | Kevin - Han Li's lover (韓俐的情人) ep.10 |
CTV | 欲望六人行 | Six Lines Of Desire | Cameo | ||
CTV | 麻辣高校生 | Spicy College Students | Cameo | Yin Junxi (尹俊熙) | |
CTS | 麻辣鮮師 | Spicy Teacher | Cameo | Yin Junxi (尹俊熙) | |
ETTV | 熟女欲望日記 | Diary Of Sex and The City | Cameo | Zhou Zhiwei (周志偉) | |
FTV | 眉飛色舞 | Step of Dance | Cameo | Soccer Captain (足球隊隊長) | |
2004 | GTV | 鬥魚 | The Outsiders | Male Lead | Yu Hao (于皓) |
GTV | 鬥魚2 | The Outsiders II | Male Lead | Yu Hao (于皓) | |
2005 | FTV | 偷天換日 | Coming Lies | Male Lead | Cash |
2006 | CTS | 白袍之戀 | White Robe of Love | 2nd Male Lead | Tang Qi Xiu (唐啟修) |
2007 | CTV | 18禁不禁 | The Teen Age | Guest Star | PE teacher Lin Menglun (體育老師林孟倫) |
精武飛鴻 | Men and Legends | 2nd Male Lead | Yan Ying Yuan (閰應元) | ||
2008 | CTS | 王子看見二公主 | Prince + Princess 2 | Male Lead | Ning Huanyu (寧煥宇) |
2009 | CTS | 敲敲愛上你 | Knock Knock Loving You | Male Lead | Cheng Xue Ge (程雪歌) |
CNTV | 美女不壞 | Beauty is Not Bad | Male Lead | William Chen (陳威廉) | |
2010 | Hunan TV | 單身公主相親記 | Single Princesses and Blind Dates | 2nd Male Lead | Fang Yan (方顏) |
2011 | JSTV | 十二生肖傳奇 | The Legend of Chinese Zodiac | Male Lead | Xing Hu (星虎) |
2012 | CTV | 愛啊哎呀,我願意 | Ia Ia, I Do | Male Lead | Ji Xiang En (季翔恩) |
2013 | CTV | 借用一下你的愛 | Borrow Your Love | Male Lead | Ye Chen (葉晨) |
CCTV | 花木蘭傳奇 | Legend of Mulan | Male Lead | Prince Dou Lun (多倫) | |
2014 | TVBS | 16個夏天 | The Way We Were | Cameo | Jiang Da Wei (蔣大維) |
2015 | ViuTV (2014 filmed) | 懶人美食日記 | Slacker’s Food Diary | Male Lead | Li Rui Fan (李睿凡) |
To Be Air | (2014 filmed) | 一场奋不顾身的爱情 | Love Is Brave | 2nd Male Lead | Li Si Han (李思汉) |
(2015 filmed) | 王小笛驯夫记 | Follow Me My Queen | Male Lead | Yang Jia Lei (杨家磊) | |
(2015 filmed) | 美味男女 | Beautiful Men And Women | Male Lead | Li Jue Yi (李爵轶) | |
Filming | 雪女王 | Snow Queen | Male Lead |
Filmography
Year | Country | English | Chinese Title | Character |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Hong Kong | Embrace Your Shadow | 摯愛 | Juchin 卓勤 |
2006 | Hong Kong | Black Night: Next Door | 黑夜 | Joe 阿祖 |
2007 | China | The Longest Night in Shanghai | 夜上海 | Tong Tong 東東 |
2007 | Hong Kong | Shamo | 軍雞 | Ryuichi Yamazaki 山崎 |
2008 | Japan | Sasori | 蠍子 | Hei Tai 林喜泰 |
2012 | China | Ultra Reinforcement | 超時空救兵 | Shi Kejin 史可进 |
2012 | Taiwan | Bear It | 熊熊愛上你 | Peter |
2012 | Taiwan | Westgate Tango | 西門町 | Jin 景淳 |
2013 | China | Love Is Beautiful | 愛,很美 | Ray Zheng-yu 雷鄭宇 |
2014 | China | Are You Ready to Marry Me | 我想結婚的時候你在哪 | Gao Yi-an 高一安 |
2015 | China | Where Are All The Time | 時間都去哪了 | |
2016 | US/CN/HK | Skiptrace | 絕地逃亡 | Undercover cop 卧底警察 |
CN/TW/HK | The Choice | 選擇遊戲 |
Discography
Studio Album
# | English Title | Chinese Title | Release Date | Label |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | I Don't Like Myself | 我不像我 | 10 August 2004 | Warner Music Taiwan[7] |
2nd | Together | 同行 | 19 January 2007 | Warner Music Taiwan[8] |
Television themes
Year | English title | Chinese title | TV drama |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | "Give Up" | 放棄 | The Outsiders |
"Promise" | 答應 | The Outsiders II | |
2005 | "Steal Another Day" | 偷天換日 | Coming Lies |
2013 | "Borrow Loved Ones" | 借用愛的人 | Borrow Your Love |
Music Video Appearances
Year | Song Title | Details | Video |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | MR. Right (對的人) |
|
Video on YouTube |
2004 | Only Because of You (都只因為你) |
|
Video on YouTube |
2009 | Insomnia (失眠) |
|
Video on YouTube |
2015 | This is it! (風蕭蕭兮) |
|
Video on YouTube |
References
- ↑ http://www.scmp.com/article/516263/shadow-walker
- ↑ "Dylan Kuo". chinesemov.com. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
- ↑ http://ent.appledaily.com.tw/enews/article/entertainment/20101023/32907692/
- ↑ (Chinese) The Longest Night in Shanghai Dylan Kuo sina.com news
- ↑ (Chinese) Dylan Kuo libertytimes.com Retrieved 2014-02-14
- ↑ Dylan Kuo cleanliness news
- ↑ 我不像我 CD. Retrieved 2016-07-11
- ↑ Dylan Kuo album info. Retrieved 2014-02-17
External links
- (Chinese) Dylan Kuo HIM page
- (Chinese) Dylan Kuo Facebook page
- (Chinese) Dylan Kuo Weibo page