Tom Wu

Last updated

Tom Wu
Born (1972-05-15) 15 May 1972 (age 53)
OccupationActor
Years active1988–present
Known for Martial arts

Tom Wu (born 15 May 1972) is a Hong Kong-born British actor. He is a martial artist whose films include Shanghai Knights (2003), Out for a Kill (2003), Belly of the Beast (2003), Revolver (2005), Batman Begins (2005) and the Bollywood film Ra.One (2011). [1] On television, he is known for his roles in the CBBC series Spirit Warriors (2010), the Netflix series Marco Polo [2] (2014–2016) and the ITV crime drama Strangers (2018).

Contents

Early life

Wu was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Chinatown, London. [3] At the age of ten, Wu began practising various martial arts such as Hung Gar, karate and Wing Chun and later took up acrobatics. In 1988, he competed for Britain at China's International wu-shu (martial arts) tournament, winning two bronze medals and a gold medal. [4]

Wu went on to study at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. [5] [6]

Career

Wu is one of the founding members of the British theatre company Yellow Earth Theatre, which was established in 1995. [7] [8] [9] [10] He's performed in their various productions over the years including The Magic Paintbrush [11] , Play to Win [12] , a co-production with Soho Theatre and The Whisper of a Leaf Falling at Battersea Arts Centre [13] , Blue Remembered Hills [14] and Behind the Chinese Takeaway [15] . He choreographed their touring show Why The Lion Danced in 2013. [16]

His further stage credits include M. Butterfly in 1989 at Shaftesbury Theatre [17] and the original production of Miss Saigon in 1989. [18] In 2005, he went on to perform in an adaptation of Tintin (character) at Barbican Theatre [19] .

Wu is known for playing numerous Chinese Triad gang member or leader roles in various films [20] . Such as Out for a Kill , Wake of Death , Revolver and Kick-Ass 2 and most recently, in 2019 playing a criminal and tattoo artist in the Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw and playing the Chinese Triad leader Lord George in the British film The Gentlemen . [21]

One of his notable roles was in The Scorpion King 2 (2008) [22] where he played Fung, a Chinese Ming dynasty soldier rescued by Mathayus and his allies and who later assists them towards the end of the film.

In 2014, he portrayed the character Hundred Eyes in the Netflix original series Marco Polo before its cancellation in late 2016. [23] Wu played Sir George, King Arthur's mentor in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword in 2017. In 2018, Wu played Hong Kong inspector Daniel Tsui in the series Strangers . [24] In 2019 he featured as Lord George in the Guy Ritchie film The Gentlemen (2019 film). [25] In 2021 he appeared in action feature Havoc (2025 film). [26]

Personal Life

Wu is married to violinist Sarah Chi Shang Liew. [27]

Filmography

Film & Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1988 Rockliffe's Babies Ho LeeEpisode: "A Very Diplomatic Incident"
1991The Godfather SquadTriad Member In Restaurant
1992 To Be the Best Airline OfficialTV movie
1996 Thief Takers Chang Ming2 episodes
Cracker Detective LawyerEpisode: "White Ghost"
1998 Immortality Gang Member
1999 Rogue Trader George Seow
2003 Shanghai Knights "Lead Boxer" Liu
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life Sean's Man
Out for a Kill Li Bo
Belly of the Beast General Jantapan
2004 Wake of Death [28] Andy Wang
2005 Batman Begins Bhutanese Prison Guard #1
Revolver [29] Lord John
2008 The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior [30] Fong
Mutant Chronicles [31] Corporal Juba Kim Wu
2010 Spirit Warriors [32] Hwang7 episodes
2011 Ra.One [33] Akaashi / Ra.OneHindi film
2012 Treasure Island Joe ThobyTV film
Skyfall Silva's Mercenary
2013 RED 2 Security Officer
Kick-Ass 2 [34] Genghis Carnage
2014 Da Vinci's Demons Quon Shan5 episodes
2014–2016 Marco Polo [35] Hundred Eyes 18 episodes
2015Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes [36] Hundred EyesTV short
2016 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny [37]
2017 King Arthur: Legend of the Sword [38] Kung Fu George
2018 Strangers [39] Detective Inspector Daniel Tsui8 episodes
2019BalikoKingShort film
Strike Back: Revolution [40] Uncle Laoshu2 episodes
Hobbs & Shaw [41] Tsoi
The Gentlemen [42] Lord George
2020 The Host [43] Yong
2022 The Sandman [44] Hippogriff (voice)Episode: "Dream of a Thousand Cats"
2024 3 Body Problem [45] Count of the West Episode: "Red Coast"
2025 Havoc [46] Wong

References

  1. "SRK ropes in Tom Wu for 'Ra.One'". NDTV Movies. 21 July 2010. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  2. https://www.thewrap.com/netflixs-marco-polo-showrunner-explains-why-hes-obsessed-with-the-legendary-explorer-video/
  3. https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/21494/1/The%20Cultural%20Politics%20of%20In%20Visibility%20-%20AAM.pdf
  4. "Tom Wu". Visible Chinese. 7 March 2008. Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  5. https://waringmckenna.com/clients/tom-wu/
  6. https://www.prnewswire.com/fi/lehdistotiedotteet/production-is-underway-on-epic-netflix-original-series--marco-polo-produced-by-the-weinstein-company-254363611.html
  7. https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/yellow-earth-theatre-milestone-shows-over-the-last-25-years_50869/
  8. "Tom Wu". Yellow Earth Theatre. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  9. https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/exclusive-kumiko-mendl-to-step-down-as-artistic-director-of-new-earth-theatre
  10. https://catalogue.bruford.ac.uk/alumni-theatre-companies
  11. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/Eclipse_report_2011.pdf
  12. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2000/oct/07/theatre.artsfeatures
  13. http://totaltheatre.org.uk/archive/reviews/yellow-earth-theatre-whisper-leaf-falling
  14. https://www.uktw.co.uk/archive/T1723328008
  15. https://totaltheatre.org.uk/archive/reviews/yellow-earth-behind-chinese-takeaway
  16. https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/why-the-lion-da-tara-arts-studi-8484
  17. https://theatricalia.com/play/5n3/m-butterfly/production/cc0
  18. https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/76057-miss-saigon-at-theatre-royal-drury-lane-1989-1999
  19. https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/news/casting-confirmed-for-tintin-at-barbican-theatre
  20. https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2183491/hbos-strike-back-brings-counterterrorism-unit
  21. https://mubi.com/en/cast/tom-wu/films/cast
  22. https://letterboxd.com/actor/tom-wu/
  23. https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/production-is-underway-on-epic-netflix-original-series--marco-polo-produced-by-the-weinstein-company-254363611.html
  24. https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/strangers-itv-cast-john-simm-emilia-fox/
  25. https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/quite-liked-other-charlie-hunnam-094225278.html
  26. https://www.backstage.com/uk/magazine/article/netflixs-havoc-starring-tom-hardy-is-now-filming-in-the-uk-74052/
  27. https://www.scmp.com/article/413025/string-theory
  28. https://kungfukingdom.com/wake-of-death-2004-blu-ray-version/
  29. https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/634330.film-review-revolver-15/
  30. https://screenrant.com/db/movie/the-scorpion-king-2-rise-of-a-warrior/
  31. https://insidepulse.com/2009/08/15/mutant-chronicles-blu-ray-review/
  32. https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/12_december/21/spirit.shtml
  33. https://www.digitalspy.com/bollywood/a247827/khan-enlists-wu-for-raone-role/
  34. https://cinemotic.com/movie-reviews/kick-ass-2-review-2/
  35. https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a799478/marco-polo-season-2-is-coming/
  36. https://screenanarchy.com/2017/03/hong-kong-goes-west---when-hong-kong-film-makers-attempt-to-break-the-western-market---part-6-contrib.html
  37. https://thescriptlab.com/features/main/reviews-2/3463-review-crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-sword-of-destiny-is-a-predictable-artificial-sequel/
  38. https://www.assignmentx.com/2017/movie-review-king-arthur-legend-of-the-sword/
  39. https://www.liverpoolsoundandvision.co.uk/2018/10/30/strangers-television-review/
  40. https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Cinemax-Action-Series-STRIKE-BACK-Returns-For-Sixth-Season-125-20190108
  41. https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2019/7/31/movie-review-hobbs-and-shaw/
  42. https://www.theyoungfolks.com/review/140172/the-gentlemen-guy-ritchie/
  43. https://www.nerdly.co.uk/2020/04/09/the-host-vod-review/
  44. https://www.ign.com/articles/the-sandman-surprise-episode-released-on-netflix
  45. https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/3-body-problem-episode-2-recap
  46. https://dmtalkies.com/havoc-netflix-action-movie-review-2025/