Daniel Wu (吳彥祖) never thought about becoming an actor. His first dream, at 5 years old, was to become the first Chinese American president of the United States. As he grew older, he thought about becoming a firefighter, a police officer, and later architecture, which he eventually took up to study at the University of Oregon. When Daniel graduated with his degree, he immediately knew he would not want to pursue a lifelong career as an architect. “You stay in a company and work on something that may not be your own creation for a long time. To be able to climb up to a spot in which you can use your own creations can take over ten years. I have a friend who works at an architecture company who took two years to design the same window. He was an excellent student during school. I pity him, and I told myself that I don’t want that life. I don’t want to be a robot.” How Daniel Became an Actor In 1997, the year of his graduation, Daniel took a long trip to Hong Kong and Japan. After spending the majority of his travel expenses, he decided to take up a part-time job as a model, which was an idea recommended by his elder sister. At the time, director Yonfan (楊凡) was looking for a rookie actor to portray the handsome main lead, Sam, in his gay romance film, Bishonen <美少年之戀>. Yonfan’s godson said his friend, Daniel, really resembled the man character, and after seeing Daniel’s fashion ad in a magazine, Yonfan immediately called Daniel in for a screen test. Daniel’s clean good looks won him the part, and he skyrocketed to fame after starring in Bishonen. His handsome image easily got Daniel more roles in more movies, and for the next few years, Daniel was typecast as a pretty boy hero. He did not really enjoy those roles. “It wasn’t an easy job either. Back then, we usually filmed without a script. Most of the time, it was just the director telling the actors what to do. At the time it was really hard for young people to enjoy a career in the Hong Kong film industry.” Daniel thought about quitting, but quickly learned that a career in the film industry was beyond his control, and the only smart thing is to stay confident in his own career path. In 2002, Daniel was cast in a play The Happy Prince <快樂王子>, which he managed to prove to others that not only was Daniel a pretty boy, he was also a capable actor. Daniel portrayed a lawyer who uses his clients to earn heftier profits. On portraying the role and starring in his first theatrical play, Daniel said, “It’s as if I was cleansed. I was a rookie all over again.” Eager to accept the role, Daniel did not back down even when the director told him that he would have a 20-minute long monologue. Daniel could not read Chinese, but within a day, he had all his dialogue marked in pinyin and managed to recite it all without mistake. “He has a very clear heart,” The Happy Prince director praised. “He could do only one thing at a given amount of time. He lives through creativity, not money.” Creds: Sina
