Zhao Wen Zhuo

Career

Fong Sai-yuk

In 1992, Hong Kong film producer Corey Yuen went to Beijing Sport University to find a martial artist to play the role of the antagonist for his 1993 filmFong Sai-yuk. Yuen found Zhao through the latter's instructor and was immediately impressed with Zhao. Initially, Zhao was uninterested, but Yuen insisted on offering him the role because he had "the skill and looks."After further encouragement from peers and mentors, Zhao accepted the offer and filming began in the same year.Zhao was often teased for looking too nice and young for the role of the villain, the Governor of Kau-man,but under the instruction of Yuen and other directors, he learned the easiest way to "look evil".He said,

"The director told me: Chiu Man-cheuk, when you look at people, don't look at them like how you usually do. You must look at them from the corner of your eyes with your profile facing them. That way, you will look evil."

During filming, Zhao also enrolled in acting classes for three months.Fong Sai-yukwas released in March 1993 and became a box-office hit in Hong Kong, grossing HK$30,666,842.

Once Upon a Time in China

After only a month into the filming ofFong Sai-yuk, contract problems between Tsui Hark and Jet Li caused Li to back out from the fourth installment of theOnce Upon a Time in Chinasaga. Tsui met Zhao on the set ofFong Sai-yukand was impressed with Zhao's performance that he quickly recruited Zhao to replace Li in playing the role of Wong Fei-hung . Tsui also encouraged Zhao to sign a three-year contract to be a full-time actor, but Zhao rejected the offer, stating that he felt that his education was more important. Zhao continued to devote himself to filming during school vacations forGreen Snake(1993) andOnce Upon a Time in China IV(1994).

AlthoughOnce Upon a Time in China IVgrossed less in the box office than the first three installments, it was significant enough to continue the franchise with a fifth installment,Once Upon a Time in China V(1995). While shooting a scene, Zhao slipped during a fighting sequence and injured his head. He was rushed to the hospital and got stitches. He recovered quickly and shooting continued after several weeks.Once Upon a Time in China Vwas Zhao's last role as Wong Fei-hung in the films, as Jet Li returned for the sixth and last installment,Once Upon a Time in China and America(1997).

Zhao continued playing Wong Fei-hung in theOnce Upon a Time in Chinatelevision series, also produced by Tsui Hark. The series was aired on ATV in Hong Kong for two years and received high ratings (althoughOnce Upon a Time in China: The Final Victoryonly had moderate ratings).^{[citation needed]}

1997–2002

In 1997, Zhao signed a management contract with China Star, a Hong Kong talent agency, after which he began to work on more films, such asThe Blacksheep Affair(1998),Body Weapon(1999) andFist Power(2000). Many considered him as "the next Jet Li".Zhao also started working on co-productions between Hong Kong and China, such asHua Mulan(1998),The Young Hero of Shaolin(2001) andThe Legend of Huo Yuanjia(2002).

2002–present

Zhao's contract with China Star ended in 2002, and he turned his focus to the Mainland China market, working on television series such asWind and CloudandSeven Swordsmen. In 2006, Zhao returned to Hong Kong and began working onThe Master of Tai Chi, produced by TVB .

Reviews for Zhao's performance in television series were mixed, and many criticized him for giving up big productions and the silver screen. Zhao explained:

"I never took professional acting classes. The only thing I could do back then were sports and martial arts. In order to train myself, I must accept more television series to touch up my acting."

While working onThe Master of Tai Chi, Zhao was given a script for a new martial arts film and he accepted the lead role. Zhao signed with Hollywood agency CAA in 2006 with help from Jackie Chan .He was originally selected to play the lead villain inRush Hour 3, but the role was eventually given to Hiroyuki Sanada . Zhao returned to Beijing in September 2008 to prepare for his next film,True Legend.

Personal life

Zhao graduated from Beijing Sport University in 1994 and decided to remain there as a martial arts instructor. However, due to his busy filming schedule, he only taught classes for three months before resigning.

During his time at Beijing Academy, Zhao signed on for two months of dancing classes and won the National College Dance Championship Competition.

He was once linked with Anita Mui in early 1995 but the pair broke apart in 1996.

Zhao married Zhang Danlu in June 2006, and their daughter, was born in September 2007. In February 2010, Zhao brought his family back to Beijing. At the airport, when interviewed, Zhao said his daughter is named "Rosita", Chinese name "Zhao Ziyang" (赵紫阳).His daughter shares the same name as the late politician Zhao Ziyang , whose name has been a taboo subject in China since 1989.

Zhao also has a son from a previous relationship with a Shanghai college student studying in Canada at that time. His son, named "Zhao Yuanda" (赵元达), English name "Joseph", was born in August 2002.^{[citation needed]}

Early life

Zhao was born in Harbin , Heilongjiang , China , as the youngest of three sons.His father was a martial arts practitioner, and his mother was a professional sprinter , who broke the record for being the fastest female sprinter of Harbin.Under the instruction of his father, Zhao attended martial arts lessons at the age of eight, but he never completely devote himself to his lessons as he was more interested in singing. In the early 1980s, Zhao was sent to a martial arts academy in Harbin and began to train vigorously, where he started to love the sport.He soon became the youngest member of the Harbin wushu team, which was established in 1985. Trained in various wushu techniques, Zhao mastered tai chi chuan , especially the Chen and Yang styles.

Zhao maintained high academic standards, and in 1990, he was accepted by Beijing Sport University to study martial arts.Throughout his university career, he joined many national championships, winning first place titles and gold medals for the National Junior Championship, the National All-Around Championship, and also the National Martial Arts Championship. He was also qualified to be in China's national martial arts team, and his classmates gave him the nickname, " Kungfu King."

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Fong Sai-yuk	Governor of Kau-man	USA release titleThe Legend
	Once Upon a Time in China IV	Wong Fei-hung
	Green Snake	Monk Fat-hoi
1994	Once Upon a Time in China V	Wong Fei-hung
1995	The Chinese Feast	Lung Kwun-bo
	The Blade	On Man / Ting-on
1996	Mahjong Dragon	Pak Kwai-sau
1998	The Blacksheep Affair	Yim Dong	USA release titleAnother Meltdown
1999	Body Weapon	Wu Chi-kwan
2000	Fist Power	Brian Cheuk
2001	The Sino-Dutch War 1661	Zheng Chenggong	Nominated -Golden Rooster Awardsfor Best Actor
2002	The Wesley's Mysterious File
2005	In the Blue	Wushu coach
2010	True Legend	Su Qi'er
2010	Orphan of Zhao Family	Zhao Dun	Currently in post-production

TV series

Year	Title	Role
1995	Once Upon a Time in China Series: The Suspicious Temple	Wong Fei-hung
	Once Upon a Time in China Series: The Eight Assassins
1996	Once Upon a Time in China Series: The Headless General
	Once Upon a Time in China Series: The Ideal Century
	Once Upon a Time in China Series: The Final Victory
1998	Hua Mulan	Li Liang
1999	Fist of Hero	Rong Haishan
2001	Hero of the Times	Fang Shiyu
	New May Flower	Zhao Shijun
2002	Drunken Hero	Mi Wentian
	The Legend of Huo Yuanjia	Huo Yuanjia
	Jingwu Yingxiong Chen Zhen
	Wind and Cloud	Nie Feng
	Book and Sword, Gratitude and Revenge	Chen Jialuo
2003	Lady Wu - The First Empress	Li Junxian
2004	Miracle Healers	Liu Xuan
	Wind and Cloud 2	Nie Feng
2005	Lost City in Snow Heaven	Lei Ou
	Four Rarities of the Royal Palace	Kangxi Emperor
2006	Seven Swordsmen	Chu Zhaonan
2008	The Master of Tai Chi	Mo Ma

1. "Vincent Zhao: Never give up" (in Chinese).SMNet: pp. 1. 2008-07-09. . Retrieved 2008-09-25.
"Thinking back when first entered the entertainment industry, Vincent Zhao honestly says, "Never thought of it."" (in Chinese).Sina: pp. 1. 2001-08-30. . Retrieved 2008-09-25. "Counting each entertainment sportsman" (in Chinese).Sina: pp. 1. 2004-09-14. . Retrieved 2008-09-25. "Sportsman in the entertainment industry" (in Chinese).HSDCW: pp. 1. 2008-08-06. . Retrieved 2008-09-25. "Zhang Danlu and Vincent Zhao "separate"" (in Chinese).Sina: pp. 1. 2006-01-15. . Retrieved 2008-09-27. "Kung-fu kings" (in Chinese).Sina: pp. 1. 2007-12-11. . Retrieved 2008-09-25. "Vincent Zhao, the rising tides" (in Chinese).Sina: pp. 1. 2006-03-29. . Retrieved 2008-09-27. "Vincent Zhao on "Be My Guest"" (in Chinese).TVB: pp. 1. 2008-03-15. . Retrieved 2008-09-27.
2.  :From TVB's "By My Guest", 2008-03-15
"Vincent Zhao interview" .Jayne Stars: pp. 1. . Retrieved 2009-09-30. "Vincent Zhao injuries" (in Chinese). pp. 1. . Retrieved 2008-10-01. "Sportsmen stars" .People: pp. 1. 2008-08-15. . Retrieved 2008-09-27. "Vincent Zhao: happy to be nominated" .Sina: pp. 1. 2001-10-23. . Retrieved 2008-09-27. "Vincent Zhao signs into America's CAA" .CRI Online: pp. 1. 2006-10-26. . Retrieved 2008-09-30. "Vincent Zhao is "Beggar Su"" . 2008-09-23. . Retrieved 2008-09-24. "Girlfriend Zhang Danlu believes in Vincent Zhao" .Sina. 2004-03-28. . Retrieved 2008-09-28. "Jacky Chan and Elaine Ng's love" . 2008-09-18. . Retrieved 2008-09-23.
3. ^
"Vincent Zhao" . imdb.com. . Retrieved April 19, 2010. "Vincent Zhao" . chinesemov.com. . Retrieved April 19, 2010.

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