Biography
Liu Ye (Chinese: 刘烨; pinyin: Líu Yè; born March 23, 1978, in Jilin, China) is a Chinese actor known for his work in film and television.
He began his acting career at age 20 while studying performing arts at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, quickly demonstrating his talent. Liu received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at China's Golden Rooster Awards in 1999 for his role as a young postman in his debut film, Postmen in the Mountains. Shortly after graduating, he won Best Actor at Taiwan’s 38th Golden Horse Awards for portraying a young gay man in Lan Yu. Three years later, he earned another Best Actor award at the 24th Golden Rooster Awards for his performance in The Foliage. Several of Liu Ye’s films, including Lan Yu, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Purple Butterfly, and The Floating Landscape, have been featured at international film festivals.
Rather than capitalizing on his good looks to become a teen idol, Liu Ye has consistently challenged himself with complex roles. His portrayals range from simple, down-to-earth characters to introverted and melancholic figures, as well as masculine and Casanova-type roles. His impressive acting skills have gained recognition from both audiences and renowned directors, such as Stanley Kwan (Lan Yu), Chen Kaige (The Promise), Zhang Yimou (Curse of the Golden Flower), and John Woo (Blood Brothers), who have cast him in significant productions.
Liu Ye’s first Hollywood film, Dark Matter, inspired by a true story from the early 1990s, screened at major international film festivals in 2007. He starred alongside Meryl Streep as Liu Xing, a brilliant Chinese physics postgraduate. The film won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States in April 2008. In 2008, Liu took on his first villainous role in Connected, a remake of the American film Cellular, where he appeared significantly older than his actual age.
He played the lead in City of Life and Death, a film honoring the victims of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. Directed by 6th Generation Mainland Director Lu Chuan, the movie was shot in Tianjin and other Chinese cities such as Changchun and released in 2009.
