Kim Thanh Vu: Cbiz's handsome guy doesn't want to act in movies despite being paid high salaries and mysteries

Taiwanese-Japanese actor Kim Thanh Vu has not appeared on the big screen since 2017 and has stayed away from the limelight, creating an atmosphere of mystery for his fans.

When it comes to handsome Hong Kong movie stars, Kim Thanh Vu is probably the name that tops the charts - and captures the hearts - of many.

However, thanks to his reclusive nature, the Taiwanese-Japanese actor is a man of mystery - he rarely gives interviews and has no official social media accounts for his fans to follow.

In recent years, Kim Thanh Vu has almost completely disappeared from the limelight. The last film with him to be shown in theaters was This Is Not What I Expected , in 2017, a mainland Chinese project directed by Hong Kong's Hua Hongyu.

In the film, the handsome guy plays a wealthy hotel executive whose dedication to fine dining makes his life intertwined with the life of a sous chef played by Zhou Dongyu.

The relatively conventional romantic comedy earned Kim the best actor award at the 2017 Golden Screen Awards, which took place in Los Angeles, California, and celebrates co-production between China and film industries around the world.

While it's hardly the highest honor an actor can dream of, it's the only film acting award Kim has won in his entertainment career - something that's surprising given his immense popularity since the 1990s.

For many, his most memorable performance was his collaboration with Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai.

Just two years after Kim made his 1992 debut as a pop singer in Taiwan, he starred in Wong Kar-wai's hit film Chongqing Mountain , in which the girlfriend of Kim's character Ha Chi Vu broke up with him on April 1.

Because of that, Ha Chi Vu took it as a cruel April Fool's joke to endure until his birthday on May 1. Over the course of a month, he bought a box of pineapples a day and told himself that the relationship would actually expire when he was 30. .

To this day, Ha Chi Vu's monologue that begins with the shelf life of canned pineapple - "If memories can be canned, I hope they never expire; if there has to be an expiration date, I hope it's 10,000 years" - is still widely cited in Hong Kong's pop culture community and film lovers.

The film takes the concept of time and is said to reflect the anxiety of Hong Kong residents before the handover of the city from Britain to China in 1997.

A year later, in 1995, Kim Thanh Vu was lucky enough to play a similarly quirky character in Fallen Angel - a film that was supposed to be a loose sequel to Chongqing Mountain, directed by Wong Kar-wai.

In the late 90s, Kim Thanh Vu went to Japan to continue his acting career and starred in the TV series God, Please Give Me More Time alongside actress Kyoko Fukada.

The 1998 production paved the way for his role in the 2002 Japanese film as well as helping his popularity throughout East Asia as the handsome but amorous "soft boy" of cinema.

One of Kim Thanh Vu's known confidants must mention Hong Kong filmmaker Tran Kha Tan, a longtime collaborator who has directed and produced a number of films for which the actor is best known, such as 2005's If Love - for which he was nominated for best actor. at the Seventh Changchun Film Festival in China in 2006 - as well as Tou Da Nang (2007) and Wuxia (2011).

"Kim Thanh Vu is the most handsome man I've ever seen in my life. More importantly, he's one of the rare examples among actors - and I don't know what happened in his childhood - in that he was always very fragile, insecure and needy. He got your sympathy," Jackie Chan told the Post's film editor, in a 2011 interview.

In a 2008 interview with the Post, Kim Thanh Vu was modest about his good looks, even saying that his appearance was an obstacle.

"As an actor, your appearance can change depending on your character. Sometimes, I feel as if my looks have overshadowed my acting and the effort I put into my characters," the actor said.

At a time when most movie stars are choosing to ride the wave of success and take on more challenging roles, or maybe even "awards bait", to advance in their career but Kim Thanh Vu doesn't seem to care about the fame and glory that can be achieved.

After participating in more than two dozen films in the 90s, in the following years, Kim Thanh Vu gradually reduced his work and then gradually withdrew from the film industry. Kim Thanh Vu's last film is probably the movie project Sons of the Neon Night filmed in 2017 but has not been released so far.

For some celebrities, such a drop in productivity is the result of a scandal, but Kim Thanh Vu's reputation has remained intact since her 1992 debut.

In this case, it seems that he is simply enjoying his reclusive life. As the male martial arts star Jackie Chan also said on a talk show in 2022 that Kim Thanh Vu's focus when he wanted to refuse to act in a movie: "Give 100 excuses, such as not wanting to film in places where there is no computer or internet".

And if one tries to convince him, it will take at least half a year and the work environment will have to fit into his comfort zone.

Kim Thanh Vu seems to have found satisfaction in working only when he wants to and avoiding the pressure of living under the attention of the media.

In an interview, the actor revealed that everyday life would make him happy enough. He also admits that all he wants to do is act and that he doesn't care much about the state after that, which he thinks is created by the public.

Born in 1973 in Taipei to a Taiwanese mother and Japanese father, Kim Thanh Vu grew up in Taiwan under the Buddhist influence of his mother's family and is known to have officially converted to Buddhism in 1997.

Despite decades of rumors that he is or has secretly married a Japanese woman, at present Kim Thanh Vu's relationship status remains unknown to the public. He has repeatedly said that if he were to get married, he would want to protect his privacy.

Currently, at the age of 49 Kim Thanh Vu is said to live in a small town in Japan - although, as with many aspects of the actor, few can say for sure.

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