Jiang Wen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jiang Wen
姜文
Jiang in 2008
Born	Jiang Xiaojun (1963-01-05) 5 January 1963 (age 62) Tangshan, Hebei, China
Alma mater	Central Academy of Drama
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, film director
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	Sandrine Chenivesse ​ (m. 1997⁠–⁠2005)​ Zhou Yun ​ (m. 2005)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Jiang Hongqi (father) Gao Yang (mother)
Relatives	Jiang Wu (brother)
Awards	Hong Kong Film Awards – Best Supporting Actor 1997 The Soong Sisters Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards – Best Director 2011 Let the Bullets Fly Best Screenplay 2011 Let the Bullets Fly Golden Horse Awards – Best Director 1996 In the Heat of the Sun Best Adapted Screenplay 1996 In the Heat of the Sun 2011 Let the Bullets Fly Best Film Editing 2007 The Sun Also Rises Hundred Flowers Awards – Best Actor 1986 Hibiscus Town 1989 A Woman for two
Chinese name
Chinese	姜文
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jiāng Wén
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	姜小軍
Simplified Chinese	姜小军
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jiāng Xiǎojūn Yue: Cantonese Jyutping geung1 man4

Jiang Wen (born on January 5, 1963) is a famous Chinese actor and filmmaker. He is known for both acting in and directing movies. Some of his most well-known films include In the Heat of the Sun (1994) and Let the Bullets Fly (2010). He also gained international fame for his role as Baze Malbus in the Star Wars movie Rogue One (2016). Jiang Wen is the older brother of another actor, Jiang Wu.

Early Life and Education

Jiang Wen was born in Tangshan, China, into a family with a military background. When he was ten years old, his family moved to Beijing. In 1973, he went to Beijing No. 72 Middle School. Later, in 1980, he joined the Central Academy of Drama, which is a top acting school in China. He finished his studies there in 1984.

Jiang Wen's Career in Film

Acting Roles

After graduating from acting school, Jiang Wen started working as an actor at the China Youth Art Institute. In the same year, he began acting in both plays and movies.

His first movie role was playing Puyi in The Last Empress. He then starred in Hibiscus Town, where he played an intellectual revolutionary. This role won him the Best Actor Award at the Hundred Flowers Awards. Jiang Wen also acted with his Hibiscus Town co-star in the film Chun Tao.

He became very famous in China for his role in the 1992 TV series A Native of Beijing in New York. This made him one of the most popular Chinese actors of his time.

Jiang Wen also appeared in many other films, such as Black Snow (1990), The Emperor's Shadow (1996), and The Soong Sisters (1997). He worked with director Zhang Yimou on Red Sorghum (1986) and Keep Cool (1997).

In the early 2000s, he starred in films like The Missing Gun, Green Tea, and Warriors of Heaven and Earth. He also played important historical figures, such as Hong Taiji in the TV series Da Qing Fengyun (2006) and Cao Cao in The Lost Bladesman.

A big moment in his career was co-starring in the Star Wars movie Rogue One, which came out in December 2016. In this film, he played Baze Malbus, a character who joins the fight against the Galactic Empire.

Directing and Writing Films

Jiang Wen started writing and directing his own films in 1994 with In the Heat of the Sun. This movie was based on a novel and was set during the Cultural Revolution. The young lead actor, Xia Yu, won the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival for his performance. The film also won six Golden Horse Awards.

In 2000, Jiang Wen co-wrote and directed Devils on the Doorstep, a black comedy. This film won a major award, the Grand Prix, at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. However, it was later banned in China because it was said to "seriously distort Chinese history." Jiang Wen was not allowed to make films for seven years after this.

He returned to directing in 2007 with The Sun Also Rises. This movie was a fantasy film with several connected stories. Critics liked it, but it did not do well at the box office.

Jiang Wen's fifth film, Let the Bullets Fly (2010), was an action comedy with a Western style. It broke box office records in China, becoming the fastest Chinese-language film to earn over 100 million RMB. It also received great reviews from critics.

In 2014, he directed Gone with the Bullets, an action comedy. In 2018, he directed Hidden Man, a spy comedy set in the Republican era. Hidden Man was China's submission for the 91st Academy Awards. These two films, along with Let the Bullets Fly, are part of his "Beiyang trilogy" of gangster films.

Personal Life

Family Connections

Jiang Wen's father, Jiang Hongqi, was a veteran of the Korean War. His mother, Gao Yang, was a piano teacher. Jiang Wen is the oldest child in his family. He has a younger brother, Jiang Wu, who is also an actor, and a younger sister, Jiang Huan.

Jiang Wen is very close to his family. He often arranges for his parents to visit him when he is working on a film so they can spend time together. He always saves the best seats for them at movie premieres and asks for their thoughts on his work. He even asks for their advice on artistic choices.

Relationships

Jiang Wen met his first partner, Liu Xiaoqing, while working on his first film, Hibiscus Town. Their relationship was much talked about at the time. They separated in 1994.

In 1995, Jiang Wen started a relationship with Sandrine Chenivesse, a French anthropologist. They got married in Paris in 1997 and had a daughter. They divorced in 2005.

In 2001, Jiang Wen met actress Zhou Yun during the filming of Warriors of Heaven and Earth. They married in 2005 and have two sons together.

Filmography

Acting Roles in Movies

Movies Directed and Written

Television Series

Awards and Recognition

Jiang Wen has won many awards for his acting and directing.

• He won Best Actor at the Hundred Flowers Awards for Hibiscus Town in 1987.
• For his directing, he won the Grand Prix at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for Devils on the Doorstep.
• He also received Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards for In the Heat of the Sun in 1996.
• In 2011, he won Best Director for Let the Bullets Fly at the Chinese Film Media Awards.

See also

In Spanish: Jiang Wen para niños