Jia Hongsheng (simplified Chinese: è´¾å® å£°; traditional Chinese:
è³ˆå® è ²; pinyin: JiÇŽ HóngshÄ"ng; 19 March 1967 â€" 5 July 2010)
was a Chinese actor who became known in the late 1980s and early 1990s
for roles in movies like The Case of the Silver Snake (1988), Good
Morning, Beijing (1991), A Woman from North Shaanxi (1993) and Weekend
Lover (1995). His performances were praised by critics and he
developed a rebellious image that made him popular among artistic
youth and the "Sixth Generation" of Chinese directors.However, he
backed away from the limelight in 1995 after becoming addicted to
cannabis and eventually heroin. His father, head of the local theatre
in Jilin, retired two years before his retirement age, and along with
his wife moved to Beijing to try to help Jia. He made a comeback in
2000, starring in the celebrated Suzhou River. The following year he
starred in the film he is best known for to Western audiences, the
autobiographical Quitting. It depicts his battle with addiction and
his family trying to help him sober up, with all of the cast members
being real people playing themselves.Jia was born on 19 March 1967 in
Siping, Jilin, to Jia Fengsen and Chai Xiuling, both retired theater
actors from northeast China. He had a younger sister, Wang Tong.Jia
graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1989, and
soon gained fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an actor in
films such as The Case of the Silver Snake and A Woman from North
Shaanxi. While rehearsing for a stageplay titled Kiss of the Spider
Woman (also directed by Zhang Yang) in the fall of 1992, Jia first
became exposed to marijuana and eventually became addicted, while also
occasionally using heroin. Then, in 1995, after filming Weekend Lover,
Jia quit acting completely and lived off his younger sister Wang Tong.
He was also an avid fan of The Beatles, listening to their music
obsessively and began to fantasize himself as the son of the Beatles'
lead singer, John Lennon.
è³ˆå® è ²; pinyin: JiÇŽ HóngshÄ"ng; 19 March 1967 â€" 5 July 2010)
was a Chinese actor who became known in the late 1980s and early 1990s
for roles in movies like The Case of the Silver Snake (1988), Good
Morning, Beijing (1991), A Woman from North Shaanxi (1993) and Weekend
Lover (1995). His performances were praised by critics and he
developed a rebellious image that made him popular among artistic
youth and the "Sixth Generation" of Chinese directors.However, he
backed away from the limelight in 1995 after becoming addicted to
cannabis and eventually heroin. His father, head of the local theatre
in Jilin, retired two years before his retirement age, and along with
his wife moved to Beijing to try to help Jia. He made a comeback in
2000, starring in the celebrated Suzhou River. The following year he
starred in the film he is best known for to Western audiences, the
autobiographical Quitting. It depicts his battle with addiction and
his family trying to help him sober up, with all of the cast members
being real people playing themselves.Jia was born on 19 March 1967 in
Siping, Jilin, to Jia Fengsen and Chai Xiuling, both retired theater
actors from northeast China. He had a younger sister, Wang Tong.Jia
graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1989, and
soon gained fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an actor in
films such as The Case of the Silver Snake and A Woman from North
Shaanxi. While rehearsing for a stageplay titled Kiss of the Spider
Woman (also directed by Zhang Yang) in the fall of 1992, Jia first
became exposed to marijuana and eventually became addicted, while also
occasionally using heroin. Then, in 1995, after filming Weekend Lover,
Jia quit acting completely and lived off his younger sister Wang Tong.
He was also an avid fan of The Beatles, listening to their music
obsessively and began to fantasize himself as the son of the Beatles'
lead singer, John Lennon.
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