From living in a villa to pumping tires and selling newspapers
Meritorious Artist Huu Chau Full name is Nguyen Huu Chau, born in 1966 in Ho Chi Minh City. He was born into a family with an artistic tradition, his father is artist Huu Thin, his mother is artist Thanh Le, his aunt is the late artist Thanh Nga, his uncle is Meritorious Artist Bao Quoc, younger brother of the late artist Huu Loc.
The actor’s grandmother was the owner of the Thanh Minh – Thanh Nga opera troupe, the owner of the opera troupe of the time. The whole family was in the arts, so Huu Chau was exposed to the profession from an early age. While still in his mother’s womb, he followed his grandmother onto the stage.
Meritorious Artist Huu Chau.
Childhood of Artist Huu Chau associated with a prosperous life, enjoying the best things. However, fate has pushed his family into poverty. From the son of a rich family, Huu Chau had to live in poverty, living in a thatched house, only having enough to eat one meal a day.
Despite many incidents, because of his burning passion for art, Huu Chau was still determined to pursue his career to the end. In 1985, he graduated from the Ho Chi Minh City School of Stage Arts 2 (now Ho Chi Minh City University of Theater and Cinema), at the same time as artists such as Huu Nghia, Hong Dao, Quang Minh…
Meritorious Artist Huu Chau in his youth.
In the early days of his artistic career, finding a role for a fresh graduate like Huu Chau was a big challenge. Given that situation, he was forced to do many different jobs to earn more income.
From pumping tires, trimming urban trees to opening a small newsstand, Huu Chau did everything to make ends meet, support his mother and siblings, and patiently wait for the opportunity to develop his acting career.
Later, Huu Chau joined the Kim Cuong Drama Troupe. This was also where he received his first role in his life as a fortune teller in the play The Prince and the Shepherd’s Daughter.
After that, Huu Chau continued to have many impressive roles such as Nguyen Trai in Secret of Le Chi Garden, Vo Cong in Tien Nga, Lo Quy in Loi Vu… The male artist is also loved for acting in comedies for children, of which the most typical is the series Once Upon a Time.
Meritorious Artist Huu Chau, People’s Artist Kim Cuong, and Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc have a close relationship.
Besides the stage, Huu Chau also participates in television and film. He is a familiar face to audiences through films such as Mother’s Dream, Ugly Girl, Ca Ro, I Love You!, Tam Cam: Untold Story, Getting My Pregnant Wife Back, My Assistant…
Huu Chau won the Mai Vang Award in 2007 for Male Drama Artist and in 2011 for Stage Play. In 2012, Huu Chau was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist. In 2017, he continued to win the award for Most Favorite Movie Actor.
Choose to live alone, devote yourself to art
Currently, in addition to acting, Meritorious Artist Huu Chau also involved in teaching and training students at theaters and Ho Chi Minh City University of Theater and Cinema.
In 2010, artist Huu Chau accepted the invitation of artist Minh Nhi to teach stage voice at the drama actor training class of Hong Van theater. Teaching gives Huu Chau many opportunities to interact with generations of students, bringing new joy when contributing to the artistic journey.
The moment of Meritorious Artist Huu Chau with his students.
Meritorious Artist is loved by many generations of students for his closeness, simplicity and devotion to his students through his lectures. In addition to basic knowledge of breathing training, tone and pronunciation techniques in drama, he also shares many valuable practical experiences in his career and life.
Meritorious Artist Huu Chau also used to spend his teaching salary to support his students, helping them have enough money to pay tuition and continue pursuing their artistic dreams.
Not only teaching his students, Meritorious Artist Huu Chau also invited artists with many years of experience in the profession such as People’s Artist Kim Cuong, Meritorious Artist Tran Minh Ngoc, Thanh Loc… to talk and analyze their careers, helping his students understand the noble values of art. Up to now, he has guided many students, such as actors Minh Du, Le Loc, Tuan Dung…
Meritorious Artist Huu Chau transforms into roles.
At the age of 58, Meritorious Artist Huu Chau chose to live a single life and not get married. However, he did not feel lonely but happy with his choice. After going through the ups and downs of life, Huu Chau found happiness with his students and colleagues.
Having worked in the arts his entire life, Meritorious Artist Huu Chau considers film and theater crews as his family. The male artist always ponders and cherishes each character and role, no matter how big or small, because he hopes that each of his roles will touch the hearts of the audience and bring value to art.
Huu Chau impressed the audience through his cross-dressing roles.
Meritorious Artist Huu Chau also regularly shares moments in his life on his personal page. In his free time, he often goes to familiar coffee shops to read scripts, read books, or meet and chat with acquaintances…