Jasper Liu Yi-hao (; born August 12, 1986) is a Taiwanese actor, model, and musician. Liu started out as a model before crossing over to acting and gaining recognition across Taiwan and other parts of Asia. Some of his notable works include More than Blue (2018), Before We Get Married (2019), Triad Princess (2019), and Pleasantly Surprised (2014).
From 2009 to 2016, Liu was a member of the electronic post-rock band Morning Call, playing guitar and backup vocals. He released his debut extended play U on September 4, 2020.
Early life Liu was born on August 12, 1986, in Taipei, Taiwan. He has one older sister and is the younger cousin of actor Angus Hsieh, who is best known for starring in the drama The Outsiders (2004). Liu attended and graduated from Dayeh University, majoring in visual design.
Liu's father highly influenced his life. His father was a swimmer and volleyball player in his youth, his healthy and active lifestyle encouraged Liu to workout regularly and body build his physique during his late teens. His father also played the guitar and influenced Liu to take up the instrument himself.
Liu has said one of the reasons he entered show business is because he often felt over shadowed by his father and older sister who both hold higher college degrees than him. Though a fair student, he was never able to beat his sister at school and sometimes barely passed his grades. Although his mother would help him cover up his bad grades from his father, he was also never a student that needed to attend tutoring school. 花美男破繭而出 劉以豪. Retrieved 10-17-2014 He has said that instead of studying for his tests he would spend time in his hobby of drawing or painting.
2010 was one of Liu's lowest and most depressing year in his life. Besides receiving few work offers, his grandmother died, his mother battled breast cancer, his older sister suffered high blood pressure and his pet Pomeranian dog "ChiChi" that he'd raised for 17 years (and often referred to as his first girlfriend) died. 男孩哭哭 劉以豪. Retrieved 10-17-2014 劉以豪 童年殺豬買金子 暖男28年寵婆媽. Retrieved 11-01-2014
The turning point in his life and the start of his career came in 2011 when he was cast in a minor role in the idol drama In Time with You. Although naturally straight haired he decided to keep the curly permed look of his character "Mei Nam" after filming of the drama completed since the curly hair style had become his signature look.
Career
Modeling
2008–2010: Pre-debut During Liu's senior year in University, he entered the "2008 Eelin Male Model Search" contest which he came in 3rd place. Liu's father was highly against him entering showbiz as he was unfamiliar with the entertainment industry, but Liu pleaded with his father to give him a 2-year time period in the industry. 劉以豪：媽媽捨得花錢 讓我超開心. Retrieved 10-17-2014 He was signed to the agency, but found little success in his first three years as a model earning an average monthly salary of NT$20,000 (estimated US$658.00). 劉以豪 花美男破繭而出. Retrieved 10-07-2014 In 2011 his modeling career took off after starring as "Mei Nam" in the 2011 idol drama In Time with You where he had to perm his naturally straight hair into short curls. Soon he was known for his signature curly hair which resembled the top of a broccoli head giving him the nickname "Village Chief of Broccoli Village" and quickly became a popular male model in demand in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, walking the runways for major fashion designers and appearing in magazines such as FHM, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar Magazine, and GQ. nautiljon page. Retrieved 9-24-2014
Acting and popularity
2011–2012: Acting debut After playing non-credited roles and starring in micro films Liu's big break came in 2011, when he starred in the minor supporting role as "Mei Nam" in the popular GTV drama In Time with You, playing a high school classmate to lead actors Ariel Lin and Bolin Chen. His character was known as the handsome male student with curly hair. After recognition and success of In Time with You, Liu decided to keep the curly hair look of his character which would eventually become his signature look in the industry, and continued to play supporting roles in idol dramas, such as 2012's Once Upon a Love in a small cameo role and the teen comedy drama Confucius as one of the rebellious high school students.
2013: The Patisserie with No Name In 2013, Liu landed his first male leading role in PTS's critically acclaimed and award-nominated drama The Patisserie with No Name as "Allen", a stranded backpacker, who accidentally stumbles into a small French pastry shop while trying to recover his stolen belongings and then requests to stay at the pastry shop by working for room and board. He also appeared in IUUI as "Luo Jia He", a man who falls in love with a girl who was raised like a sibling to his character.
In 2014, his popularity crossed over to Japan when he starred as a foreign exchange high school student in one episode of NTV's franchised mystery drama, Kindaichi Case Files. Even though Liu knows some Japanese, his voice was dubbed by a Japanese voice actor in the drama.
2014: Pleasantly Surprised and film debut His acting career as a leading man continued to rise in 2014 when he signed with Taiwan cable network Sanlih E-Television to star in their dramas. Liu's first project with Sanlih was 2014's SETTV's romantic comedy Pleasantly Surprised, opposite Taiwanese model, singer and actress Puff Kuo. Wanting to go for a more mature look, he cropped off his signature curly hair for his role as "Louis Fu Zi Jie", a skilled French chef who returns home, reconnects and falls in love with his childhood friend "Du Kai Qi", played by Kuo. Shooting with Max Liu. Retrieved 9-24-2014 Liu and Kuo's chemistry as a screen couple was successful and well received. The two went on to win the "Best Kiss" award at the 2014 Sanlih Drama Awards. 劉以豪濕身擁吻芙皇郭雪芙 勇奪「最佳接吻獎」. Retrieved 12-14-2014
That same year, two of Liu's theatrical films that were filmed in 2013 were released in theaters. In October 2014, Live@Love in which he stars in his first leading role in a theatrical film, co-stars Cheryl Yang whom he previous worked with in 2012 GTV television drama Once Upon a Love playing an older version of her son. The film is a mystery detective comedy with Liu playing Yang's young assistant. Then in November 2014, Second Chance has him in a supporting role starring opposite Taiwanese band Mayday's leader and guitarist Monster. The movie is about a young girl played by Huang Peijia, who enters a billiards competition in order to pay off her family debt. Liu plays the love interest of Huang Peijia's character.
2015: Ghostly role and When I See You Again The day after Pleasantly Surprised wrapped up filming, Liu attended a press conference on October 14, 2014, for his new drama I Am Sorry, I Love You that is being developed and produced by Chinese web streaming company Tudou. The drama has been described as a light-hearted fantasy romance comedy. Liu will play a ghost who continues to haunt his college ex-girlfriend played by Andrea Chen, and possibly help her move on and find a new romance played by Bryant Chang. Filming was scheduled to begin in November 2014. The drama aired in early 2015. 直擊／劉以豪、張睿家夾殺女神 陳匡怡翻白眼搶鏡. Retrieved 11-04-2014 After wrapping up filming of My Ghost Friend in March, Liu took a few months off before starting his next project. In early May 2015 he collaborated with Sanlih for a second time starring in their Sunday night drama When I See You Again opposite Mandy Wei. He played an unattractive guy during his school days who later becomes handsome. 直擊／長得太帥錯了嗎？劉以豪為新劇扮醜 魏蔓：太難了！. Retrieved May 15, 2015
2016: First Fanmeeting and Take Me to The Moon Following a successful Live Tour across Taiwan with his band, Morning Call in the year-end of 2015, the first half of 2016 was a quiet period for Liu. His supposedly first period Chinese Wuxia drama 王道劍 was constantly delayed even though it was slated to start filming early 2016. Bounded by his contracts and to avoid possible conflicting schedules, he could not take up other film works during this period of time. In between, he only took shorter projects such as filming endorsement CF works and dubbing for his first voice acting project for "Chibi Maruko-chan: Italia Kara Kita Shōnen" as the male lead, Andrea. Despite going through a relatively quiet period, his positive image and rising popularity is still prominent in Taiwan as he lands on several endorsements like Visa Taiwan Debit Card and appointed as the ambassador for various charity events.
After months of hiatus from filming, he finally took on the role of a hot-tempered and talented Indie band vocalist, "Rex" in web-series "Lost? Me Too: Chloe", starring along with actor Chris Wu and actress Nana Lee. The series revolves around the love and life of titular lead, "Chloe", a career-women played by Lee. Liu plays the love interest and new boyfriend of "Chloe" in the series. This role was a new challenge for Liu as the role requires him to sing, he was known to be the guitarist in his band, Morning Call and have never officially sing a full song on screen. The role "Rex" is very hot-tempered and brash, vastly different from the warmer roles he took in the past. 劉以豪《迷途》獻處女嗓 但求不走音不破音 . Retrieved January 13, 2017
Collaborating with Korea's travel website, Nadoyo, his career took off to another level by holding his first ever Fanmeeting in Seoul, South Korea on July 31. According to news reports, 500 tickets were sold out in 10 minutes and hundreds of Korean fans greeted him in the airport, proving his popularity in South Korea. 超威！劉以豪首爾粉絲會 500張票10分鐘秒殺 . Retrieved January 13, 2017 【男神侵韓】劉以豪萌翻上百粉妹 自爆酒後關心像大叔 . Retrieved January 13, 2017 He was awarded with Asian Male Star Prize at 11th Seoul Drama Awards in September. Winners Of The 11th Seoul Drama Awards 2016 Announced. Retrieved January 13, 2017
In September, Liu began filming the nostalgia high school musical romance, Take Me to the Moon, playing a high school student, opposite Vivian Sung. The film was inspired by the song of the same name by late popular Taiwanese singer-songwriter Chang Yu Sheng. Set in 1997 Taiwan, the film revolves around a group of high school schoolmates who formed The Moon Band and the last few nights before their graduation day. It was released on December 1, 2017, in Taiwan. 劉以豪攜手宋芸樺《帶我去月球》編織搖滾青春夢 . Retrieved January 13, 2017
2017–2018: Rising Popularity In March 2017, Liu began filming his first work in China, Mary Sue & Jack Sue, a romantic comedy web series. He plays the heroine's warm childhood friend Su Zhi Huan and a secretly well-known comic artist.
After the wrap of his previous work, he stars as the protagonist, Lin Qing Wen in the historical-period Chinese TV drama that is set in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era, My Bittersweet Taiwan (台湾往事), playing as the son of Zuo Xiao Qing.
Having collaborated earlier for Samsung Galaxy A8 series endorsement in Taiwan for year 2018, Ivy Chen and Liu are once again reunited as a couple in Taiwanese romantic melodrama film, More than Blue, a remake of the 2009 South Korean romance film of the same name. Liu plays the gloomy protagonist Chang Che-kai, who battles with terminal illness. Liu had to grow stubble and wear a long haired wig for this role, a different look from his usual clean styling. Filmart: Fox Networks Group Asia, mm2 Asia to co-produce six Chinese-language titles. Retrieved March 22, 2018 Filming for the movie wrapped up in mid-February and would be released on November 30, 2018.