Paul Courtenay Hyu

Paul Courtenay Hyu is a British–Chinese actor, writer and director.[1] He works in English and German. He is sometimes credited as Paul Hyu, especially for his work as Elvis Impersonator, "ChineseElvis".

Paul Courtenay Hyu
Born	London, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actor
Notable work	"ChineseElvis"

Life and career

Hyu was born in London. He was educated at Ashville College in Harrogate, where he was Head of Briggs House and won the school's drama prize. He also won the school's German prize, though he did not continue to study the subject, instead taking Maths, Physics and Chemistry and General Studies at A-level.

He gained a place at the London Theatre School, where he studied under Barbara Buckmaster, Belinda Quirey MBE, Norman Ayrton and Charles Duff, winning Mike Loades' prize fight competition with Christopher Chaplin, son of Charlie Chaplin.

He took over as Artistic Director of the multi award-winning Mu-Lan Theatre Company[2] from Glen Goei in 1997. Before the company closed due to a withdrawal of funding from the London Arts Board in 2005, he implemented the UK's first East Asian Youth Theatre and East Asian New Writing Programmes, working with the Shared Experience, Paines Plough and Royal Court Theatre theatre companies. He also created and wrote for the UK's first East Asian sketch comedy troupe, "Mu-Lan's Frying Circus", and he produced and directed the 1st British Chinese repertory theatre production of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet at Basingstoke Haymarket and Jersey Opera House, set in Shanghai in the 1930s.[3] Under his leadership, Mu-Lan was nominated for the Manchester Evening News Awards (winner), Diverse Acts Award (winner), Carlton Multi-Cultural Achievement Award and the Peter Brook Empty Space Award. Hyu himself was nominated for a Chinese Community Pearl Award in 2006 for Excellence in Media.

Under the banner of Mu-Lan, Hyu wrote and starred in the controversial[4] 4-part C4 satirical TV sketch show, The Missing Chink.[5][6] He was Associate Producer of the UK's first British Chinese sketch comedy TV show pilot, Sweet n Sour Comedy, produced by Baby Cow Productions.[7][8][9]

In 1999, as an actor, Hyu created the part of Timothy Wong, The Chinese Elvis in Charlotte Jones' award-winning play Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis at the Octagon Theatre Bolton.[10] He went on the play the part again in 2001 with Belinda Lang in the role of Martha and again lastly in 2007 with Maureen Lipman. Hyu's performance in this part in 1999 was so popular that he received multiple offers of work as an Elvis impersonator.[11] Living close to the famous Gracelands Palace Chinese Elvis restaurant on the Old Kent Road in South East London,[12] Hyu started working there as "ChineseElvis",[13] an Elvis Tribute character act,[14] who gained some fame in the UK most notably for fronting a national advertising campaign for AOL[15] and winning an International Elvis charity special edition of The Weakest Link, raising £5750 for the NSPCC.[16] In 2005, Hyu went back to Harrogate to perform as ChineseElvis as part of a gala night of fundraising for the Royal Hall.[17] Hyu stars in one of the videos made by Junkie XL for his 2002 worldwide hit remix of A Little Less Conversation.[18] Hyu has appeared at many London venues as ChineseElvis, including the Hippodrome, London, Oxo Tower, Annabel's, The Ivy as well as The Jolly Roger party boat in Barbados. People who have hired him for private functions include Sir Bob Geldof, Angelina Jolie, Richard Caring and Justin Lin.

Publicity photograph of Paul Hyu as ChineseElvis, 2004

Films

Year	Work	Role	Notes
2020	Fortune Cookies	Tony Chung	Screen Northants
2018	Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer	Wise Man IV	Warner Bros
2017	A Christmas Prince	Deputy Press Secretary	Netflix
2014	The Lovers and the Despot	Shin Sang-Ok	Hellflower
2001	The Lost Battalion	Private Stanley Chinn	A&E
1999	Wing Commander	Richardson	20th Century Fox
1999	Everybody Loves Sunshine	Ian	Gothic Films
1998	The First 9 1/2 Weeks	Harry Long	Lions Gate
1995	Detonator 2: The Nightwatch	CIA Technician	British Lion Film

Television

Year	Work	Role	Notes
2019	Blue Moon	Martin	Daybreak Pictures (C4) production
2018	Absentia	Erick Shen	Sony TV Networks production for Amazon Prime
2017	SOKO München[19]	Ngo Minh Hai	UFA Fiction production for ZDF
2016	Vera Season 6 ep1	Huang	ITV production
	Doctor Who Episode: "Sleep No More"	Deep-Ando	BBC production
2014	Happy Valley	Mickey Yip	BBC production
2011	Not Going Out	Karaoke Host	BBC production
2009	Coronation Street	Dr. Martin	ITV production
2008	Rather You Than Me[20]	Dr. Ling	BBC production
2008	EastEnders	Dr. Theara	BBC production
2006	Bad Crowd	Wayne	Tiger Aspect production
2005	Funland	Bryan	BBC production
2004	The Marchioness Disaster (tv film)	Jonathan Phang	ITV production
2003	The Bill	Jake Cousins	ITV production
2002	Casualty	Dr. Tom Bardley	BBC production
2001	Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible	Inspector Fong of Scotland Yard	BBC production
1995	Echt Harder	David Li	Objectiv Film GmbH production for RTL
1993	One Foot in the Grave	Youth in Takeaway	BBC production
1992	The Blackheath Poisonings	Oriental Gentleman	ITV productions

Video games

Year	Work	Role	Notes
2019	Total War: Three Kingdoms	Yuan Shao	SEGA
2018	Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom	World Filler Characters	English version
2012	007 Legends	Goldfinger Soldier / Breeder	Also Additional voices
2011	Driver: San Francisco	Additional Voices
2010	James Bond 007: Blood Stone	Additional Voices
2010	Just Cause 2	Government Pilot (lead role)
2004	Vietcong: Purple Haze	Vietnamese Point Man (reprised role)
2004	Vietcong: Fist Alpha	Vietnamese Point Man (reprised role)
2003	Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior	Tau Trooper
2002	Vietcong	Vietnamese Point Man (starring role)
2001	Dropship: United Peace Force	Dropship Pilot (lead role)
2000	Hitman (franchise)	Chinatown Voices (every voice)

Theatre

Year	Production	Role	Location
2019	This is What Happens To Pretty Girls[21]	Charles Lee Purvis	Pangdemonium, Singapore
2018	Othellomacbeth	Brabantio / Duncan	Lyric Theatre Hammersmith
2009	Breakfast at Tiffany's	Party Guest	Theatre Royal, Haymarket
2007	Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis[22]	Timothy Wong	Birmingham Repertory Theatre, No 1 Tour
2003	US and Them	Maynard, Timothy, Waiter	Hampstead Theatre
2001	Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis[23]	Timothy Wong	Watford Palace
1999	Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis[24]	Timothy Wong	Octagon Theatre Bolton, Liverpool Everyman
1998	Take Away	Stephen	Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith) London
1997	The Fantasticks[25]	Mute	Singapore Repertory Theatre, Singapore
1996	New Territories	White, Pig	Yellow Earth Theatre, London
1995	The Wind in the Willows	Rabbit, Parkinson	RNT Old Vic
1993	The Magic Fundoshi[26]	Maid, Taro, priest	Singapore Repertory Theatre, Singapore
1993	Three Japanese Women	Hoji	Mu-Lan Theatre Company at Soho Theatre
1992–94	Miss Saigon	Phan	Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
1992	The Merchant of Venice	Lorenzo / Prince of Morocco	Sherman Theatre
1991	Hiawatha[27]	Hiawatha	Royal Lyceum Theatre
1990–91	Titus Andronicus	Aaron	CCQ, Dusseldorf
1990	M. Butterfly	Comrade Chin	Deutsches Schauspielhaus

Radio Drama

Year	Work	Role	Notes
2019	Doctor Who: Wicked Sisters	Wei/Mark/Wade	Big Finish Productions
2018	Enigma of China; Inspector Chen Novels[28]	Detective Wei	BBC radio 4
2018	Jenny The Doctor's Daughter: Neon Reign[29]	Po	Big Finish Productions
2017	Lights, Camera, Kidnap![30]	Shin Sang-Ok	BBC radio 4
2016	Tracks[31]	Man Seok	BBC radio 4
2015	Dostoevsky & The Chickens[32]	Chief	BBC radio 3
2012	Stargate SG-1: An Eye For an Eye[33]	Lieutenant Col. Yin	Big Finish Productions
2010	The Patience of Mr Job[34]	Mr Lucy	BBC radio 4
2010	The Secret Pilgrim[35]	Henry, Thug	BBC radio 4
2010	The Honorable Schoolboy[36]	Charlie Marshall[37]	BBC radio 4
2009	Rendezvous with Rama[38]	Li Kwok	BBC radio 4
2009	The Gold Farmer[39]	Chao	BBC radio 4
2008	The Letter[40]	Ong Chi Sen	BBC radio 4
2007	The Lover[41]	The Lover	BBC radio 4
2005	The Story of the Stone	Bao-Yu	BBC World Service
1991	Herge – The Adventures of Tin Tin; Tin Tin in Tibet	Chang	BBC radio 4

References

1. "Paul Hyu". Visible Chinese. 11 December 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
2. "Mu-Lan Theatre Company". Facebook. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
3. "Mu-Lan Theatre Company". British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
4. Plunkett, John (21 January 2004). "Channel 4 under fire over 'racist' show". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
5. Banks-Smith, Nancy (20 January 2004). "The Great Nazi Cash Swindle – Missing Chink". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
6. "The Missing Chink". ChineseElvis. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
7. "Sweet 'n' Sour Comedy (2004)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
8. List of shows produced by Baby Cow Productions, including 2004 Sweet and Sour
9. "Is this the year of the Dragon?". The Independent. 23 March 2004. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
10. "Samuel French page for Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis". Samuel French.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
11. "Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis: Paul Hyu interview". HEY Today. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
12. Rohrer, Finlo (15 August 2002). "Rise of the Chinese Elvis". BBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
13. "ChineseElvis – the online home to the UK's most popular award-winning Chinese Elvis Impersonator!". ChineseElvis. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
14. FitzGerald, James (14 August 2017). "These Londoners Make A Living From Playing Elvis Presley". Londonist. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
15. chineseelvis888 (18 April 2011). "ChineseElvis sings and stars in AOL advert, UK 2004–2006". Retrieved 26 December 2017 – via YouTube.
16. chineseelvis888 (26 June 2014). "Weakest Link Elvis Special UK Full Episode". Retrieved 26 December 2017 – via YouTube.
17. "Night of delights for Royal Hall appeal". Harrogate Advertiser. 28 June 2005. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
18. chineseelvis888 (14 August 2010). "Junkie XL vs ChineseElvis". Retrieved 26 December 2017 – via YouTube.
19. "ZDF's SOKO München page for the episode "Wutbürger"". ZDF.de. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
20. "Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me". BBC Four. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
21. https://pangdemonium.com/production/this-is-what-happens-to-pretty-girls/
22. Orme, Steve (2007). "Theatre review: Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis at Birmingham Rep". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
23. Cavendish, Dominic (14 February 2001). "Cross-dressing, wicked impersonations and bitter truths". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
24. Wainwright, Jeffrey (20 April 1999). "Arts: Theatre: Reality whipped into a delightful froth". The Independent. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
25. "Cast List of Singapore Rep's 1977 production of The Fantasticks". Singapore Repertory Theatre. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
26. "Singapore Rep's page for The Magic Fundoshi with cast". Singapore Repertory Theatre. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
27. "Scottish Theatre Archive – Event Details". Special Collections Department, University of Glasgow Library. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
28. "BBC Radio 4, Drama, Inspector Chen Novels, Enigma of China". BBC Radio 4.
29. "Jenny – The Doctor's Daughter – News – out now – Big Finish".
30. "Episode 1, Lights, Camera, Kidnap!, Drama". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
31. "Series 1, Tracks". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
32. "Dostoevsky and the Chickens, The Wire". BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
33. "3.1. Stargate SG-1 Series 03 Part 1". Big Finish.com. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
34. "Justin Butcher – The Patience of Mr Job, Afternoon Drama". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
35. "The Secret Pilgrim – Episode guide". BBC Radio 4 Extra. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
36. "The Honourable Schoolboy – Episode guide". BBC Radio 4 Extra. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
37. "The Complete Smiley". Radio Times.
38. "Rendezvous with Rama, Classic Serial". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
39. "The Gold Farmer, The Wire". BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
40. "The Letter, Mr Maugham's Journey Home". BBC Radio 4 Extra. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
41. "The Lover, 15 Minute Drama – Episode guide". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 26 December 2017.