Shawn Dou

Biography

Shawn Dou is a Canadian actor of Chinese descent, born on December 15, 1988 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. He grew up in an artistic family, with his grandfather being a musical troupe conductor and his father playing the clarinet. He emigrated to Canada at a young age and spent his youth in Vancouver, where he initially dreamed of becoming a hairdresser and apprenticed at a salon for over three years. At eighteen, he participated in the local "SunShine Nation" contest and won the Sunshine Boyz title, which sparked his interest in acting. He returned to China in 2008 and enrolled at the Beijing Film Academy to study acting with a minor in cinematography. He gained recognition in 2010 when renowned director Zhang Yimou cast him in the lead role of "Under the Hawthorn Tree", adapted from the novel of the same name. He achieved major success in 2017 through his portrayal of Yan Xun in the drama "Princess Agents". 2015 was his most prolific year, with four film releases including "Wolf Totem", which required eight months of filming and training with wolves while enduring harsh weather conditions. He learned horse riding, the Morin khuur, and Mongolian throat singing to portray the educated youth character Yang Ke. In 2023, he married Ho Chuo-lian, daughter of Macau tycoon Stanley Ho.