Shih Ming-shuai
Shih Ming-shuai is a Taiwanese actor and television host. He appeared in the films The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful, The Scoundrels, and Nina Wu, before landing leading roles in the film Classmates Minus and the FTV series Animal Whisper, for which he received a nomination for Best Male Lead in the 56th Golden Bell Awards. He also co-hosted the variety program Three Piglets from 2021 to 2022 and won Best Host in a Reality Show in the 57th Golden Bell Awards. In 2024, he won Best Supporting Actor in the 61st Golden Horse Awards for his performance in GATAO: Like Father Like Son.
Early life and education
Shih was born on 23 August 1982 in Taiwan. He grew up in a single-parent family, primarily raised by his grandparents, while his mother worked as a nurse at Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. He described his family's financial situation as poor and began working part-time as early as elementary school. Shih attended for high school, where he later reflected on his years as lacking motivation, repeating his freshman year three times and even being suspended for a semester due to fighting. After watching Legacy, a dance performance choreographed by Lin Hwai-min, Shih developed an interest in performing and worked hard to gain admission to Taipei National University of the Arts. He initially studied at the School of Dance in his freshman year but transferred to the School of Theater Arts in his second year. He explained that he transferred because of a knee injury sustained from frequent dance practices, and he chose to pursue acting instead to ensure a longer performing career. He was a classmate of fellow actor Huang Di-yang. He spent a total of six years at TNUA before graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. During his university years, Shih began filming advertisements, including one alongside Gwei Lun-mei, and also performed as a stage actor for and Move Theater.Career
Early roles (2011–2019)
In 2011, Shih began his on-screen career after completing his mandatory military service at the age of 29. In his early acting career, he could not afford rent, so he worked as an editing assistant at a friend's production studio, where he also slept. He made his debut in the drama film Coconut, which earned him nominations for Best Actor and Best New Talent in the 13th Taipei Film Festival. Following these nominations, Shih began receiving offers for television roles, including a recurring part as Axe in the 2012 Hakka TV series '. In 2014, he appeared in a supporting role as the brother of Austin Lin's character in the drama film ', followed by leading roles in the Hakka TV series ' and the television film The Free Man, for which he received a nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film in the 49th Golden Bell Awards. In 2015, Shih starred in the drama film ', and took on recurring roles in ' and A Touch of Green. He also made cameo appearances as a film director in the drama Another Woman, and as a special agent from the 1980s alongside Mo Tzu-yi in the period drama '. Shih continued to appear in supporting roles, portraying a gangster in the 2016 drama ' and an assassin named Duan Yi in the 2017 crime film The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful. He also appeared in the family drama ' and Wake Up 2 that same year.In 2018, Shih played Wu Tzu-jie, one half of a good-cop-bad-cop duo alongside Jack Kao in the crime film ', for which Elizabeth Kerr of The Hollywood Reporter praised their performances, stating they "elevated The Scoundrels into respectability". He also had a leading role in the Chinese period drama ', alongside seven other Taiwanese actors in the ensemble. In 2019, Shih portrayed The Director, the filmmaker in the film-within-a-film Spy Romance, in the drama Nina Wu directed by Midi Z, with C.J. Sheu of The News Lens describing his performance as creating "an atmosphere of fear on set". He appeared as the right-hand man of a police chief played by Joan Chen the crime film Sheep Without a Shepherd, and as a psychiatrist in the drama series The World Between Us.
Lead roles and critical recognition (2020–present)
In 2020, Shih landed his first male lead role as Tom, a struggling film director, in the drama film Classmates Minus, and made a guest appearance in the romance film A Leg, which Estella Huang of Mirror Media described as "enriching" the film. He also starred in another leading role in the pet-themed FTV series ', which earned him a nomination for Best Male Lead in a Television Series in the 56th Golden Bell Awards. In 2021, Shih joined the variety program ' in the second season, and returned to host the third season alongside Yang Kuei-mei, Austin Lin, and Wen Chen-ling in 2022, for which they won Best Host in a Reality or Game Show in the 57th Golden Bell Awards. Shih also took on main roles in the drama series ' and the anthology series ' that same year.In 2023, Shih secured leading roles in the drama film ' and the crime series Taiwan Crime Stories. He also made a cameo appearance as a frozen corpse in the horror-comedy series ', which was well-received among audience. In 2024, Shih starred as a table tennis coach in the sports film '. Lee Kuang-chueh, writing for Yahoo! Lifestyle, called Shih's interactions with his character's daughter "very interesting" and praised his character arc. He then appeared as a captive during the Pacific War in the period drama Three Tears in Borneo, followed by a lead role as Mang, a high-ranking gangster, in the film ', for which he won Best Supporting Actor in the 61st Golden Horse Awards.