William Gao Explained

Native Name Lang:zh
Birth Date:20 February 2003[1]
Years Active:2016–present
Module:
Embed:yes
Instruments:Piano • keyboard
Current Member Of:Wasia Project
Module2:
Child:yes
Headercolor:transparent
Order:st
P:Gāo Xīn

William Gao (; born 20 February 2003) is an English actor and musician. He is known for his debut role as Tao Xu in the Netflix series Heartstopper (2022–present), for which he was nominated for a Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance.[2]

Gao and his younger sister Olivia Hardy formed a music duo called Wasia Project in 2019.[3] [4]

Early life

Gao was born on 20 February 2003 and is from South Croydon.[5] [6] He is the son of an English father and a Chinese mother who moved to England in her 20s.[7] He attended Trinity School,[8] where he completed A Levels in Chinese, music and drama in 2022. He took up classical piano at the age of 11[9] and was a member of Trinity Boys Choir.[10] [11] He joined the National Youth Theatre in May 2019.[12]

Filmography

Film and television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2022–presentHeartstopperTao XuMain role; 24 episodes
2024SunriseEdward LoiFilm

Theatre

YearTitleRoleVenue
2016Shakespeare at 400PuckRoyal Festival Hall[13]
data-sort-value="Midsummer Night's Dream, A" A Midsummer Night's DreamCobwebGlyndebourne
2022data-sort-value="Trials, The" The TrialsXanderDonmar Warehouse[14]

Accolades

AwardYearCategoryNominated workResult
Children's and Family Emmy Awards2022Outstanding Supporting PerformanceHeartstopper[15]
Gay Times Honours2022On Screen TrailblazerHeartstopper[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Instagram . 21 February 2024 . 21 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240221133344/https://www.instagram.com/p/C3meCTUu4Tm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA. live .
  2. Web site: Schneider . Michael . Netflix Leads First-Ever Children's & Family Emmy Nominations Tally . Variety . November 2022 . 1 November 2022 . 1 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221101175541/https://variety.com/2022/tv/awards/childrens-amp-family-emmys-nominatons-netflix-1235419791/ . live .
  3. Web site: The Wasia Project . 22 May 2022 . Hotvox . 5 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405165706/https://hotvox.co.uk/artist/the-wasia-project/ . live .
  4. William Gao. Pankhuri. Bhutani. Revamp. 1 June 2022. 7 June 2022. 14 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230814122535/https://www.revamp-magazine.co.uk/william-gao. live.
  5. Web site: Rising Stars: William Gao. The Media Eye. 10 May 2022. 7 June 2022. 20 September 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220920170504/https://www.themediaeye.com/News/a562fa7d-b904-4f7d-aa5a-ae9100bf9558. live.
  6. Web site: Netflix drama Heartstopper to feature Croydon teenager. Tara. O'Connor. My London. 22 June 2021. 14 July 2021. 27 March 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230327181454/https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/netflix-drama-heartstopper-feature-croydon-20876905. live.
  7. Web site: Mixed Asian Media–William Gao on Heartstopper, Fusion Music, and Newfound Fame. Mixed Asian Media. Hayley. Palmer. 7 May 2022. 22 May 2022. 29 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230529103501/https://mixedasianmedia.com/william-gao-on-heartstopper-fusion-music-and-newfound-fame. live.
  8. Web site: Trinity sixth-former lands role in Netflix's latest teen series. Inside Croydon. 16 June 2021. 14 July 2021. 15 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415162547/https://insidecroydon.com/2021/06/16/trinity-sixth-former-lands-role-in-netflixs-latest-teen-series/. live.
  9. Web site: Artist Spotlight: Netflix Heartstopper actor Will Gao and sister Olivia Hardy on their band Wasia Project. EnVi. Aurora Rose Dawn. Carpio. 11 June 2022. 21 June 2022. 15 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415162547/https://www.envimedia.co/artist-spotlight-netflix-heartstopper-actor-will-gao-and-sister-olivia-hardy-on-their-band-wasia-project/. live.
  10. Web site: Trinity Boys Choir enjoy busy festive season. Trinity. 10 January 2020. 14 July 2021. 23 March 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230323070253/https://trinity-school.org/trinity-boys-choir-enjoy-busy-festive-season/. live.
  11. Web site: Trinity Steinway Scholar Announced. Trinity. 5 October 2018. 14 July 2021. 15 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415162547/https://trinity-school.org/trinity-steinway-scholar-announced/. live.
  12. Web site: Sixth Form student performs on live session with National Youth Theatre members. Trinity. 23 June 2020. 14 July 2021. 15 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415162547/https://trinity-school.org/sixth-form-student-performs-on-live-session-with-national-youth-theatre-members/. live.
  13. Will Gao. Viewties. Vanessa. Miraglia. 22 April 2022. 7 June 2022. 21 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221221123747/https://viewties.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WILL-GAO-ISSUE.pdf. live.
  14. Web site: Heartstopper's Joe Locke and William Gao among the cast of The Trials at Donmar Warehouse. WhatsOnStage. Tom. Millward. 29 June 2022. 1 July 2022. 29 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220629161724/https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/heartstopper-joe-locke-william-gao-donmar-trials_56811.html. live.
  15. News: Matt Webb . Mitovich . 1 November 2022 . Emmys: Mysterious Benedict Society, Sneakerella, Heartstopper, Sweet Tooth Lead Children's & Family Nominees . . 1 November 2022 . 1 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221101161458/https://tvline.com/2022/11/01/emmys-nominations-2022-childrens-family-mysterious-benedict-society-heartstopper/ . live .
  16. Web site: Clark . Conor . GAY TIMES HONOURS 2022: Here are all your winners . Gay Times . 25 November 2022 . 25 November 2022 . 28 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221128193749/https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/honours/gay-times-honours-2022-here-are-all-your-winners/ . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "William Gao".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.