Acting

William Gao

Born February 20, 2003 · London, England, UK (age 23)

William Gao (Chinese: 高鑫; pinyin: Gāo Xīn; 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. Gao and his younger sister Olivia Hardy formed a music duo called Wasia Project in 2019.

Known For

Heartstopper Forever

Heartstopper Forever · 2026

Heartstopper Forever

MovieRomanceDrama

It's a new school year for the Truham-Higgs gang. As Nick and Charlie's relationship deepens, their thoughts turn to life after the last bell rings.

Sunrise

Sunrise · 2024

MovieHorrorThriller

When an ex-cop named Fallon returns to the scene of a horrific crime, the residents of a rural town soon discover that this dark visitor is really a vampire who feeds on blood and fear. After he is befriended by a kind immigrant family, the instinctive killer is faced with a choice between revenge and redemption.

Breakwater

Breakwater · 2025

Set between the sandstone colleges of Oxford and the salt-encrusted Suffolk coast, Breakwater follows the tentative romance between university student, Otto, and retired angler, John. Their lives fuse irreversibly over the shared trauma of losing a loved one, however, their relationship darkens when the past exhumes itself in the form of guilt, grief, and ghosts. Streaming here: https://raindance.onthehiway.com/film/trta5usq5t

Crescendo

Crescendo · 2021

A teenage pianist delivers a chilling performance.

Dead Cat Film

Dead Cat Film · 2023

A short film about Florence, a young lady having difficulty letting go of her housemate’s dead cat.

Isotope

Isotope · 2024

Accompanying short film for Wasia Project's EP of the same name.

Heartstopper

Heartstopper · 2022

Teens Charlie and Nick discover their unlikely friendship might be something more as they navigate school and young love.

Filmography

Sort

Heartstopper Forever

Heartstopper Forever · 2026

Heartstopper Forever

MovieRomanceDrama

It's a new school year for the Truham-Higgs gang. As Nick and Charlie's relationship deepens, their thoughts turn to life after the last bell rings.

Tao Xu

Sunrise

Sunrise · 2024

MovieHorrorThriller

When an ex-cop named Fallon returns to the scene of a horrific crime, the residents of a rural town soon discover that this dark visitor is really a vampire who feeds on blood and fear. After he is befriended by a kind immigrant family, the instinctive killer is faced with a choice between revenge and redemption.

Edward

Breakwater

Breakwater · 2025

Set between the sandstone colleges of Oxford and the salt-encrusted Suffolk coast, Breakwater follows the tentative romance between university student, Otto, and retired angler, John. Their lives fuse irreversibly over the shared trauma of losing a loved one, however, their relationship darkens when the past exhumes itself in the form of guilt, grief, and ghosts. Streaming here: https://raindance.onthehiway.com/film/trta5usq5t

Matt

Crescendo

Crescendo · 2021

A teenage pianist delivers a chilling performance.

Music

Dead Cat Film

Dead Cat Film · 2023

A short film about Florence, a young lady having difficulty letting go of her housemate’s dead cat.

Alex

Isotope

Isotope · 2024

Accompanying short film for Wasia Project's EP of the same name.

Writer

Heartstopper

Heartstopper · 2022

Teens Charlie and Nick discover their unlikely friendship might be something more as they navigate school and young love.

Tao Xu