# Sun Honglei

Sun Honglei (Chinese: 孙红雷; born 16 August 1970) is a Chinese actor. His critically acclaimed television series Lurk (2008) earned him the Best Actor trophy at the three most prestigious Chinese-language television awards including the Feitian Award, the Golden Eagle Award and the Magnolia Award.

## Early life

Sun was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang, on 16 August 1970. Sun developed an interest in acting and performances at a young age. He often skipped school to learn breakdancing on the streets and eventually gave up his studies entirely to pursue dancing as a career, eventually performing with a modern dance troupe for several years. Later, Sun became a popular local nightclub singer and host before going into acting. In 1995, Sun attended the Central Academy of Drama, where he graduated in 1997. He has since gone on to star in numerous TV dramas and films, winning many awards for his stage work. Sun is probably best known to Asian cinema fans for his supporting performances in Seven Swords, Triangle and Blood Brothers. Since October 2011, Sun has played the starring role in the popular Chinese series 'Nanren Bang' (男人帮), portraying urban romantic life from a male perspective.

## Acting career

In 1998, Sun played a minor character in the drama Never Close The Eye adapted from Hai Yan's novel of the same name. In 1999, Sun starred in his first film, The Road Home, and officially entered the film industry.
Sun rose to fame for his role in the youth television series Love Story in Shanghai directed by Zhao Baogang. He gained further recognition with his role as a cold-blooded murderer in the crime drama Conquer.
Sun won his first major award at the Beijing College Student Film Festival with his role in the film Zhou Yu's Train.
In 2005, Sun co-starred in Tsui Hark's martial arts film Seven Swords.
In 2006, Sun headlined the television series Halfway Couple, which earned high ratings and acclaimed. Sun won the Best Actor at the Shanghai Television Festival for his performance.
In 2008, Sun starred alongside Zhang Ziyi in the arthouse film Forever Enthralled.
In 2009, Sun starred in the spy war drama Lurk which was a major hit in China. The series propelled him as one of the top television actors in China, earning him Best Actor accolades at the Shanghai Television Festival, Flying Apsaras Awards and China TV Golden Eagle Award. The same year, he starred in the epic historical drama The Road We Have Taken based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Jiang Qitao; which earned high acclaim when it aired.
In 2010, Sun starred in the romantic comedy film If You Are the One 2 directed by Feng Xiaogang.
In 2011, Sun starred in the historical film The Warring States as military strategist Sun Bin.
In 2015, Sun starred in the youth film The Ark of Mr. Chow directed by Xiao Yang.

## Personal life

On 1 October 2014, Sun announced he and Wang Jundi (王骏迪) are tying the knot and the wedding was held in Paris. Their daughter was born on 16 December 2017.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | The Road Home | 我的父亲母亲 | Luo Yusheng / narrator | |
| 1999 | Sorry Baby | 没完没了 | Drunk driver | cameo |
| 2000 | Happy Times | 幸福时光 | motel guest | cameo |
| 2002 | Zhou Yu's Train | 怒江魂 | Zeng Lama | |
| 2005 | Manhole Cover | 井盖儿 | Tang Daxing | |
| 2005 | Seven Swords | 七剑 | Fire-Wind (Fenghuo Liancheng) | |
| 2006 | Invisible Target | 上海红美丽 | Cheng Xiwang | |
| 2007 | Blood Brothers | 天堂口 | Brother Hong | cameo |
| 2007 | Triangle | 铁三角 | Mo Zhongyuan | |
| 2007 | Mongol | 蒙古王 | Jamukha / Zha Muhe | |
| 2008 | Forever Enthralled | 梅兰芳 | Qiu Rubai | |
| 2008 | The Underdog Knight | 硬汉 | Love Rival | |
| 2009 | The Founding of a Republic | 建国大业 | reporter | cameo |
| 2009 | My Fair Gentleman | 窈窕绅士 | Zeng Tiangao | |
| 2009 | A Simple Noodle Story | 三枪拍案惊奇 | Zhang San | |
| 2010 | If You Are the One 2 | 非诚勿扰2 | Li Xiangshan | |
| 2010 | Welcome to Shama Town | 决战刹马镇 | Tang Gaopeng | |
| 2011 | The Warring States | 战国 | Sun Bin | |
| 2012 | I Do | 我愿意 | Yang Nianhua | |
| 2012 | Lethal Hostage | 边境风云 | Drug Dealer | |
| 2013 | Drug War | 毒战 | Zhang Lei | |
| 2013 | Silent Witness | 全民目击 | Lin Tai | |
| 2014 | One Step Away | 触不可及 | Fu Jingnian | |
| 2014 | When a Peking Family Meets Aupair | 洋妞到我家 | | |
| 2015 | The Ark of Mr. Chow | 少年班 | Zhou Zhiyong | |
| 2016 | Royal Treasure | 极限挑战之皇家宝藏 | Himself | |

### Television series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Never Close the Eye | 永不瞑目 | Jianjun | |
| 2000 | Love Story in Shanghai | 像雾像雨又像风 | Ah Lai | |
| 2001 | Police Family | 警察世家 | Liu Jianshe | |
| 2001 | Black Triangle | 黑三角 | Cheng Jiang | |
| 2001 | The Sun is not Downhill | 太阳不落山 | Lu Xianhe | |
| 2002 | Behind the Glamour | 浮华背后 | Gao Jinlin | |
| 2003 | Conquer | 征服 | Liu Huaqiang | |
| 2003 | Walking Past Happiness | 走过幸福 | Chen Yan | |
| 2003 | Loud Military Anthem | 军歌嘹亮 | Gao Dashan | |
| 2004 | I Am Not A Hero | 我非英雄 | Chen Fei | |
| 2005 | Rush Year 1937 | 刀锋1937 | Zheng Shusen | |
| 2006 | Fan's Mansion | 范府大院 | Guo Caisan | |
| 2006 | Halfway Couples | 半路夫妻 | Guan Jun | |
| 2007 | Greatest Worker | 大工匠 | Yang Laosan | |
| 2008 | Landing, Please Turn On Your Phone | 落地，请打开手机 | Shen Kang | |
| 2009 | Lurk | 潜伏 | Yu Zecheng | |
| 2009 | The Road We Have Taken | 人间正道是沧桑 | Yang Liqing | |
| 2011 | Men | 男人帮 | Gu Xiaobai | |
| 2014 | A Hero | 一代枭雄 | He Futang | |
| 2014 | The Young Doctor | 青年医生 | Liu Yibai | |
| 2014 | The Legendary Sniper | 二炮手 | Zei Jiu | |
| 2016 | To Be a Better Man | 好先生 | Lu Yuan | also Artistic Director |
| 2017 | Game of Hunting | 猎场 | Liu Liangti | Cameo |
| 2019 | Over the Sea I Come to You | 带着爸爸去留学 | Dad | |
| 2020 | New World | 新世界 | Jin Hai | |
| 2021 | Crime Crackdown | 扫黑风暴 | Li Chengyang | |

## Awards

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work |
| 2003 | 10th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best Actor | Zhou Yu's Train |
| 2007 | 13th Shanghai Television Festival | Best Actor | Halfway Couple |
| 2008 | 2nd Asian Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Mongol |
| 2009 | 15th Shanghai Television Festival | Best Actor | Lurk |
| 2009 | 27th Flying Apsaras Awards | Outstanding Actor | Lurk |
| 2010 | 25th China TV Golden Eagle Award | Best Actor | Lurk |
| 2010 | 8th China Golden Eagle TV Arts Festival | Best Performing Arts Award | Lurk |
| 2010 | 8th China Golden Eagle TV Arts Festival | Most Popular Actor | Lurk |
| 2013 | 1st China International Film Festival London | Best Actor | Silent Witness |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Foreign Actor | — |