# Yang Yang (actor)

Yang Yang (simplified Chinese: 杨洋; traditional Chinese: 楊洋, born September 9, 1991) is a Chinese actor. He made his acting debut in the Chinese television drama The Dream of Red Mansions (2010). Since then, he has received recognition for his roles in television dramas The Lost Tomb (2015), The Whirlwind Girl (2015), Love O2O (2016), Martial Universe (2018), The King's Avatar (2019), You Are My Glory (2021), Glory of Special Forces (2022), Who Rules The World (2022), Fireworks of My Heart (2023) and films The Left Ear (2015), I Belonged to You (2016), Once Upon a Time (2017), Vanguard (2020).
He was ranked 5th on the 2017 Forbes China Celebrity 100 list, 27th in 2019 and 44th in 2020. He was China's first Olympic flame torch bearer for the Rio Olympic Games in Greece, on April 22, 2016. He also became the first artist to be featured on the China Post postage stamp in January 2016.

## Early life

At the young age of 12, Yang was enrolled in the Department of Dance in People's Liberation Army Arts College in China. He also studied at the Central Academy of Drama for a period of time.

## Career
### 2007–2014: Beginning

In December 2007, he was chosen to play the lead role Jia Baoyu by director Li Shaohong in The Dream of Red Mansions. One of the most expensive Chinese TV series produced at RMB118 million (US$17.55 million), the 50-episode drama premiered on July 6, 2010.
In 2011, Yang featured in The Founding of a Party, a patriotic tribute detailing the process of establishing the Chinese Communist Party. He continued to build up his filmography, featuring in war dramas The War Doesn't Believe in Tears (2012) and Ultimate Conquest (2013), and romance series Flowers of Pinellia Ternata (2013). On April 29, 2014, Yang ended his contract of 7 years with his company Rosat Entertainment.

### 2015–2016: Rising popularity and breakthrough

In 2015, Yang started to gain recognition for his performance in The Left Ear, a coming-of-age film which is also the directorial debut of Alec Su. The film was a box-office hit, and Yang received positive for his performance as Xu Yi. He then participated in travel-reality show Divas Hit the Road, which was a huge topic online when it aired and helped Yang top the "2015 Chinese Reality Show Star Ranking". He next starred in action-adventure web-drama The Lost Tomb based on the novel of the same name. The Lost Tomb was the most watched web drama of the year, and Yang gained acclaim from novel fans and audience for his portrayal of Zhang Qiling. Yang then played the male lead in youth sports drama The Whirlwind Girl, which gained one of the highest viewership ratings of the year. He also released his first single, "Tender Love". At the end of the year, Yang won several awards including the Most Popular Actor of the Year at iQiyi All-Star Carnival; and the Most Talked About Actor and Most Influential Actor awards at the China TV Drama Awards.
In 2016, Yang appeared in CCTV New Year's Gala for the first time, where his song item "Father and Son" alongside Tong Tiexin was voted the most popular program. He starred in youth romance drama Love O2O, based on Gu Man's novel of the same name. The drama was an international hit, and is the most viewed modern drama in China. Following the airing of Love O2O, Yang experienced a huge surge in popularity and successfully broke into the mainstream. To thank his fans, Yang released the song "Love is Crazy", a jazz/rock single. He next starred in romance film I Belonged to You, which was a huge success and broke the box-office sales record for mainland-produced romance films. He was named as one of the Top 10 Chinese celebrities with most commercial value by CBN Weekly.

### 2017–present: Continued success

In 2017, Yang starred alongside Liu Yifei in fantasy romance film Once Upon a Time. Forbes China listed Yang under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields. In 2018, Yang starred in the fantasy action drama Martial Universe. In 2019, Yang played the leading role Ye Xiu in the eSports drama The King's Avatar. The series The King’s Avatar was reported as the most profitable series by Tencent in 2019. In 2020, Yang starred in action film Vanguard alongside Jackie Chan. In 2021, Yang was cast in You Are My Glory as Yu Tu, an aerospace engineer. As a much-anticipated drama due to popularity of its original work (novel of the same name), this show has successfully gathered a total of 5 billion views worldwide. This show also won the Tencent Business Breakthrough award in 2021.
In 2022, a drama based on military genre, Glory of the Special Forces (directed by Xu Jizhou) cast him as the lead role Yan Poyue. The series Glory of the Special Forces contributed to a market share of 34.11% and with the highest overall rating of 1.006% in recent years for any military series. In the same year, Yang starred in the wuxia fantasy romance drama titled Who Rules the World as Feng Lanxi, based on the novel by Qing Lengyue. The only foreign show to rank 4th in Netflix Korea's Top 10 Most viewed series on July 24, 2022. In 2023, Yang starred in the action romance drama Fireworks of My Heart adapted from the web novel Waiting for You in a City by Jiu Yue Xi. He played the lead role as Song Yan, Chief of the Shilitai Fire Station.

## Other activities

On February 19, 2017, Yang had his wax figure displayed at Madam Tussauds Shanghai. His second wax figure was displayed at Madame Tussauds Beijing on July 19, 2017.

## Endorsements

Yang Yang has 20 active endorsements as of January 2024.
| Year | Brand | Title |
| 2016 | Guerlain | Global Brand Spokesperson |
| 2020 | Dunhill | Global Brand Spokesperson |
| 2020 | Lifebuoy | Global Brand Spokesperson |
| 2020 | Fantasy Westward Journey PC Version | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2020 | Purjoy | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2020 | PARIM | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2020 | RIBECS | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | Bvlgari | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | HOGAN | Global Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | WeTV | Global Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | Tencent | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | Chandon | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | Sleemon | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | Moon Shadow Home | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | EVE LOM | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | Tim Hortons | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | Wedgwood | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | A1 Snack Lab | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | BOGNER | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2021 | Fantasy Westward Journey Web Version | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | Coca-Cola | Global Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | L'Oréal Men Expert | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | L'Oréal Hair | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | CeraVe | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | Sennheiser | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | Caltrate | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | Panasonic | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | Fantasy Westward Journey 3D Edition | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | Nutro | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | Pejoy | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | Tsingtao | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2022 | Jin Chen Tea | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2023 | Bvlgari Fragrance | Asia Pasific Spokesperson |
| 2023 | Valentino | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2023 | HONOR | Global Brand Spokesperson |
| 2023 | Samsonite | Brand Spokesperson |
| 2023 | SHE LOG | Brand Spokesperson |

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
| 2011 | The Founding of a Party | 建党伟业 | Yang Kaizhi |
| 2012 | Joyful Reunion | 饮食男女2012 | Shizhe (young) |
| 2015 | The Unbearable Lightness of Inspector Fan | 暴走神探 | Zhanshi Wu |
| 2015 | The Left Ear | 左耳 | Xu Yi |
| 2016 | I Belonged to You | 从你的全世界路过 | Mao Shiba |
| 2017 | Once Upon a Time | 三生三世十里桃花 | Ye Hua |
| 2020 | Vanguard | 急先锋 | Lei Zhen Yu |

### Television series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | The Dream of Red Mansions | 红楼梦 | Jia Baoyu | |
| 2011 | Melody of Youth | 青春旋律 | Ning Hao | |
| 2012 | The War Doesn't Believe in Tears | 战争不相信眼泪 | Du Changyou | |
| 2012 | Refresh 3+7 | 刷新3+7 | He Tianze | |
| 2013 | Legend of Goddess Luo | 新洛神 | Cao Zhi | |
| 2013 | Ultimate Conquest | 武间道 | Bai Niansheng | |
| 2013 | Flowers of Pinellia Ternata | 花开半夏 | Lu Yuan | |
| 2014 | Lanterns | 花灯满城 | Fei Yu | |
| 2014 | Tiny Times | 小时代之折纸时代 | Neil | |
| 2015 | The Four | 少年四大名捕 | Wu Qing | |
| 2015 | The Lost Tomb | 盗墓笔记 | Zhang Qiling | |
| 2015 | The Whirlwind Girl | 旋风少女 | Ruo Bai | Season 1 |
| 2016 | Love O2O | 微微一笑很倾城 | Xiao Nai | |
| 2016 | My Adorable Husband | 我的蠢萌老公 | Yang Kang | |
| 2018 | The Chronicles of Town Called Jian | 茧镇奇缘 | Huang Moru | |
| 2018 | Martial Universe | 武动乾坤 | Lin Dong | Season 1–2 |
| 2019 | The King's Avatar | 全职高手 | Ye Xiu / Ye Qiu | |
| 2020 | With You | 在一起 | Yue Bin | Segment: "Peers" |
| 2021 | You Are My Glory | 你是我的荣耀 | Yu Tu | |
| 2022 | Glory of Special Forces | 特战荣耀 | Yan Poyue | |
| 2022 | Who Rules The World | 且试天下 | Feng Lanxi / Hei Fengxi | |
| 2023 | Fireworks of My Heart | 我的人间烟火 | Song Yan | |
| TBA | The Immortal Ascension | 凡人修仙传 | Han Li | |

### Short film

| Year | English title | Chinese title |
| 2016 | Searching for the Legend of Nian | 寻年传说 |
| 2016 | Be and Cherry Eating Show | 百草味演吃会 |
| 2016 | Healing Island | 治愈之岛 |
| 2016 | Jasmine Flowers | 茉等花开 |
| 2016 | My VR Boyfriend | 我的VR男友 |
| 2016 | I Am Your Yang Yang Phone | 我是你的咩咩phone |
| 2016 | The Smile of Yi Q | 衣q博士的微微一笑 |
| 2017 | Travel Through an Alluring Smile | 穿越笑倾城 |
| 2017 | The Magical Journey of Liliput | 小人国奇幻之旅 |
| 2017 | Love of Jasmine | 茉莉之恋 |
| 2017 | Love Toward and Death and Reborn | 爱向死而生 |
| 2017 | Protect and Never Let Go | 守护不放 |
| 2018 | Music For Jasmine True Love Confession | 音为茉莉 真情告白 |
| 2019 | Star Picked | 摘星者 |
| 2019 | 1970, I Am The Main Character | 70年，我是主角 |

### Variety shows

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Network |
| 2013 | Star Soldier | 防务精英之星兵报到 | Cast member | Beijing TV |
| 2015 | Divas Hit the Road (Season 2) | 花儿与少年 | Cast member | Hunan TV |
| 2020 | The Irresistible | 元气满满的哥哥 | Cast member | Hunan TV |
| 2021 | Youth Periplous (Season 3) | 青春环游记 | Cast member | Zhejiang TV |

### Music video appearances

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Singer | Ref. |
| 2010 | "Granting Me a Red Mansions Dream" | 许我一个红楼梦 | Lin Shen | |
| 2017 | "For My 17-year-old Self" | 给17岁的自己 | Secret Fruit cast | |

### Theatre

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Ref. |
| 2009 | The Dream of Red Mansions | 红楼梦 | Jia Baoyu | |

## Discography
### Singles

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Album | Notes |
| 2011 | "Dandelion" | 蒲公英 | Melody of Youth OST | with Zhou Mi, Ma Su, Jiang Mengjie & Su Qing |
| 2015 | "Fly with a Carefree Heart" | 放心去飞 | The Left Ear OST | with Oho Ou & Hu Xia |
| 2015 | "Divas Hit the Road" | 花儿与少年 | Divas Hit the Road OST | |
| 2015 | "Tender Love" | 安心的温柔 | | |
| 2016 | "Summer's Smooth Hair Dance" | 夏日顺发舞 | | Promotional song for the shampoo brand Rejoice |
| 2016 | "One Smile is very Beautiful" | 微微一笑很倾城 | Love O2O OST | |
| 2016 | "Love Is Crazy" | 爱是一个疯字 | | |
| 2016 | "Sunshine in the Eyes" | 瞳孔里的太阳 | | Promotional single for the 2016 World AIDS Day |
| 2016 | "Father and Son" | 父子 | | with Tong Tiexin |
| 2017 | “Three Lifetimes, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms" | 三生三世十里桃花 | Once Upon a Time OST | with Liu Yifei |
| 2017 | "Just Like IDOL" | 就象是IDOL | | |
| 2017 | "Power of Love" | 爱的力量 | | Charity song for Sunshine Special Fund |
| 2018 | "My Spring Gala My Year" | 我的春晚我的年 | | Performance for CCTV New Year's Gala |
| 2018 | "The Best" | 最好 | | |
| 2018 | "Forever Young" | 永远年轻 | | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Event | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2009 | 4th BQ Celebrity Score Awards | Newcomer Award | — | Won |
| 2010 | The Mango TV Fans Festival | Best Couple | The Dream of Red Mansions | Won |
| 2011 | China Power Awards | Most Beautiful New Star | — | Won |
| 2011 | Sohu Entertainment Awards | New Face | — | Won |
| 2015 | Baidu Tieba Fans Carnival | Best Trending Artist | — | Won |
| 2015 | Bazaar Men of the Year Awards | Most Attractive Star of the Year | — | Won |
| 2015 | Chinese Campus Art Glory Festival | Most Popular Actor | The Four | Won |
| 2015 | 4th iQiyi All-Star Carnival | Most Popular Actor of the Year | The Lost Tomb | Won |
| 2015 | 8th China TV Drama Awards | Most Talked About Actor | — | Won |
| 2015 | 8th China TV Drama Awards | Most Influential Actor in the Media | — | Won |
| 2016 | L'Officiel Night | Most Popular Actor | — | Won |
| 2016 | Baidu Moments Press Conference | Most Commercially Valuable Male Artist | — | Won |
| 2016 | 13th Esquire Man At His Best Awards | Most Commercially Valuable Artist | — | Won |
| 2016 | Sohu Fashion Awards | Most Popular Male Celebrity | — | Won |
| 2016 | Youku Young Choice Awards | Artist of the Year | — | Won |
| 2016 | Youku Young Choice Awards | 2016 UC Headlines Figure | — | Won |
| 2017 | 2nd China Television Drama Quality Ceremony | Most Popular Quality Actor | Love O2O | Won |
| 2017 | Chinese Communist Youth League (CCYL) | May 4 Medal | — | Won |
| 2017 | 14th Esquire Man At His Best Awards | Man of the Year | — | Won |
| 2017 | 14th Esquire Man At His Best Awards | Artist of the Year | — | Won |
| 2017 | 11th Tencent Video Star Awards | VIP Star of the Year | — | Won |
| 2018 | 12th Tencent Video Star Awards | VIP Star of the Year | — | Won |
| 2018 | Youku Choice Awards | Most Valuable Star | — | Won |
| 2018 | China Youth Day Gala | Outstanding Young Actor | — | Won |
| 2018 | Chinese Communist Youth League (CCYL) | Outstanding Youth | — | Won |
| 2018 | 15th Esquire Man At His Best Awards | Outstanding Mainland Artist | — | Won |
| 2018 | Golden Data Entertainment Awards | Most Commercial Endorsement Male Artist | — | Won |
| 2019 | China Entertainment Industry Summit (Golden Pufferfish Awards) | Most Commercially Valuable Artist | — | Won |
| 2019 | Golden Bud - The Fourth Network Film And Television Festival | Best Actor | The King's Avatar | Nominated |
| 2019 | China Newsweek | Person of the Year | — | Won |
| 2019 | Tencent Video All Star Awards | VIP Star | — | Won |
| 2019 | Tencent Video All Star Awards | TV Actor of the Year | The King's Avatar | Won |
| 2020 | 7th The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Best Actor (Web series) | The King's Avatar | Nominated |
| 2020 | Tencent Video All Star Awards | VIP Star | — | Won |
| 2022 | 13th Macau International TV Festival | Best Actor | Who Rules The World | Nominated |
| 2023 | The Annual Ceremony of Cultural Responsibility & Influence 2023 | Screen Influential Male Character | Glory of Special Forces | Won |
| 2023 | China Television Drama Quality Ceremony 2023 | Quality Influential Drama Star | Glory of Special Forces | Won |

### Forbes China Celebrity 100

| Year | Rank |
| 2017 | 5th |
| 2019 | 27th |
| 2020 | 44th |