# Tobgyal

Tobgyal (Tibetan: སྟོབས་རྒྱལ།, born May 1958), also called Duobujie (Chinese: 多布杰), is a Chinese actor of Tibetan descent, best known in film for portraying a tribal chief in Red River Valley (1997), Ri Tai in Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004), and Zhan Tiejun in No Man's Land (2013). He is a National Class-A Actor [zh]. He is a member of the China Theater Association and China Film and Television Association.

## Early life and education

Tobgyal was born in Kardak Township, Cona County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, in May 1953. In 1972, during the middle of the Cultural Revolution, his grandparents sent him to a propaganda team. As a youth, he had his first on stage experience by reciting Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung in a theater in Tibet. Two years later, he returned home to be a farmer. In 1976, at the age of 18, he became a coal miner in Shigatse. At the end of that year, Tobgyal was elected as a trainee in the Tibet Autonomous Region Drama Troupe. He was sent to Shanghai Theatre Academy to study acting on government scholarships. On the graduation ceremony, he played as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families.

## Acting career

Tobgyal made his film debut in Mysteries of the Potala Palace (1988), playing a Khenpo.
In 1995, he had key supporting role in Snow Tremor as Gonpo, which earned him an Outstanding Supporting Actor Award at the Flying Apsaras Awards.
Tobgyal earned critical acclaim for his performance as a tribal chief in Red River Valley (1996) by Feng Xiaoning, for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Golden Rooster Awards.
Tobgyal has made a number of guest appearances on other television shows, including Tibet Situation, Princess Wencheng, Once Upon a Time in Lhasa, When All Is Said And Done, The Living Buddha, Tea-Horse Road, and Snow Territory Day Road.
In 2002, for his role as Luosang Danzeng in Flower of Happiness, he won a Best Actor Award at the Courser Award.
Tobgyal rose to fame after portraying Ri Tai in Lu Chuan's Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004), which garnered him Golden Horse Award, Chinese Film Media Award and Golden Rooster Award nominations for Best Actor.
In 2006, he was cast as Crowe Anglo in Prince of the Himalayas, directed by Hu Xuehua and starring Purba Rgyal.
In 2011, Tobgyal portrayed Feng Guozhang, a warlord in the Republic of China (1912-1949), in 1911. That same year, he appeared in Yu Rongguang's The Mu Saga, a historical television series starring Ray Lui, Choo Ja-hyun, Yu Rongguang and Pan Hong.
In 2014, Tobgyal landed a key supporting role on No Man's Land playing role of Zhan Tiejun opposite actors Xu Zheng, Yu Nan and Huang Bo. He received Chinese Film Media Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2017, he starred in an epic film called The Chainbreakers with Lobsang Namdak, Wang Ziyi, Yang Xiucuo and Ngawang Rinchen. The film premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 21, 2017, and opened in China on December 8, 2017.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
| 1988 | Mysteries of the Potala Palace | 布达拉宫秘史 | a Khenpo |
| 1996 | Red River Valley | 红河谷 | Tribal chief |
| 1996 | The Yi-Hai Alliance | 彝海结盟 | Xiao Yedan |
| 2002 | Red Snow | 极地营救 | Zeng Ruipu |
| 2004 | Kekexili: Mountain Patrol | 可可西里 | Ri Tai |
| 2006 | Prince of the Himalayas | 喜玛拉雅王子 | Crowe Anglo |
| 2011 | 1911 | 辛亥革命 | Feng Guozhang |
| 2013 | No Man's Land | 无人区 | Zhan Tiejun |
| 2017 | | 酥油 | |
| 2017 | The Chainbreakers | 金珠玛米 | |
| 2017 | Lord of Shanghai | 上海王 | General Lu |
| 2018 | Asura | 阿修罗 | Sage |
| 2019 | The Climbers | 攀登者 | Tibetan Buddhist monk |

### TV series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
| 1995 | Snow Tremor | 雪震 | Gonpo |
| 1997 | Tibet Situation | 西藏风云 | Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme |
| 2000 | Princess Wencheng | 文成公主 | Gongdun |
| 2001 | Once Upon a Time in Lhasa | 拉萨往事 | |
| 2002 | When All Is Said And Done | 尘埃落定 | Wengbo Yixi |
| 2002 | Flower of Happiness | 八瓣格桑花 | Luosang Danzeng |
| 2004 | The Living Buddha | 格达活佛 | Living Buddha |
| 2005 | Tea-Horse Road | 茶马古道 | Gongbu Galun |
| 2006 | | 密电风云 | a businessman |
| 2008 | Snow Territory Day Road | 雪域天路 | Zhaxi |
| 2009 | Jinfeng Bloom | 金凤花开 | Suolang Daji |
| 2011 | The Mu Saga | 木府风云 | Mu Wang |
| 2011 | Shangri-La | 香格里拉 | Lecang Sangji |
| 2013 | A Hero | 一代枭雄 | Wang Sanchun |
| 2013 | The Untold Story of Tibet | 西藏秘密 | Renqin Galun |
| 2019 | Novoland: Eagle Flag | 九州缥缈录 | Mengle Huo'er |

## Film and TV Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
| 1995 | Snow Tremor | Flying Apsaras Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor | Won |
| 1997 | Red River Valley | Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
| 2002 | Flower of Happiness | Courser Award for Best Actor | Won |
| 2004 | Kekexili: Mountain Patrol | 41st Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor | Nominated |
| 2005 | Kekexili: Mountain Patrol | 25th Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2005 | Kekexili: Mountain Patrol | Chinese Film Media Award for Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2014 | No Man's Land | Chinese Film Media Award for Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |