# Turbo Liu

Liu Yuan (born 10 October 1997), known professionally as Liu Haoran, also known as Turbo Liu, is a Chinese actor.
Liu haoran 18th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2020, 19th in 2019, and 89th in 2017.
In 2021, Liu became the youngest actor to gross over 15 billion RMB (approx. US$2.32 billion) at the Chinese box office.
In January 2025, with the release of Detective Chinatown 1900, Liu became the youngest actor to gross over 20 billion RMB (approx. US$2.78 billion) at the Chinese box office.

## Early life

Liu was born in 1997 in Pingdingshan, Henan, and moved to Beijing at the age of 12 to attend the Affiliated Secondary School of Beijing Dance Academy. His father is a senior executive in a company, and his mother is a Peking opera performer. In 2013 when he was still a student, Liu was hand-picked by Chinese actor/director Chen Sicheng to star in Chen's directorial film debut, Beijing Love Story. In 2015, Liu enrolled in the Central Academy of Drama after receiving the highest yikao score in the university's acting department.

## Career

Liu made his acting debut in the 2014 romance film Beijing Love Story, and was nominated for Best New Actor at the 2015 Beijing College Student Film Festival.
In 2015, Liu starred in the comedy mystery film, Detective Chinatown, directed by Chen Sicheng, and won a Best New Actor Award at the Huading Awards for his performance. That same year, Liu starred in his first small-screen project, campus drama With You, which was adapted from the youth novel under the same title. The drama series earned positive reviews, and Liu won Most Popular New Actor at the 2016 iQiyi All-Star Carnival.
In 2017, Liu played Su Yu in the patriotic film, The Founding of an Army. He also featured in the historical mystery film Legend of the Demon Cat, which was directed by acclaimed director Chen Kaige. That same year, he starred in the historical drama, Nirvana in Fire 2, which was a Daylight Entertainment production directed by the famed director Kong Sheng and the sequel to Nirvana in Fire by written by Hai Yan. The series was critically acclaimed, and Liu received recognition for his acting.
In 2018, Liu reprised his role in the film Detective Chinatown 2, which premiered on Chinese New Year. The movie was a box office hit and grossed 3.4 billion RMB and is one of the top 10 highest-grossing film of all time in China (as of September 2022). Liu was nominated for Best Actor at the Hundred Flowers Awards for his role and became the youngest actor to be nominated in the lead actor category for this award. For Liu's accomplishments, Forbes China honored him as one of their 30 Under 30 Asia 2018 list, which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields.
In 2019, Liu filmed two movies with Chen Kaige, Flowers Bloom in the Ashes and My People My Country. His xuanhuan epic drama Novoland: Eagle Flag, adapted from novels by the same name written by Jiang Nan, aired on Zhejiang TV, becoming the channel's highest rated drama in the 10pm time slot.
In 2020, Liu graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and successfully auditioned into the China Coal Mine Art Troupe where he also received bianzhe (编制). He performed Xue Wo Zhong Hua with the Art Troupe at China's National Center for the Performing Arts. That same year, he also starred in the films My People My Homeland and Coffee or Tea.
In 2021, Liu's film Detective Chinatown 3 premiered during Chinese New Year and immediately grossed 1.01 billion RMB, 818 million RMB, and 749 million RMB for the first three days, respectively, and continues to hold the record for the top 3 single-day box office revenue in China's box office history. The box office success of Detective Chinatown 3 (totaling in excess of 4.5 billion RMB) catapulted Liu to become the youngest actor to gross over 15 billion RMB (approx. US$2.32 billion) at the Chinese box office for leading roles. He also starred as Liu Renjing in the film 1921, directed by famed director Huang Jianxin (making it their fourth collaboration). Also in 2021, Liu's film Fire on the Plain, produced by Diao Yinan, was invited to the main competition at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. That same year, Liu was invited as a representative to attend The 11th Congress of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, which occurs once every five years. At 24 years old, he was one of the youngest representatives out of over 2000 attendees.
In 2022, Liu's film Only Fools Rush In, directed by Han Han, premiered during Chinese New Year, making it his third Chinese New Year film. Liu earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 36th Hundred Flower Awards for his portrayal of Liu Renjing in the film 1921.
In 2023, The Breaking Ice, directed by Anthony Chen and starring Liu, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The Breaking Ice was also selected by the Singapore Film Commission as Singapore's submission to the best international feature category of the 2024 Oscars (96th Academy Awards).
In 2024, My Friend An Delie, the directorial debut of actor Dong Zijian and starring Liu and Dong, was selected to compete at the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes | Accolades (Selected) |
| 2014 | Beijing Love Story | 北京爱情故事 | Song Ge | Lead (chapter) | |
| 2015 | Forever Young | 栀子花开 | Host | Special appearance | |
| 2015 | Detective Chinatown | 唐人街探案 | Qin Feng | Lead | 73rd Venice International Film Festival; 19th Shanghai International Film Festival |
| 2017 | Buddies in India | 大闹天竺 | Erlang Shen | Special appearance | |
| 2017 | The Founding of an Army | 建军大业 | Su Yu | Supporting | 34th Hundred Flowers Awards; 17th Huabiao Film Awards |
| 2017 | Legend of the Demon Cat | 妖猫传 | Bai Long | Supporting | |
| 2018 | Detective Chinatown 2 | 唐人街探案2 | Qin Feng | Lead | 34th Hundred Flowers Awards |
| 2018 | Happiness Is Coming | 幸福马上来 | Ma Xiao | Special appearance | |
| 2019 | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World | 驯龙高手3 | Hiccup | Chinese voice-dubbing | |
| 2019 | The Twins [zh] | 双生 | Li Ping | Lead | |
| 2019 | My People, My Country | 我和我的祖国 | Wo Dele | Lead (chapter) | 18th Huabiao Film Awards; 35th Hundred Flowers Awards; 33rd Golden Rooster Awards |
| 2020 | My People, My Homeland | 我和我的家乡 | Xiao Qin | Lead (chapter) | 34th Gold Rooster Awards |
| 2020 | Coffee or Tea? [zh] | 一点就到家 | Wei Jinbei | Lead | 19th Huabiao Film Awards |
| 2021 | Detective Chinatown 3 | 唐人街探案3 | Qin Feng | Lead | |
| 2021 | 1921 | 1921 | Liu Renjing [zh] | Supporting | 36th Hundred Flowers Awards; 2021 Beijing International Film Festival; 2021 Tokyo International Film Festival |
| 2021 | Embrace Again | 穿过寒冬拥抱你 | Zhang Zhe | Special appearance | 19th Huabiao Film Awards |
| 2022 | Only Fools Rush In | 四海 | Wu Renyao | Lead | |
| 2023 | The Breaking Ice | 燃冬 | Hao Feng | Lead | 2023 Cannes Film Festival; 2023 Toronto International Film Festival |
| 2024 | The Boy and the Heron | 你想活出怎样的人生 | Mahito Maki | Chinese voice-dubbing | 96th Academy Awards - Best Animated Feature |
| 2024 | Decoded | 解密 | Rong Jinzhen | Lead | 45th Cairo International Film Festival |
| 2025 | Detective Chinatown 1900 | 唐探 1900 | Qin Fu | Lead | |
| 2025 | Fire on the Plain [zh] | 平原上的火焰 | Zhuang Shu | Lead | 69th San Sebastián International Film Festival |
| TBA | My Friend An Delie | 我的朋友安德烈 | Li Mo | Lead | 37th Tokyo International Film Festival |
| TBA | Flowers From the Ashes | 少年时代 | | Lead | |
| TBA | Auspicious Photo Studio | 吉祥照相馆 | | Lead | |

### Television series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | With You | 最好的我们 | Yu Huai | Lead |
| 2017 | Midnight Diner | 深夜食堂 | Music producer | Special appearance |
| 2017 | Nirvana in Fire 2 | 琅琊榜之风起长林 | Xiao Pingjing | Lead |
| 2018 | Great Expectations: Meeting of the Two Dragons (Mini webdrama) | 远大前程·双龙会 | Huo Zhenxiao | Lead |
| 2019 | Novoland: Eagle Flag | 九州缥缈录 | Lǚ Guichen | Lead |
| 2020 - 2024 | Detective Chinatown (Webdrama) | 唐人街探案 (网络剧) | Qin Feng | Special appearance |
| 2022 | Bright Future | zh:县委大院 | Mei Xiaoge (young) | Special appearance |

### Variety Shows

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
| 2015 | Takes a Real Man (Season 1) | 真正男子汉 | Cast member |
| 2017 | Give Me Five (Season 1) | 高能少年团 | Cast member |
| 2021 | Oh Youth! | 恰好是少年 | Cast member |
| 2024 | Game of Cubes: The New Utopia | 魔方新世界 | Cast member |

## Theater

| Year | English Title | Chinese Title | Role | Ref. |
| 2021 | Xue Wo Zhong Hua | 血沃中华 | Dong Cunrui | |

## Discography
### Singles

| Year | English Title | Chinese Title | Album | Notes |
| 2015 | "Yearning for Glory" | 渴望光荣 | Takes a Real Man OST | |
| 2016 | "Holy High" | 猴厉嗨 | — | Promotional song for Suning with Wu Mochou & Huang Cancan |
| 2017 | "Proud Youths" | 骄傲的少年 | Give Me Five OST | with Zhang Yishan, Wang Junkai, Dong Zijian & Darren Wang |
| 2018 | "Pink Memories" | 粉紅色的回憶 | Detective Chinatown 2 OST | with Wang Baoqiang, Zhang Zifeng, Xiaoshenyang & Xiao Yang |
| 2019 | "My Motherland and I" | 我和我的祖国 | My People My Country OST | with Chen Feiyu, Zhou Dongyu, Ou Hao & Zhu Yilong |
| 2019 | "Starry Sea" | 星辰大海 | | For China Movie Channel Young Actors Project |
| 2019 | "Dream" | 梦想 | | Theme song for China Student Television Festival |
| 2019 | "Cool Doll" | 酷你吉娃 | Detective Chinatown 3 OST | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Awards | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| 2014 | 21st Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best New Actor | Beijing Love Story | Nominated |
| 2016 | 24th Shanghai Film Critics Awards | Best New Actor | Detective Chinatown | Nominated |
| 2016 | 19th Shanghai International Film Festival (Asian New Talent Award) | Best New Actor | Detective Chinatown | Nominated |
| 2016 | 20th Huading Awards | Best New Actor | Detective Chinatown | Won |
| 2016 | 16th Chinese Film Media Awards | Most Anticipated Actor | Detective Chinatown | Nominated |
| 2016 | 16th Chinese Film Media Awards | Most Anticipated Performance | Detective Chinatown | Nominated |
| 2018 | 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actor | Detective Chinatown 2 | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Supporting Actor | 1921 | Nominated |

### Forbes China Celebrity 100

| Year | Rank |
| 2017 | 89th |
| 2019 | 19th |
| 2020 | 18th |