# Zhang Yi (actor)

Zhang Yi (simplified Chinese: 张译; traditional Chinese: 張譯; pinyin: Zhāng Yì; born 17 February 1978) is a Chinese actor best known for his roles in films Dearest, Cock and Bull and Operation Red Sea and television series Soldiers Sortie, My Chief and My Regiment and The Knockout.

## Biography

Zhang was born into a teacher's family in Harbin, Heilongjiang, on February 17, 1978.
Zhang has always wanted to become a television announcer, yet was unsuccessful in his attempts to attend the Beijing Broadcasting Institute for various reasons. In 1996, he was admitted to the Harbin Drama Theater at his own expense. In 1997, he applied for People's Liberation Army National Defence University、The Central Academy of Drama, and Shanghai Theatre Academy, but was not admitted. In the same year, he was admitted to the comrades-in-arms drama troupe of the Political Department of the Beijing Military Region.

## Career

Zhang made his drama debut and received widespread recognition as Comrade Shi Jin in the critically and commercially successful 2006 drama Soldiers Sortie, and continued to collaborate with writer Lan Xiaolong in upcoming military war dramas My Chief and My Regiment and The Line, which were both critical hits, scoring 8.9 and 9.2 on Douban respectively.
Zhang was widely praised for his acting as a father desperate to find his abducted son in 2014 feature film Dearest, and received his first major acting award at the 30th Golden Rooster Awards. In 2016, he played a secret police who was willing to fight for a better world in wuxia film Brotherhood of Blades II, and also starred in Cao Baoping's black comedy Cock and Bull, which garnered him another Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 31st Golden Rooster Awards.
In 2016, Zhang played the protagonist in entrepreneurial drama Feather Flies to the Sky, and received Best Actor awards at the 23rd Magnolia Awards and 29th Golden Eagle Awards. He then starred in action war film Operation Red Sea, which became the second-highest-grossing-film ever in China.

## Family

Zhang married Qian Linlin (钱琳琳), a hostess at the Central People's Broadcasting Station.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | The Founding of a Party | 建党伟业 | Zhou Fohai | |
| 2011 | An Inaccurate Memoir | 匹夫 | Gao Dongliang | |
| 2012 | Caught in the Web | 搜索 | Zhang Mu | |
| 2013 | Better and Better | 越来越好之村晚 | Geng Shanxi | guest appearance |
| 2014 | The Golden Era | 黄金时代 | Jiang Xijin | |
| 2014 | Dearest | 亲爱的 | Han Dezhong | |
| 2015 | Crazy New Year’s Eve | 一路惊喜 | Hou Xiaogang | |
| 2015 | Mr. Six | 老炮儿 | Captain Zhang | special appearance |
| 2015 | Mountains May Depart | 山河故人 | Zhang Jinsheng | |
| 2015 | The Promised Land | 回到被爱的每一天 | Jiang He | |
| 2016 | Run for Love | 奔爱 | Zhou Hongyi | |
| 2016 | The New Year's Eve of Old Lee | 过年好 | Li Ermao | special appearance |
| 2016 | Everybody's Fine | 一切都好 | Guan Qing's husband | |
| 2016 | Cock and Bull | 追凶者也 | Dong Xiaofeng | |
| 2016 | I Am Not Madame Bovary | 我不是潘金莲 | Jia Congming | |
| 2016 | Blood of Youth | 少年 | Zhang Jianyu | |
| 2017 | Brotherhood of Blades II | 绣春刀II修罗战场 | Lu Wenzhao | |
| 2017 | Goldbuster | 妖铃铃 | Wang Baojian | |
| 2018 | Operation Red Sea | 红海行动 | Yang Rui | |
| 2018 | Ash Is Purest White | 江湖儿女 | customer | special appearance |
| 2019 | The Climbers | 攀登者 | Qu Songlin | |
| 2019 | My People, My Country | 我和我的祖国 | | |
| 2020 | The Eight Hundred | 八佰 | Lao Suanpan | |
| 2020 | My People, My Homeland | 我和我的家乡 | Jiang Qianfang | |
| 2020 | The Sacrifice | 金刚川 | Zhang Fei | |
| 2020 | One Second | 一秒钟 | Zhang Jiusheng | |
| 2021 | Cliff Walkers | 悬崖之上 | Zhang Xianchen | |
| 2021 | Seven Killings | 刀尖 | TBA | |
| 2021 | Thaiflavor | | | |
| 2022 | Home Coming | 万里归途 | Zong Dawei | |
| 2024 | Article 20 | 第二十条 | Zhang | special appearance |

### Television series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Qing Chun Zheng Bu Zou | 青春正步走 | Liu Fugang | |
| 2005 | Worker | 民工 | Guo Zhendong | |
| 2006 | Qiao's Grand Courtyard | 乔家大院 | Changshun | |
| 2006 | Soldiers Sortie | 士兵突击 | Shi Jin | |
| 2007 | Golden Triangle Dead End Heaven | 末路天堂 / 幻想之旅 | Police officer | guest |
| 2009 | My Chief and My Regiment | 我的团长我的团 | Meng Fanliao | |
| 2009 | The Line | 生死线 | He Moxiu | |
| 2009 | Three and Seven Make Twenty One | 三七撞上二十一 | Qiao Rui | |
| 2010 | Shooting From Behind | 枪声背后 | Gao Qingshan | |
| 2010 | Bing Tuan Sui Yue | 兵团岁月 | Qiao Haiyang | |
| 2011 | Gang Tie Nian Dai | 钢铁年代 | Bian Lipeng | filmed in 2009 |
| 2011 | Snowflake Flying | 雪花那个飘 | Zhao Changtian | |
| 2011 | Zhang Men Nv Xu | 掌门女婿 | Zhang Yongsheng | |
| 2011 | A Live in Son-in-law | 新上门女婿 | Tian Chong | |
| 2012 | Beijing Love Story | 北京爱情故事 | Shi Xiaomeng | |
| 2012 | Legend of Entrepreneurship | 温州一家人 | Zhou Maigou | |
| 2013 | Mop Lady's Spring | 抹布女也有春天 | Wu Tong | |
| 2013 | Love Is Not Blind | 失恋33天 | Mr. Ge | Remake of the film of the same name |
| 2013 | Hot Mom! | 辣妈正传 | Yuan Bao | |
| 2014 | Mr. Good Man | 好男儿之情感护理 | Hao Nan'er | |
| 2015 | Marry a Husband | 嫁个老公过日子 | Zhen Hao | |
| 2016 | Women Must Be Stronger | 女不强大天不容 | Gao Fei | |
| 2016 | The Good Fellas | 好家伙 | Lu Yan | filmed in 2012 |
| 2017 | Feather Flies to the Sky | 鸡毛飞上天 | Chen Jianghe | |
| 2017 | Guardian of Beauty | 守护丽人 | Chen Xi | |
| 2019 | My Biological Father and Step-father | 我的亲爹和后爸 | Li Liang | Youku |
| 2020 | Reborn | 重生 | Qin Chi | Youku |
| 2023 | The Knockout | 狂飙 | An Xin | iQiyi |
| 2023 | Who Is He | 他是谁 | Wei Guoping | iQiyi |
| 2024 | The Price of Silence | 沉默的代价 | TBA | iQiyi |
| TBA | Li Bai | 李白 | Du Fu | filmed in 2009 |
| TBA | National Action | 国家行动 | Xu Wangdong | filmed in 2016 |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2015 | 30th Golden Rooster Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Dearest | Won |
| 2016 | 33rd Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Dearest | Nominated |
| 2017 | 24th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best Actor | Cock and Bull | Won |
| 2017 | 8th China Film Director's Guild Awards | Best Actor | Cock and Bull | Won |
| 2017 | 31st Golden Rooster Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Cock and Bull | Nominated |
| 2017 | 23rd Shanghai Television Festival | Best Actor | Feather Flies to the Sky | Won |
| 2018 | 31st Flying Apsaras Award | Outstanding Actor | Feather Flies to the Sky | Nominated |
| 2018 | 29th China TV Golden Eagle Award | Best Actor | Feather Flies to the Sky | Won |
| 2018 | 25th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best Actor | Operation Red Sea | Nominated |
| 2018 | 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actor | Operation Red Sea | Nominated |
| 2019 | 6th The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Best Actor (Sapphire Category) | The Glorious Era | Nominated |
| 2019 | 2nd Cultural and Entertainment Industry Congress | Best Supporting Actor (Film) | The Climbers | Nominated |
| 2020 | 27th Huading Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Climbers | Nominated |
| 2020 | 35th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actor | My People, My Country | Nominated |
| 2020 | 7th The Actors of China Award Ceremony | Best Actor (Sapphire) | — | Nominated |
| 2020 | 12th Macau International Movie Festival | Best Actor | The Eight Hundred | Won |
| 2021 | 15th Asian Film Awards | Best Actor | Cliff Walkers | Nominated |
| 2021 | 34th Golden Rooster Awards | Best Actor | Cliff Walkers | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actor | Cliff Walkers | Won |
| 2023 | 18th Huabiao Awards | Outstanding Actor | My People, My Country | Won |