Yang Yang (simplified Chinese: 杨洋; traditional Chinese: 楊洋, born 9 September 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) and film The Left Ear (2015). He was ranked fifth on the 2017 Forbes China Celebrity 100 list.[1]
Early Life[]
At age 11, Yang was admitted to the Department of Dance in People's Liberation Army Arts College in China.[2] He also has studied at the Central Academy of Drama for a period of time.[3]
Career[]
2007–2014: Beginning[edit][]
In December 2007, he was chosen to play the lead role Jia Baoyu by director Li Shaohong in The Dream of Red Mansions.[4] 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.[5]
In 2011, Yang featured in The Founding of a Party, a patriotic tribute detailing the process of establishing the Communist Party of China.[6] 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).[7][8][9][10]
On April 29, 2014, Yang ended his contract of 7 years with his company.[11]
2015: Breakthrough[edit][]
Yang achieved breakthrough with his role 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 acclaim for his portrayal as Xu Yi.[12] His popularity continued to rise with his appearance in travel-reality show Divas Hit the Road,[13] and he topped the "2015 Chinese Reality Show Star Ranking".[14] He next starred in action-adventureweb-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 more popularity with his portrayal of Zhang Qiling.[15][16]Yang then played the male lead in youth sports drama The Whirlwind Girl, which gained one of the highest viewership ratings of the year.[17] He also released his first single, "Tender Love".[18]
At the end of the year, Yang won several awards including the Most Popular TV Actor of the Year at iQiyi All-Star Carnival Night 2016;[19] and the Most Anticipated Actor and Most Influential Actor awards at the China TV Drama Awards.[20]
2016–present: Mainstream popularity[edit][]
In 2016, Yang starred in youth romance drama Love O2O, based on Gu Man's novel of the same name.[21] The drama was a massive hit both locally and internationally, 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.[22] To thank his fans, Yang released the song "Love is Crazy", a jazz/rock single.[23] He next starred in romance film I Belonged to You,[24] which was a huge success and broke box office sales record for mainland-produced romance films.[25] He was named as one of the Top 10 Chinese celebrities with most commercial value by CBN Weekly.[26]
In 2017, Yang starred alongside Liu Yifei in romantic fantasy film Once Upon a Time.[27] He was announced as the lead role Ye Xiu in the upcoming eSports novel adaptation of The King's Avatar.[28]
In 2018, Yang starred in the fantasy action drama Martial Universe.[29][30] The same year, he was cast in the military drama Special Forces directed by Xu Jizhou.[31]
Other Activities[]
In January 2016, Yang became the first artist to be featured on the China Post postage stamp.[32]
On February 19, 2017, Yang had his wax figure of himself displayed at Madam Tussauds Shanghai.[33] His second wax figure was displayed at Madame Tussauds Beijing on July 19, 2017.
Filmography[]
Film[edit][]
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Founding of a Party | 建党伟业 | Yang Kaizhi | |
| 2012 | Joyful Reunion | 饮食男女2012 | Shizhe (young) | [35] |
| 2015 | The Unbearable Lightness of Inspector Fan | 暴走神探 | Zhanshi Wu | [36] |
| 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 | |
| 2019 | Vanguard | 急先锋 |
Television series[edit][]
| 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 | [37] |
| 2012 | The War Doesn't Believe in Tears | 战争不相信眼泪 | Du Changyou | |
| Refresh 3+7 | 刷新3+7 | He Tianze | [38] | |
| 2013 | Legend of Goddess Luo | 新洛神 | Cao Zhi | [39] |
| Ultimate Conquest | 武间道 | Bai Niansheng | ||
| Flowers of Pinellia Ternata | 花开半夏 | Lu Yuan | ||
| 2014 | Lanterns | 花灯满城 | Fei Yu | [40] |
| Tiny Times | 小时代之折纸时代 | Neil | [41] | |
| 2015 | The Four | 少年四大名捕 | Wu Qing | |
| The Lost Tomb | 盗墓笔记 | Zhang Qiling | ||
| The Whirlwind Girl | 旋风少女 | Ruo Bai | ||
| 2016 | Love O2O | 微微一笑很倾城 | Xiao Nai | |
| My Adorable Husband | 我的蠢萌老公 | Yang Kang | [42] | |
| 2018 | The Chronicles of Town Called Jian | 茧镇奇缘 | Huang Moru | [43] |
| Martial Universe | 武动乾坤 | Lin Dong | ||
| 2020 (only for TKA)
TBA for Special Forces |
The King's Avatar | 全职高手 | Ye Xiu | |
| Special Forces | 特种兵 | Yan Po Yue |
Variety show[edit][]
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Star Soldier | 防务精英之星兵报到 | Cast member | [44] |
| 2015 | Divas Hit the Road Season 2 | 花儿与少年 | [13] |
Theatre[edit][]
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Dream of Red Mansions | 红楼梦 | Jia Baoyu |
Discography[edit][]
Singles[edit][]
| 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 |
| "Divas Hit the Road" | 花儿与少年 | N/A | Divas Hit the Road theme song | |
| "Tender Love" | 安心的温柔 | N/A | ||
| 2016 | "Summer's Smooth Hair Dance" | 夏日顺发舞 | N/A | Promotional song for the shampoo brand Rejoice |
| "One Smile is very Beautiful" | 微微一笑很倾城 | Love O2O OST | N/A | |
| "Love Is Crazy" | 爱是一个疯字 | N/A | ||
| "Sunshine in the Eyes" | 瞳孔里的太阳 | N/A | Promotional single for the 2016 World AIDS Day | |
| 2017 | “Three Lifetimes, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms" | 三生三世十里桃花 | Once Upon a Time OST | with Liu Yifei |
| "Just Like IDOL" | 就象是IDOL | N/A | ||
| "Power of Love" | 爱的力量 | N/A | Charity Song for Sunshine Special Fund | |
| 2018 | "The Best" | 最好 | N/A | |
| "Forever Young" | N/A | N/A |