Xu Zheng (actor)

Biography

Growing up in Shanghai, Xu Zheng performed regularly in Children's Palace theatres. After graduating from Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1994, Xu portrayed mostly minor roles on television and film for years. His big break came in 2000 with the romance TV series Sunny Piggy, in which he portrayed the dimwitted protagonist Zhu Bajie. Sunny Piggy received high ratings nationally, paving way for other popular TV dramas such as Li Wei the Magistrate (2001) and Love Through Different Times (2002). Since appearing in Ning Hao's Crazy Stone (2006), Xu also began to turn more and more to comedy films, starring in Call for Love (2007) and One Night in Supermarket (2009). He also worked with Ning Hao again in Crazy Racer (2009) and No Man's Land (2013).

Xu had wanted to try his hands in filmmaking since acting was, in his words, "too passive". After the success of the comedy road film Lost on Journey (2010), Xu invited his co-star Wang Baoqiang to join his directorial debut Lost in Thailand, a film with the same premise. However, as a first-time director, Xu had a difficult time selling his story, meeting with 3 different production companies before convincing Beijing Enlight Pictures to invest US$4 million. Huang Bo, Xu's good friend and frequent co-star in Ning's films, also joined the project. Released in December 2012, Lost in Thailand raked in over US$200 million from about 40 million people to become the highest-grossing domestic film in China's history. Shot mainly in Thailand, the film greatly boosted tourism to the country, and Xu even received a private meeting with the Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2013.

In 2014, Ning's comedy road film Breakup Buddies starring Xu and Huang Bo grossed over US$195 million to become the highest-grossing domestic film of the year. Xu's second directorial feature Lost in Hong Kong (2015), which he again starred in, co-wrote and co-produced, broke ''Lost in Thailand'''s Chinese 2-D film grossing record with US$250 million.

In 2019, he produced the romantic comedy film Love You Forever, which was released nationwide on December 31, 2019. On February 5, the comedy sci-fi film Crazy Alien, in which he made a cameo appearance, was released. In July, he served as the director for the segment The Champion in the film My People, My Country, a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. On October 7, Xu Zheng's cumulative box office exceeded 10 billion yuan, ranking him among the top in Chinese film history. On October 16, the latest character reveal and trailer for Lost in Russia, the latest film in the Lost in series directed, starred, produced, and written by Xu Zheng, were released. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was made available for free streaming on Xigua Video on the first day of the Lunar New Year in 2020. In November, Xu Zheng won the Best Director Award at the 3rd Golden Screen Awards for the film My People, My Country. On December 8, Xu Zheng presented the Best Film award at the 2nd Hainan Island International Film Festival.

Personal life

Xu Zheng first shaved his head while in college, and has been bald ever since.

Xu married his Sunny Piggy co-star Tao Hong in 2002. They have portrayed a married couple in Unfinished Girl (2007) and Lost in Thailand. Other collaborations include Sky Lovers (2002 TV series), No Lonely Angels (2002 film), The Last Red Hot Lover (2005–06 theatre production), No Man's Land, and How Long Will I Love U. Tao also made a cameo in Lost in Hong Kong. Their daughter was born on December 30, 2008, in Beijing.

Filmography

Film

Miniseries

TV series

Reality shows

• 2016: Twenty-Four Hours (二十四小时) on Zhejiang Television
• 2016: Lost in Food (食在囧途) on Zhejiang Television
• 2018: I Am an Actor (我就是演员) on Zhejiang Television

Theatre

A member of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, Xu was a stage star before finding fame in television and film. He starred in Chinese versions of The Liar (as Lelio), Long Day's Journey into Night (as Jamie), Much Ado About Nothing (as Antonio), and Art (as Serge), as well as many Chinese plays in both Mandarin and Shanghainese. He also directed at least 3 plays as early as 1998. In 2005, he and Tao Hong starred in a 2-person play adapted from the Broadway comedy Last of the Red Hot Lovers, which caused a sensation in Beijing.

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (April 24, 2013). "2013 Forbes China Celebrity 100 List: Fan Bingbing in Top Spot".
2. (May 13, 2015). "2015 Forbes China Celebrity List (Full List)".
3. (September 22, 2017). "2017 Forbes China Celebrity List (Full List)".
4. (August 20, 2019). "福布斯中国发布100名人榜 吴京黄渤胡歌位列前三".
5. (August 27, 2020). "福布斯中国发布2020名人榜，00后少年易烊千玺荣登榜首".
6. Meng Jing. (2010-07-22). "Comedian Celebrates Novel Way to Get Ahead". [[China Daily]].
7. (2007-10-29). "Xu Zheng: The Most Busy Entertainer".
8. Yu, Evelyn. (2015-08-11). "China's King of Comedy".
9. Young, Deborah. (2013-02-11). "Lost in Thailand (Ren zai jiongtu zhi tai jiong): Berlin Review". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
10. Chan, Kelvin. (2013-03-29). "'Lost In Thailand': Xu Zheng Says China's Biggest Film Focused On Simple Life". [[Associated Press]].
11. Zhou, Raymond. (2013-01-13). "A Movie that Moves". [[China Daily]].
12. Brzeski, Patrick. (2013-03-22). "Chinese Director Xu Zheng Kicks Off Controversy With Casual Wear". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
13. Ma, Kevin. (2015-10-06). "Lost in Hong Kong sets China 2-D record".
14. 新娱. (2019-01-17). "惊喜！徐峥出演宁浩《疯狂的外星人》扮演外星人{{!}}疯狂的外星人{{!}}徐峥_新浪娱乐_新浪网".
15. "徐峥执导短片《我和我的祖国之夺冠》开机，登陆国庆档 — 新京报".
16. 网易. (2022-02-10). "网友统计内地演员三番内票房排名：徐峥仅第9，两位百亿男星落榜".
17. "沈腾惊喜亮相！徐峥《囧妈》新预告上演列车奇遇_华语_电影网_1905.com".
18. 网易. (2019-10-16). "电影《囧妈》徐峥沈腾囧途奇遇 回归经典喜剧".
19. "海南岛电影节闭幕 徐峥：《囧妈》专为春节档制作_华语_电影网_1905.com".
20. (2009-01-03). "First Online Photos of Tao Hong and Xu Zheng's Baby Girl". [[China Radio International]].
21. (April 25, 2019). ""我和我的祖国"七大导演首曝时尚大片 陈凯歌徐峥宁浩管虎强强联手 献礼建国70年".
22. (August 27, 2019). "徐峥搭档吴京!《我和我的祖国》曝"夺冠"角色海报".
23. (August 7, 2020). "《我和我的家乡》官宣主演阵容".
24. (September 9, 2020). "《我和我的家乡》徐峥单元曝光海报，范伟杨紫王俊凯等出演".
25. (2021-10-02). "《我和我的父辈》主创：这是一场4×100的接力赛". The Paper.
26. [https://movie.douban.com/celebrity/1274297/ Xu Zheng at douban.com]
27. [http://chinesemov.com/actors/Xu%20Zheng.html Xu Zheng at chinesemov.com]
28. Adam, Frank. (January 1996). "The Double Life of Shanghai Theatre". American Theatre.
29. "演员俱乐部：徐峥 (Actor's Club: Xu Zheng)".
30. The couple subsequently performed the play over 30 times in 10 major cities, receiving overwhelming support everywhere that they canceled their holiday travel plans for more performances.. link. Ma Yingying. (2006-01-11)