Ma Yuan

Biography

Ma Yuan is a Chinese actor and director from Beijing, born on February 2, 1983. His father Ma Baoshan is a journalist and calligrapher, and his mother is Chi Qianping, daughter of the late Xi Zhongxun. Ma Yuan graduated from the Acting Department of the Beijing Film Academy in 2003. During his studies, he appeared in his first television series, *Foreign Kid, Chinese Dad*. After graduation, he planned to audition for the Beijing People's Art Theatre or the National Theatre Company of China, but the SARS outbreak in 2003 led both institutions to cancel their recruitment. He then worked as a teaching assistant at the Beijing Film Academy. While there, he joined classmates on the set of *Romantic Life Stained with Blood*, where director Teng Wenji, after learning that Ma Yuan had grown up in a government compound, found him a fitting match for the role of Zheng Tong, which became his first official acting role. In December 2018, Ma Yuan won the Best Actor in a Contemporary-Themed TV Series award at the 26th Huading Awards for his performance in *That City, This Family*.