Zhang Yi

Biography

Zhang Yi was born on February 17, 1978, in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, into a family of teachers, with his father being a young art enthusiast who influenced him from childhood. After failing to enter the Beijing Broadcasting Institute in 1994, he enrolled at the Harbin Theatre in 1996. Following several unsuccessful attempts to enter acting academies, he joined the Beijing Military Region Political Department Theatre Troupe in 1997. He worked as a script supervisor, production assistant, host, and voice actor before getting his break. He considers director Kang Honglei his mentor, making his debut in the TV drama Migrant Workers in 2005 and then The Qiao Family Mansion. He gained widespread fame in 2006 for his role as Squad Leader Shi Jin in Soldiers Sortie. He won the Golden Lion Theatre Award in 2012, the Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor for Dear in 2015, and the Magnolia Award for Best Actor for Feathers Fly to the Sky in 2017. He achieved major success with Operation Red Sea in 2018, which topped the holiday box office and became the second-highest-grossing Chinese film at the time. He won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor for Cliff Walkers in 2021, the Hundred Flowers Award in 2022, and then won the Huabiao Award for a second time for The Third Team in 2025, after which he announced his retirement from cinema. He has served as a member of the Heilongjiang Provincial Political Consultative Conference since 2026. He is married to radio host Qian Linlin.