Tobgyal

Tobgyal (, born May 1958), also called Duobujie , is a Chinese actor of Tibetan descent, best known in film for portraying a tribal chief in Red River Valley, Ri Tai in Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004), and Zhan Tiejun in No Man's Land (2013). He is a . He is a member of the China Theater Association and China Film and Television Association.

Early life and education Tobgyal was born in Kardak Township, Cona County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, in May 1953. In 1972, during the middle of the Cultural Revolution, his grandparents sent him to a propaganda team. As a youth, he had his first on stage experience by reciting Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung in a theater in Tibet. Two years later, he returned home to be a farmer. In 1976, at the age of 18, he became a coal miner in Shigatse. On the graduation ceremony, he played as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families.

Acting career Tobgyal made his film debut in Mysteries of the Potala Palace (1988), playing a Khenpo.

In 1995, he had key supporting role in Snow Tremor as Gonpo, which earned him an Outstanding Supporting Actor Award at the Flying Apsaras Awards.

Tobgyal earned critical acclaim for his performance as a tribal chief in Red River Valley (1996) by Feng Xiaoning, for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Golden Rooster Awards.

Tobgyal has made a number of guest appearances on other television shows, including Tibet Situation, Princess Wencheng, Once Upon a Time in Lhasa, When All Is Said And Done, The Living Buddha, Tea-Horse Road, and Snow Territory Day Road.

In 2002, for his role as Luosang Danzeng in Flower of Happiness, he won a Best Actor Award at the Courser Award.

Tobgyal rose to fame after portraying Ri Tai in Lu Chuan's Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004), which garnered him Golden Horse Award, Chinese Film Media Award and Golden Rooster Award nominations for Best Actor.

In 2006, he was cast as Crowe Anglo in Prince of the Himalayas, directed by Hu Xuehua and starring Purba Rgyal.

In 2011, Tobgyal portrayed Feng Guozhang, a warlord in the Republic of China (1912-1949), in 1911. That same year, he appeared in Yu Rongguang's The Mu Saga, a historical television series starring Ray Lui, Choo Ja-hyun, Yu Rongguang and Pan Hong.

In 2014, Tobgyal landed a key supporting role on No Man's Land playing role of Zhan Tiejun opposite actors Xu Zheng, Yu Nan and Huang Bo. He received Chinese Film Media Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2017, he starred in an epic film called The Chainbreakers with Lobsang Namdak, Wang Ziyi, Yang Xiucuo and Ngawang Rinchen. The film premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 21, 2017, and opened in China on December 8, 2017.

Filmography Film Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 1988 Mysteries of the Potala Palace a Khenpo 1996 Red River Valley Tribal chief The Yi-Hai Alliance Xiao Yedan 2002 Red Snow Zeng Ruipu 2004 Kekexili: Mountain Patrol Ri Tai 2006 Prince of the Himalayas Crowe Anglo 2011 1911 Feng Guozhang 2013 No Man's Land Zhan Tiejun 2017 The Chainbreakers Lord of Shanghai General Lu 2018 Asura Sage 2019 The Climbers Tibetan Buddhist monk

TV series Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 1995 Snow Tremor Gonpo 1997 Tibet Situation Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme 2000 Princess Wencheng Gongdun 2001 Once Upon a Time in Lhasa 2002 When All Is Said And Done Wengbo Yixi Flower of Happiness Luosang Danzeng 2004 The Living Buddha Living Buddha 2005 Tea-Horse Road Gongbu Galun 2006 a businessman 2008 Snow Territory Day Road Zhaxi 2009 Jinfeng Bloom Suolang Daji 2011 The Mu Saga Mu Wang Shangri-La Lecang Sangji 2013 A Hero Wang Sanchun The Untold Story of Tibet Renqin Galun 2019 Novoland: Eagle Flag Mengle Huo'er

Film and TV Awards Year Nominated work Award Result Notes 1995 Snow Tremor Flying Apsaras Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor 1997 Red River Valley Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor 2002 Flower of Happiness Courser Award for Best Actor 2004 Kekexili: Mountain Patrol 41st Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor 2005 25th Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor Chinese Film Media Award for Best Actor 2014 No Man's Land Chinese Film Media Award for Best Supporting Actor