Wang Baoqiang

Wang Baoqiang (; born 29 May 1984) is a Chinese martial artist, actor and director. Wang first received recognition in the film Blind Shaft, for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the Golden Horse Awards. He went on to star in the television series Soldiers Sortie (2006) and My Brother's Name is Shun Liu (2009), garnering further attention. His notable film credits include Lost on Journey (2010), Lost in Thailand (2012), Monk Comes Down the Mountain (2015), the Detective Chinatown film series (2015–2021), and Never Say Never (2023). In 2017, Wang made his directorial debut with the action-adventure film Buddies in India.

Early life Wang Baoqiang was born in Nanhe County, Xingtai, Hebei, on May 29, 1984, to Wang Yinsheng and Liu Huan , both of whom were farmers. When Wang Baoqiang was 8 years old, his village showed the movie Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li, which inspired him to become a martial arts star in movies like Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Wang insisted on going to a Shaolin Temple though his family opposed it, in the same year. He trained in Shaolin martial arts.

Career Prior to entering the film industry, Wang was an unskilled labourer who was paid 25 yuan a day; he had not been home for over two years as he was unable to afford the railway ticket.

In 2002, Wang Baoqiang came across the casting team for Blind Shaft, and was eventually chosen by director Li Yang to play the lead role due to his disheartened appearance.

In 2003, he was cast in the independent film Blind Shaft as a "down-to-earth" guy. For his role in Blind Shaft, Wang received the Best Newcomer award at the Golden Horse Film Festival.

Wang then starred in Feng Xiaogang's 2004 film A World Without Thieves as a naïve village boy, a performance which received critical acclaim.

In 2006, Wang starred in the military drama Soldiers Sortie, playing a soldier who is physically slow but who wins respect because of his strong faith and untiring efforts.

In 2009, Wang starred in another military drama, My Brother is Shun Liu as the title character. The drama was another huge success for Wang.

For his performance in the 2011 comedy film Hello, Mr. Tree, Wang won multiple awards.

Wang's 2012 comedy film Lost in Thailand was a smash hit at the box-office. Wang is also noted for his role in the comedy film series Detective Chinatown and its sequel, Detective Chinatown 2.

In 2014, he starred in the fantasy adventure drama film Monk Comes Down the Mountain, directed by Chen Kaige. On October 31, the action film Kung Fu Jungle, in which he starred, was released in theaters.

In February 2015, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards for his performance in the film Kung Fu Jungle. In September, Wang Baoqiang starred in Impossible, China's first sci-fi comedy film, which was set to compete in the New Year holiday film season. On September 17, I Am Robot, starring Wang Baoqiang, premiered on Jiangsu TV. On December 31, the comedy film Detective Chinatown, in which he starred, was released nationwide as a New Year's Eve premiere.

In 2017, Wang made his directorial debut with the fantasy comedy film Buddies in India.

In 2018, the film The Island, starring Wang Baoqiang, was released. The film's box office surpassed 1 billion yuan.

In 2019, Wang starred in Stephen Chow's comedy film The New King of Comedy.

In 2020, Wang starred in Chen Sicheng's movie Detective Chinatown 3.

Personal life Wang Baoqiang married Ma Rong on 10 February 2010. They have two children. On 14 August 2016, Wang made a post to Sina Weibo announcing he would divorce Ma. In a later Sina Weibo post, Ma said Wang had abandoned their family, and threatened to sue him for defamation; she filed a case against Wang on August 16. On October 18, 2018, the Beijing Chaoyang Court sentenced the first instance of Wang Baoqiang's former agent Song Zhe for the crime of embezzlement and was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Social activities In 2009, Wang Baoqiang served as the ambassador for the Zhejiang Low-Income Rural Youth Care Campaign.

In August 2019, Forbes released the list of China's Top 100 Celebrities, with Wang Baoqiang ranking 91st.

Filmography Film Year English title Chinese title Role Notes/ 2001 Big Shot's Funeral Uncredited 2003 Blind Shaft Yuan Fengming 2004 A World Without Thieves Sha Gen 2007 Born To Run Long Dachuan Assembly Jiang Maocai Two Stupid Eggs 2008 A Mediator in Green Mountains Wang Xiaoqiang The Equation of Love and Death Qiu Shuitian 2009 The Founding of a Republic A soldier Eaters Xiao Shuai Da You Cun Bright Future A Kun 2010 Little Big Soldier A spy Cameo Fire of Conscience Huang Yong East Wind Rain Xiao Kai Lost on Journey Niu Geng 2011 Love for Life Dazui Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu Chen Cheng Mr. Tree Mr. Tree 2012 Romancing in Thin Air Zhang Xing Jack of All Trades Chu Zhongtian Fairy Tale Killer Wu Zaijun Lost in Thailand Wang Bao 2013 Better and Better Yang Guoshu Unbeatable Boss Chan Cameo 2014 A Touch of Sin San'er Iceman Sa Ao Kung Fu Jungle Feng Yuxiu 2015 Running Man Himself Monk Comes Down the Mountain He An Impossible Tang Liguo Detective Chinatown Tang Ren PKPK (dub voice) 2017 Buddies in India Wu Tian Wished Megaton (voice) Cameo 2018 Detective Chinatown 2 Tang Ren The Faces of My Gene Erdangjia The Island Xiao Wang Iceman 2 Sa Ao 2019 The New King of Comedy Ma Ke 2020 My People, My Homeland 我和我的家乡 Old Tang 2021 Detective Chinatown 3 Tang Ren Rising Shaolin: The Protector少林寺之得宝传奇Ximendebao Thaiflavor 2023Never Say Never八角笼中Xiang Tengjun

Television series Year English title Chinese title Role Notes/ 2002 Seventh Imperial Envoy Liu Luoguo A waiter 2005 Secret Plot A Bing 2006 Legend of Shang Dynasty Nezha Soldiers Sortie Xu Sanduo Red Flag Children Bao Xiang 2009 My Brother's Name is Shun Liu Shun Liu 2010 For New China to Go Forward Dong Cunrui 2011 My Father Is Ban Deng Bandeng 2013 Heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasties Li Yuanba 2015 Rise to Fame Overnight Yuan Bao 2020Detective Chinatown唐人街探案Tang Ren (Cameo – Season 1 & 2)

Variety show Year English title Chinese title Role Notes/ 2014–2015 Keep Running Cast member 2018 Space Challenge Cast member

Accolades Awards and nominations Year Nominated work Award Category Result 2003 Blind Shaft 40th Golden Horse Awards Best New Performer 2004 5th Deauville Asian Film Festival Best Actor 2nd Bangkok International Film Festival 2005 A World Without Thieves 5th Chinese Film Media Awards Best New Performer 2006 28th Hundred Flowers Awards 2008 Soldiers Sortie 24th China TV Golden Eagle Award Best Actor Most Popular Actor 2009 27th Flying Apsaras Awards Outstanding Actor 2010 My Brother's Name is Shun Liu 16th Shanghai Television Festival Best Actor 2011 Mr. Tree 9th Pacific Meridian Best Actor 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2nd New York Chinese Film Festival 12th Chinese Film Media Awards 2012 10th Italy Asian Film Festival 2013 Lost in Thailand 20th Beijing College Student Film Festival Most Popular Actor 2014Kung Fu Jungle 6th Macau International Movie Festival Best Supporting Actor 2015 34th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor 1st Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards Best New Action Actor

Forbes China Celebrity 100 YearRank 201398th 201464th 201571st 201991st 202096th