Lin Yi

2015–2018: Career beginnings

In 2015, while still in his first year of university, Lin Yi was discovered by the agent and signed with Tangren Media Co. Ltd. In 2016, during his summer vacation abroad, he received education in professional training in dance and performance.^[5] In 2017, he participated in the casting of the youth campus web series My Huckleberry Friends and auditioned for the male lead, Lin Yang, but ultimately failed.^[6]

In May 2017, Lin Yi participated in Youku's idol reality show Beautiful Youth Academy as a cast member.^[5][7] During the show's acting class, he restored the clip from the film Mr. Six by Feng Xiaogang. After the acting class, Director Feng recognized Lin Yi's acting skills and said he would become a good actor.^[8] On November 7, 2017, he participated in Youku's fashion variety show Crazy Wardrobe and won the 6th championship with 41 votes.^[9] In December 2017, he was confirmed to star in the scifi film Hope Island with Duan Yihong and Andy García.^[10]

2019–present: Rising popularity

In 2019, Lin Yi started gaining increased attention and popularity with his role as Gu Wei Yi in the romantic comedy web series Put Your Head on My Shoulder, which is based on Zhao Qianqian's novel of the same name.^[11] The series has gained a cult following both in China and overseas, and Lin Yi's portrayal of Gu Wei Yi has received favorable reviews, making him popular.^[12] On May 20, 2019, Lin Yi and his co-star Xing Fei held a grand fan meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, where thousands of fans gathered.^[13] Also, Lin Yi was featured in the May issue of Harper's Bazaar Hong Kong.^[14] In November 2019, he was nominated for the "Best Actor Award for Chinese Contemporary TV Dramas" at the 26th Huading Awards with the series Put Your Head on My Shoulder.^[15] In December 2019, he was honored with the "Youth Trending Artist of the Year" award at the Tencent Video All Star Night and the "New Actor of the Year" award at the 4th Golden Blossom Internet Film and Television Awards.^[16][17]

In 2020, Lin Yi starred in the web series The Blessed Girl and Memory of Encaustic Tile.^[18] On October 1, 2020, the song "My Motherland", a tribute to the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China sung by Lin Yi together with other artists, was released.^[19]

On January 29, 2021, the costume adventure fantasy web series The Blessed Girl, starring Zhao Jinmai and Yuan Hong, was launched on Tencent Video, in which Lin Yi plays the aspiring young monarch, Yuan Yi.^[20] On April 28, the web series Love Scenery was aired, in which Lin Yi co-stars with Xu Lu and plays the role of Lu Jing, an e-sports anchor.^[21] In October, he joined Zhejiang TV's variety show Keep Running: Yellow River Season 2 as a cast member.^[22] On December 27, he was selected into the 2021 Movie Channel "Starry Oceans" Young Actor Selection Program.^[4]

On January 26, 2022, the web series Memory of Encaustic Tile was aired on Youku, in which Lin Yi co-stars with Chen Yuqi and plays the role of Zheng Su Nian.^[23] On April 2, the film One Week Friends was released, in which he co-stars with Zhao Jinmai and Shen Yue and plays Xu You Shu.^[24]

In September 2023, Lin Yi visited South Korea to hold 23 meet-and-greet events for the upcoming film One Week Friends.^[25] On December 14, the time-travel and suspense web series Derailment was aired on Youku, with Lin Yi co-starring with Liu Haocun and portraying Qi Lian.

On March 1, 2024, the web series Everyone Loves Me, starring Lin Yi and Zhou Ye, was broadcast on Youku and aired on March 19 on Netflix.^[26] Lin Yi plays Gu Xun, a reserved guy who unknowingly falls for the girl he rejects.^[26] On March 9, the TV series Angels Fall Sometimes he co-stars with Li Landi, adapted from the Japanese series The Hours of My Life [ja], was broadcast. Lin Yi plays Lin Tuo, an interior designer diagnosed with ALS.^[27] On June 8, the TV series The Tale of Rose starring Liu Yifei was broadcast, in which Lin Yi plays He Xi, a young pilot whom the heroine has a crush on.^[28] He has completed filming for the series Smile Code with Shen Yue and Ski into Love with Esther Yu, both highly anticipated by the public.^[29][30][31]

In August 2025, Lin Yi was announced to star opposite Lu Yuxiao in the modern romance drama When I Meet the Moon, based on the novel of the same name by Zhu Yi.^[32][33][34]

Television and web series

Film

Variety show

Single