Wang Baoqiang

Wang Baoqiang was born in Nanhe County, Xingtai, Hebei, on May 29, 1984, to Wang Yinsheng (王银生) and Liu Huan (刘焕), both of whom were farmers.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5] Wang was initially rejected from acting due to his height,^[5] but got his start working as an extra in Beijing.^[6]

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.^[7]

In 2003, he was cast in the independent film Blind Shaft as a "down-to-earth" guy.^[8][5] For his role in Blind Shaft, Wang received the Best Newcomer award at the Golden Horse Film Festival.^[9][10][11]

Wang then starred in Feng Xiaogang's 2004 film A World Without Thieves as a naïve village boy, a performance which received critical acclaim.^[8][12]

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.^[8] The drama was a huge hit, and gained Wang wide critical acclaim and huge popularity.^[13]

In 2009, Wang starred in another military drama, My Brother is Shun Liu as the title character.^[8][14] The drama was another huge success for Wang.^[15]

For his performance in the 2011 comedy film Hello, Mr. Tree, Wang won multiple awards.^[8] He won the for Best Actor at the 9th Vladivostok International Film Festival in Russia, the award for Best Actor at the 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the award for Best Actor at the New York Chinese Film Festival, the award for Best Actor of the 2011–2012 Chinese Youth Film Handbook, and the award for Best Actor at the Italy Asian Film Festival.^[16]

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.^[17]

In May 2013, Wang Baoqiang, along with the cast and crew of the film A Touch of Sin, attended the 66th Cannes Film Festival.^[18]

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.^[19]

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.^[20] 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.^[21] On September 17, I Am Robot, starring Wang Baoqiang, premiered on Jiangsu TV.^[22] 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.^[23]

In 2018, the film The Island, starring Wang Baoqiang, was released.^[24] The film's box office surpassed 1 billion yuan.

In 2019, Wang starred in Stephen Chow's comedy film The New King of Comedy.^[25]

In 2020, Wang starred in Chen Sicheng's movie Detective Chinatown 3.^[26]

Wang Baoqiang married Ma Rong (马蓉) on 10 February 2010. They have two children. On 14 August 2016, Wang made a post to Sina Weibo announcing he would divorce Ma.^[27] He accused her of entering an extramarital affair with his agent, Song Zhe (宋喆), and transferring/concealing some of the couple's assets.^[28][27] 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.^[29][27] The divorce became a trending topic on Sina Weibo, where posts with the hashtag #WangBaoQiangDivorce were viewed over five billion times.^[27] Wang filed for divorce that was accepted by a Beijing Court, and the trial was held in October 2016. Song's wife also filed for divorce.^[30] 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.^[31]

In 2009, Wang Baoqiang served as the ambassador for the Zhejiang Low-Income Rural Youth Care Campaign.^[32]

In August 2019, Forbes released the list of China's Top 100 Celebrities, with Wang Baoqiang ranking 91st.^[33]