Zhan Huai-yun

Zhan was born on 21 August 1998.^[1][2] He grew up in the Sanzhi District of New Taipei City,^[3] and worked part-time at a café in Qianshuiwan [zh] since high school.^[4] Zhan was exposed to acting during junior high and high school,^[5] and he also began writing music in his freshman year.^[6] At the age of 15, he was discovered by a talent agent while shopping in Ximending and was invited to audition for Meeting Dr. Sun,^[7][8] where he won the role, making his acting debut at 16 in 2013.^[6][9]

Zhan made his acting debut alongside Matthew Wei [zh] as the male leads, Lefty and Sky, in the 2013 historical comedy film Meeting Dr. Sun.^[7][10] James Marsh of Screen Anarchy praised their performances, stating they did "a great job of winning [the audience's] sympathies",^[11] and Zhan received a nomination for Best Newcomer in the 9th Asian Film Awards for his role.^[12] Following his breakout role, he starred as the titular character Egg Boy in the romance film My Egg Boy [zh],^[13] and landed a main role as Trumpet in the PTS television series The Sweet Place [zh] in 2016.^[7][14] However, Zhan stepped back from showbiz to pursue a music career that same year,^[15] releasing a rap song for LGBTQ+ rights and working as a professional rapper, sharing his music on YouTube.^[6][8] Zhan mentioned that the reason for his fade-out from acting was his mandatory acting classes imposed by his agency, which caused him to lose interest and develop a fear of performing, and he only began to recover from this during his rapping career.^[16] During this time, he also worked at construction sites,^[6] citing the "flexible schedule" as a reason.^[17] In 2022, he was named Top Talent by the Taipei Film Festival.^[18]

In 2023, Zhan returned to acting with a recurring role as a member of a presidential campaign team in the Netflix political thriller series Wave Makers.^[6][19] He also starred alongside Yitai Chu [zh] in Blue Lan's homosexual-themed romance film After School [zh].^[20] The following year, he appeared in the Hong Kong ViuTV drama series The Floating Generation [zh],^[21] and had a recurring role as He Wan-sheng in the HBO GO series The Accidental Influencer [zh].^[22] He was cast in a main role as a hotel bellboy who has a sexual affair with Cheryl Yang's character in the Netflix drama series Born for the Spotlight,^[23] followed by a lead role in the drama film Penguin Girl [zh], which premiered the same year.^[24] Zhan is set to have a recurring role in the upcoming Netflix mystery series Million-follower Detective.^[25]