Xu Zheng
Born	(1972-04-18)18 April 1972 (age 53) Shanghai,China
Alma mater	Shanghai Theatre Academy
Occupations	Actor, director, screenwriter, producer
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Tao Hong ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	1
Awards	'China Movie Channel Media Awards Favourite Actor 2009One Night in Supermarket Beijing College Student Film Festival Favourite Director 2013Lost in Thailand China Film Director's Guild Awards Best Actor 2014No Man's Land Chinese American Film Festival Best Actor 2015Lost in Hong Kong Changchun Film Festival Best Actor 2018Dying to Survive
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	徐崢
Simplified Chinese	徐峥
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xú Zhēng

Xu Zheng (simplified Chinese:徐峥;traditional Chinese:徐崢;pinyin:Xú Zhēng; born 18 April 1972) is a Chinese actor and director best known for acting in comedic roles. Xu directed, co-wrote, co-produced, and starred inLost in Thailand (2012) andLost in Hong Kong (2015), two ofthe highest-grossing films in China. He also co-produced and starred inDying to Survive (2018).

Xu found fame with the TV seriesSunny Piggy (2000), co-starring his future wifeTao Hong. He gained further recognition after other comedy TV dramasLi Wei the Magistrate (2001) andLove Through Different Times (2002), as well as comedy filmsCall for Love (2007) andLost on Journey (2010). Xu has acted in most ofNing Hao's films includingNo Man's Land (2013) andBreakup Buddies (2014).

Xu ranked 38th onForbesChina Celebrity 100 list in 2013,^[1] 68th in 2015,^[2] 92nd in 2017,^[3] 4th in 2019,^[4] and 2nd in 2020.^[5]

Growing up inShanghai, Xu Zheng performed regularly inChildren's Palace theatres. After graduating fromShanghai Theatre Academy in 1994, Xu portrayed mostly minor roles on television and film for years. His big break came in 2000 with the romance TV seriesSunny Piggy, in which he portrayed the dimwitted protagonistZhu Bajie.^[6]Sunny Piggy received high ratings nationally, paving way for other popular TV dramas such asLi Wei the Magistrate (2001) andLove Through Different Times (2002).^[7] Since appearing inNing Hao'sCrazy Stone (2006), Xu also began to turn more and more to comedy films, starring inCall for Love (2007) andOne Night in Supermarket (2009). He also worked with Ning Hao again inCrazy Racer (2009) andNo Man's Land (2013).

Xu had wanted to try his hands in filmmaking since acting was, in his words, "too passive".^[8] After the success of the comedy road filmLost on Journey (2010), Xu invited his co-starWang Baoqiang to join his directorial debutLost in Thailand, a film with the same premise. However, as a first-time director, Xu had a difficult time selling his story, meeting with 3 different production companies before convincingBeijing Enlight Pictures to invest US$4 million.Huang Bo, Xu's good friend and frequent co-star in Ning's films, also joined the project. Released in December 2012,Lost in Thailand raked in over US$200 million from about 40 million people^[9][10] to becomethe highest-grossing domestic film in China's history.^[11] Shot mainly in Thailand, the film greatly boosted tourism to the country, and Xu even received a private meeting with theThai prime ministerYingluck Shinawatra in 2013.^[12]

In 2014, Ning's comedy road filmBreakup Buddies starring Xu and Huang Bo grossed over US$195 million to become the highest-grossing domestic film of the year. Xu's second directorial featureLost in Hong Kong (2015), which he again starred in, co-wrote and co-produced, brokeLost in Thailand's Chinese 2-D film grossing record with US$250 million.^[13]

In 2019, he produced the romantic comedy filmLove You Forever, which was released nationwide on December 31, 2019. On February 5, the comedy sci-fi filmCrazy Alien, in which he made a cameo appearance, was released.^[14] In July, he served as the director for the segmentThe Champion in the filmMy People, My Country, a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic ofChina.^[15] On October 7, Xu Zheng's cumulative box office exceeded 10 billion yuan, ranking him among the top in Chinese film history.^[16] On October 16, the latest character reveal and trailer forLost in Russia, the latest film in theLost in series directed, starred, produced, and written by Xu Zheng, were released.^[17] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, it was made available for free streaming on Xigua Video on the first day of the Lunar New Year in 2020.^[18] In November, Xu Zheng won the Best Director Award at the 3rd Golden Screen Awards for the filmMy People, My Country. On December 8, Xu Zheng presented the Best Film award at the 2nd Hainan Island International Film Festival.^[19]

Xu Zheng first shaved his head while in college, and has been bald ever since.^[6]

Xu married hisSunny Piggy co-starTao Hong in 2002. They have portrayed a married couple inUnfinished Girl (2007) andLost in Thailand. Other collaborations includeSky Lovers (2002 TV series),No Lonely Angels (2002 film),The Last Red Hot Lover (2005–06 theatre production),No Man's Land, andHow Long Will I Love U. Tao also made a cameo inLost in Hong Kong. Their daughter was born on December 30, 2008, inBeijing.^[20]

• 2016:Twenty-Four Hours (二十四小时) onZhejiang Television
• 2016:Lost in Food (食在囧途) on Zhejiang Television
• 2018:I Am an Actor (我就是演员) on Zhejiang Television

^[26][27]

A member of theShanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, Xu was a stage star before finding fame in television and film. He starred in Chinese versions ofThe Liar (as Lelio),Long Day's Journey into Night (as Jamie),Much Ado About Nothing (as Antonio), andArt (as Serge), as well as many Chinese plays in bothMandarin andShanghainese. He also directed at least 3 plays as early as 1998.^[28][29] In 2005, he and Tao Hong starred in a 2-person play adapted from the Broadway comedyLast of the Red Hot Lovers, which caused a sensation in Beijing.^[7] The couple subsequently performed the play over 30 times in 10 major cities, receiving overwhelming support everywhere that they canceled their holiday travel plans for more performances.^[30]

• (in Chinese)Xu Zheng onWeibo(in Chinese)
• Xu Zheng atIMDb
• Xu Zheng at theHong Kong Movie Database

• 1972 births
• Living people
• Male actors from Shanghai
• Chinese male film actors
• Chinese male television actors
• Chinese male stage actors
• Chinese male voice actors
• Film directors from Shanghai
• Chinese filmmakers
• Chinese theatre directors
• Shanghai Theatre Academy alumni
• 20th-century Chinese male actors
• 21st-century Chinese male actors
• Participants in Chinese reality television series

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