Zhang Ruoyun

Zhang Ruoyun (, born 24 August 1988) is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 2007.

2004–2014: Beginnings
Zhang made his acting debut in 2004, acting as the younger version of the male protagonist in The Sea's Promise. He first gained attention for his roles in Snow Leopard (2010) and its companion series, Black Fox (2011). He won the Most Popular New Actor award in 2010 for his performance in Snow Leopard. Zhang took on his first lead role in war drama Sharp Sword.

In 2014, he starred in New Snow Leopard, and won the Outstanding Actor award at the China TV Drama Awards.

2015–present: Rising popularity
In 2015, Zhang starred in the web drama Wu Xin: The Monster Killer. The series was popular in both China and Taiwan, and led to increased recognition for Zhang in the region. Zhang then starred in youth romance drama Promise of Migratory Birds and fantasy dramas Novoland: The Castle in the Sky and ''Legend of Nine Tails Fox.

In 2016, Zhang starred in the hit espionage drama Sparrow. The popularity of the series propelled Zhang to mainstream popularity, and he won the Most Popular Actor award at the China TV Drama Awards. He then headlined the web drama Medical Examiner Dr. Qin. The series gained over 1.5 billion views on Sohu TV, and earned praise for its storyline and his performance. The same year, Zhang starred in his first film, Sky on Fire.

In 2017, he was cast in the titular role of Huo Qubing in historical drama, The Fated General. The same year, Zhang starred in the Chinese remake of Korean drama Dear My Friends. Zhang ranked 94th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list.

In 2017-2018, Zhang took on the dual roles of Vladimir and Vershinin in the stage production Three Sisters & Waiting for Godot, a contemporary experimental theatrical play directed by Lin Zhaohua.

In 2018, Zhang starred in the romantic comedy drama The Evolution of Our Love.

In 2019, Zhang starred in the spy drama Awakening of Insects, the sequel to the 2016 hit drama Sparrow. He then starred as the male lead in historical epic Joy of Life based on the novel Qing Yu Nian by Mao Ni. Joy of Life received positive reviews and was a hit. For his outstanding performance in Joy of Life, Zhang earned his nomination for the Magnolia Award for Best Actor in a Television Series.

In 2020, Zhang was cast in the legal drama Perfect Evidence and the film Evacuate From the 21st Century. The same year, he teamed up once again with Joy of Life screenwriter Wang Juan, this time for the wuxia drama Sword Snow Stride. The series premiered on December 15, 2021 on the CCTV Drama Channel and simultaneously aired on Tencent Video. By January 20, 2022, Sword Snow Stride had already amassed a viewership of over 6 billion on Tencent. Zhang ranked 37th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list.

In 2021, Zhang starred as the male lead in the urban police drama Ordinary Greatness. This series received widespread acclaim and popularity. That same year, Zhang landed the lead role as Shuai Jiamo, a mathematical genius with Asperger's syndrome, in Under The Microscope, a production adapted from Ma Boyong's historical book "Under the Microscope of the Ming Dynasty".

In 2022, Zhang was cast as the lead, Lei Ming, in the drama The Hope. After the airing of the series finale in January 2024, he published a heartfelt reflection essay on his Weibo account, which included an analysis of Lei Ming's character.

Filming for the second season of Joy of Life, in which Zhang reprised his role as Fan Xian, the male lead, commenced in May 2023.

Personal life
Zhang and actress Tang Yixin revealed their relationship through Weibo on August 2, 2017. They got married in Ireland on June 27, 2019 after dating for close to 9 years.