Wang Baoqiang (simplified Chinese: 王宝强; traditional Chinese: 王寶強; pinyin: Wáng Bǎoqiáng; born 29 May 1984) is a Chinese martial artist, actor and director. Wang first received recognition in the film Blind Shaft (2003), for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the Golden Horse Awards.[1][2] He went on to star in the television series Soldiers Sortie (2006) and My Brother's Name is Shun Liu (2009), garnering further attention. His notable film credits include Lost on Journey (2010), Lost in Thailand (2012), Monk Comes Down the Mountain (2015), the Detective Chinatown film series (2015–2021), and Never Say Never (2023).

Wang Baoqiang
Wang in December 2016
Born
Wang Yongqiang (王永强)

(1984-05-29) 29 May 1984 (age 40)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
Years active2000–present
Spouse
Ma Rong
(m. 2009; div. 2016)
Children2
Parent(s)Wang Yinsheng (father)
Liu Huan (mother)
AwardsFull list
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWáng Bǎoqiáng

In 2017, Wang made his directorial debut with the action-adventure film film Buddies in India.

Early life

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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 his parents are peasants.[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 or 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]

Career

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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 2003, he was cast in the independent film Blind Shaft as a "down-to-earth" guy.[7][5] For his role in Blind Shaft, Wang received the Best Newcomer award at the Golden Horse Film Festival.[8][9][10]

Wang then starred in Feng Xiaogang's 2004 film A World Without Thieves as a naïve village boy, a performance which received critical acclaim.[7][11]

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.[7] The drama was a huge hit, and gained Wang wide critical acclaim and huge popularity.[12]

In 2009, Wang starred in another military drama, My Brother is Shun Liu as the title character.[7][13] The drama was another huge success for Wang.[14]

For his performance in the 2011 comedy film Hello, Mr. Tree, Wang won multiple awards.[7] 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.[15]

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.[16]

In 2017, Wang made his directorial debut with the fantasy comedy film Buddies in India.[17]

In 2019, Wang starred in Stephen Chow's comedy film The New King of Comedy.[18]

In 2020, Wang starred in Chen Sicheng's movie "Detective Chinatown 3".[19]

Personal life

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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.[20] He accused her of entering an extramarital affair with his agent, Song Zhe (宋喆), and transferring/concealing some of the couple's assets.[21][20] 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.[22][20] The divorce became a trending topic on Sina Weibo, where posts with the hashtag #WangBaoQiangDivorce were viewed over five billion times.[20] 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.[23] 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.[24]

Filmography

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Film

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Year English title Chinese title Role Notes
2001 Big Shot's Funeral 大腕 Uncredited
2003 Blind Shaft 盲井 Yuan Fengming
2004 A World Without Thieves 天下无贼 Sha Gen
2007 Born To Run 烈火男儿 Long Dachuan [25]
Assembly 集结号 Jiang Maocai [26]
Two Stupid Eggs 大电影2.0之两个傻瓜的荒唐事
2008 A Mediator in Green Mountains 绿满山乡 Wang Xiaoqiang [27]
The Equation of Love and Death 李米的猜想 Qiu Shuitian [28]
2009 The Founding of a Republic 建国大业 A soldier [29]
Eaters 大胃王 Xiao Shuai [30]
Da You Cun Bright Future 大有前途 A Kun [31]
2010 Little Big Soldier 大兵小将 A spy Cameo[32]
Fire of Conscience 火龙对决 Huang Yong [33]
East Wind Rain 东风雨 Xiao Kai [34]
Lost on Journey 人在囧途 Niu Geng [35]
2011 Love for Life 最爱 Dazui [36]
Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu 蔡李佛拳2010 Chen Cheng [37]
Mr. Tree HELLO!树先生 Mr. Tree [38]
2012 Romancing in Thin Air 高海拔之恋II Zhang Xing [39]
Jack of All Trades 神通乡巴佬 Chu Zhongtian [40]
Fairy Tale Killer 追凶 Wu Zaijun [41]
Lost in Thailand 人再囧途之泰囧 Wang Bao [42]
2013 Better and Better 越来越好之村晚 Yang Guoshu [43]
Unbeatable 激战 Boss Chan Cameo[44]
2014 A Touch of Sin 天注定 San'er [45]
Iceman 冰封:重生之门 Sa Ao [46]
Kung Fu Jungle 一个人的武林 Feng Yuxiu [47]
2015 Running Man 奔跑吧!兄弟 Himself
Monk Comes Down the Mountain 道士下山 He An [48]
Impossible 不可思异 Tang Liguo [49]
Detective Chinatown 唐人街·探案 Tang Ren [50]
PK 我的个神啊 PK (dub voice) [51]
2017 Buddies in India 大闹天竺 Wu Tian [52]
Wished 反转人生 Megaton (voice) Cameo[53]
2018 Detective Chinatown 2 唐人街·探案2 Tang Ren [16]
The Faces of My Gene 祖宗十九代 Erdangjia [54]
The Island 一出好戏 Xiao Wang [55]
Iceman 2 冰封:永恒之门 Sa Ao [56]
2019 The New King of Comedy 新喜剧之王 Ma Ke
2020 My People, My Homeland 我和我的家乡 Old Tang [57]
2021 Detective Chinatown 3 唐人街·探案3 Tang Ren [58]
Rising Shaolin: The Protector 少林寺之得宝传奇 Ximendebao [59]
Thaiflavor 泰味儿
2023 Never Say Never 八角笼中 Xiang Tengjun [60]

Television series

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Year English title Chinese title Role Notes
2002 Seventh Imperial Envoy Liu Luoguo 七品钦差刘罗锅 A waiter
2005 Secret Plot 暗算 A Bing [61]
2006 Legend of Shang Dynasty 传奇·幻想殷商 Nezha [62]
Soldiers Sortie 士兵突击 Xu Sanduo [63]
Red Flag Children 红旗渠的儿女们 Bao Xiang
2009 My Brother's Name is Shun Liu 我的兄弟叫顺溜 Shun Liu [64]
2010 For New China to Go Forward 为了新中国前进 Dong Cunrui [65]
2011 My Father Is Ban Deng 我的父亲是板凳 Bandeng [66]
2013 Heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasties 隋唐演义 Li Yuanba [67]
2015 Rise to Fame Overnight 我是机器人 Yuan Bao [68]
2020 Detective Chinatown 唐人街探案 Tang Ren (Cameo - Season 1 & 2)

Variety show

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Year English title Chinese title Role Notes
2014–2015 Keep Running 奔跑吧兄弟 Cast member [69]
2018 Space Challenge 挑战吧 ! 太空 Cast member [70]

Awards and nominations

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Year Nominated work Award Category Result Notes
2003 Blind Shaft 40th Golden Horse Awards Best New Performer Won [71]
2004 5th Deauville Asian Film Festival Best Actor Won [72]
2nd Bangkok International Film Festival Won
2005 A World Without Thieves 5th Chinese Film Media Awards Best New Performer Nominated
2006 28th Hundred Flowers Awards Nominated
2008 Soldiers Sortie 24th China TV Golden Eagle Award Best Actor Won [73]
Most Popular Actor Won [74]
2009 27th Flying Apsaras Awards Outstanding Actor Nominated
2010 My Brother's Name is Shun Liu 16th Shanghai Television Festival Best Actor Nominated
2011 Mr. Tree 9th Pacific Meridian Best Actor Won [75]
5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards Won [76]
2nd New York Chinese Film Festival Won [77]
12th Chinese Film Media Awards Nominated
2012 10th Italy Asian Film Festival Won [78]
2013 Lost in Thailand 20th Beijing College Student Film Festival Most Popular Actor Won [79]
2014 Kung Fu Jungle 6th Macau International Movie Festival Best Supporting Actor Nominated
2015 34th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
1st Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards Best New Action Actor Won [80]

Forbes China Celebrity 100

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Year Rank Ref.
2013 98th [81]
2014 64th [82]
2015 71st [83]
2019 91st [84]
2020 96th [85]

References

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  2. ^ "王宝强获新人大奖,78岁农民首次触电成影帝,打了谁的脸?" [Wang Baoqiang won the Newcomer Award. The 78-year-old farmer became the best actor for the first time. Who did he slap in the face?]. sina. 2020-01-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  3. ^ Nian Lun (2012). "Film Star Wang Baoqiang: Use Filial Piety to Resolve Family Conflicts" 《影星王宝强:用孝心化解家人矛盾》. 《老年人》 [Old Man] (in Chinese). Vol. 6. Changsha, Hunan: Veteran Cadre Bureau of CPC Hunan Provincial Committee. pp. 34–36. ISSN 1007-2616.
  4. ^ 王宝强心酸成名史 揭那些你不知道的真实成长经历. China Daily (in Chinese). January 22, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c 那些草根出身的明星们 [Stars who came up from Nothing] (in English and Chinese). Vol. 6. Chongqing: Chongqing Publishing House. 2019. pp. 12–15. ISBN 978-7-229-09693-9. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  6. ^ 关于“屌丝”的影视剧、歌曲和明星. ifeng (in Chinese). March 31, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e Zhu Zi (柱子); Wang Dong (王动) (2023). 傻人王宝强:底层叙事的宠儿 [Stupid Wang Baoqiang: the darling of low-level narrative]. Bosom Friend (in Chinese). 464. Wuhan, Hubei: Hubei Zhiyin Media Group Co., Ltd.: 51–53. ISSN 1007-502X.
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  36. ^ 顾长卫新片更名《最爱》 王宝强成片中笑点. Sina (in Chinese). March 3, 2011.
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