Ni Dahong

Early life and education

Ni was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang in 1960. Ni became a sent-down youth in Daqing after Mao Zedong launched the Down to the Countryside Movement.^[1] In 1980, he was accepted to Jixi Drama Troupe (鸡西话剧团) as a student.^[1] In 1986 he graduated from Central Academy of Drama and was assigned to National Experimental Theatre (now National Theatre Company of China).^[1]

Acting career

In 1984, Ni made his film debut in Xie Jin's Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain, which starred Tang Guoqiang and Siqin Gaowa.

In 1991, Ni was cast with Pan Changjiang, Chen Peisi, and Liu Jinshan in I'm A Countryman, making his television debut.

In 1993, he got a small role in Chen Peisi's comedy film Fitial Son And Fitial Piety, which stars Chen Peisi, Zhao Lirong, Wei Zongwan, and Ding Jiali.

In 1994, he co-starred with Song Dandan in the family comedy I Love My Family. That same year, he appeared as Long Er in Zhang Yimou's To Live, an epic film adaptation based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua and starring Ge You and Gong Li.

In 2006, he was cast as imperial physician Jiang in Curse of the Golden Flower, an epic drama film written and directed by Zhang Yimou, and starring Chow Yun-fat, Jay Chou, and Gong Li.

Ni had a minor role as Sun Maocai in Qiao Family Courtyard (2007), which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Award at the 3rd TV Shows and Awards.

In 2009, Ni had a supporting role in Zhang Yimou's A Simple Noodle Story, which stars Sun Honglei, Xiaoshenyang, and Yan Ni. At the same year, he participated in The Message, adapted from Mai Jia's novel of the same title. The espionage thriller was directed by Chen Kuo-fu and Gao Qunshu and stars Zhou Xun, Li Bingbing, Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Hanyu, and Alec Su.

Ni co-starred with Duan Yihong, Jason Wu and Francis Ng in the 2010 film Wind Blast, directed by Gao Qunshu.^[2] That same year, he starred as Sima Yi in the historical television series Three Kingdoms, based on Luo Guanzhong's classical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He received positive reviews for the role.^[3][4] He played the lead role of Judge Tian in Judge, for which he received Best Actor Award nominations at the 47th Golden Horse Awards and Asian Film Critics Association Awards.^[5]

In 2011, he starred opposite Francis Ng, Sun Haiying and Lü Liping in Love Never Dies. That same year, he appeared in The Assassins, a historical drama film starring Chow Yun-fat, Liu Yifei, Hiroshi Tamaki, and Annie Yi.

In 2012, he starred in a crime thriller film Lethal Hostage with Sun Honglei and Wang Luodan.^[6] He filmed in Better and Better, a romantic comedy film starring Aaron Kwok, Wang Baoqiang, Tong Dawei, Xu Jinglei, Jing Tian, and Sandra Ng.

In 2014, Ni had key supporting role as Wei Zhongxian in The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom, a wuxia-fantasy 3D film loosely adapted from Liang Yusheng's novel Baifa Monü Zhuan, the film was directed by Jacob Cheung and stars Fan Bingbing, Huang Xiaoming, and Vincent Zhao. The film grossed US$64.2 million.

In 2015, he co-starred with Wu Jing and Yu Nan in a war action film Wolf Warriors.

In 2016, Ni played the lead role as Yan Song in the historical television series Counter-Japanese Hero Qi Jiguang, alongside Zhu Xiaoyu, Yan Danchen and Yu Rongguang.

Film

Television series