Wang Kai (actor)

Early life

Wang Kai was born in Wuhan in Hubei Province. Although he wanted to become an actor after performing Thunderstorm in school, his father wanted him to do sports while his mother wanted him to find a stable job. As a result, he worked as a book porter at Xinhua Bookstore after high school. During his free time, he took on side jobs such as attending activities organized by TV stations, taking model-training courses, and shooting commercials. In 2002, during the shooting of a commercial, the director suggested Wang attend an acting academy. Wang resigned from his job and moved to Shanghai to take courses on acting at the Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2002. The next year, he applied for the Beijing Film Academy and the Central Academy of Drama. Wang received offers from both academies, and chose to attend the latter.

Early career

While a student at the Central Academy of Drama, Wang Kai received his first acting role as Huang Yuanshang in Cold Autumn, upon recommendation of his professor Zhang Xiaolong. The series was adapted from the Chinese novel of the same name. It was filmed in 2005 and aired in 2006. In 2006, he participated in his first film My Puppy My Love, an animal movie which focuses on dogs. The film did not air until 2012.

In 2007, Wang graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and signed with Huayi Brothers. During his first year with Huayi, he received no roles except for a minor role in Water Point Peach Blossom with Ma Lujian, the director of Cold Autumn.

2008–12: Breaking into television

Wang Kai's first breakthrough in the industry was his casting in Ugly Wudi, adapted from the American comedy series Ugly Betty. The TV series was a commercial success, with the all four seasons being the highest viewed TV show in its time slot. Although he tried out for the male lead, he was instead offered the role of Chen Jiaming, a sassy advertising director. Wang continued to play the role for all four seasons of the series’ run between 2008 and 2010. While filming Ugly Wudi, he left Huayi Brothers and signed with Ugly Wudi’s production company, Nesound International.

Also in 2008, Wang played a small role in romantic comedy drama Calling For Love. As the series would be aired in Taiwan, he learned to speak with a Taiwanese accent for the role. He spent time on set learning from the crew and the other actors on how to learn how to speak in a Taiwanese accent. The series aired in May 2010.

After the success of Ugly Wudi, Wang Kai found himself offered roles similar to his role in the series. Unwilling to be typecast, he rejected them all. Finally, he was offered the role of the a rugged and uneducated youth in Youth. The series aired in 2012. It was also at this time when he met the then President of Shandong Television & Film, Hou Hongliang, who would later become his boss and business partner.

In 2011, he starred in revolution-themed series Guns Hou, about the story of a family famous for manufacturing guns during the fall of the Manchu dynasty. The same year, Wang Kai collaborated with Zhang Xinjian again for the drama Half the Sky, inspired from the development of agriculture in China. Half the Sky did not receive approval for airing until May 2015, and did not air until March 2016.

In July 2013, he starred as detective Gongsun Ze in New Detective Squad, a Republican-era detective series loosely based on The Three Heroes and Five Gallants. The series had high viewership in mainland China and developed a small cult following online.

2013–2015: Mainstream success

In 2013, with the disbandment of Nesound’s management department, Wang Kai joined Shandong Television & Film. His first role under the company was police officer Fang Mengwei in the critically acclaimed historical drama All Quiet in Peking, which was released in 2014 This was a major turning point for his career. Although the series had low viewership, Wang was praised for his ability to hold his own against multiple acclaimed veteran actors.

The same year, he starred in the historical movie, A Murder Beside Yanhe River, where he plays a Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army officer who becomes a murder suspect. The film premiered in December 2014, and Wang Kai received his first acting award, the Cutting-edge Actor Award at the 9th Chinese Youth Film Forum for his performance in the film.

In December 2014, when Hou Hongliang resigned from Shandong Film & Television to focus on Daylight Entertainment Ltd., Wang Kai left with him for Daylight Entertainment. The same year, he starred in three television series produced by Daylight Entertainment: Nirvana in Fire, The Disguiser, and Love Me If You Dare.

On August 30, 2015, the espionage series The Disguiser began airing on Hunan TV and quickly gained one of the highest viewership ratings of the year. Wang received praise for his portrayal of the loyal and capable triple agent Ming Cheng.

The success of The Disguiser was followed by the airing of Nirvana in Fire on September 19, 2015. In Nirvana in Fire, he plays the neglected prince Xiao Jingyan, who climbs his way to the throne with the help of his best friend, Mei Changsu (played by Hu Ge, whom he previously co-starred with in The Disguiser). Nirvana in Fire was a huge commercial and critical success, surpassing ten million views by the second day and raking in daily internet views of over three hundred million by the end of its run.

Wang then starred in thriller series Love Me if You Dare, as a policeman and close friend of the female protagonist.

Following the airing of these dramas, Wang Kai quickly rose to fame. By the end of 2015, he had received multiple awards, such as "The Year's Most Popular TV Actor" at Dragon TV's "Wind from the East" ceremony for the most influential entertainers. He was also awarded the Acting Breakthrough Award and Most Popular Mainland China Star at the 7th Anhui Television Drama Awards. Wang had become a regular in both magazines and fashion events. Between October and December, he participated in over 26 photo shoots. Wang Kai was also made ambassador of "1219 Long Love" public event in Beijing.

2016–present

On January 14, 2016, he attended the conference for 360 smartphone, his first endorsement deal. In February 2016, he was announced a spokesperson for Uni's line of bottle water, Alkaqua as well as a brand ambassador for cosmetics brand Estée Lauder. In March, he was announced as a spokesperson for Sohu Entertainment's News App and Guangming's probiotic dairy drink.

Also in February 2016, Wang Kai co-founded Deshe Entertainment (Tianjin) Ltd. The company’s co-investor is Daylight Entertainment, and its legal representative is Hou Hongliang.

In March 2016, he starred as demon hunter Shi Taipu in Legend of Nine Tails Fox in the story "Changting (长亭)", which was adapted from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. On March 21, 2016, Half the Sky aired on CCTV-8. Over the seven days of airing, the series continued to have increases in viewership, and was the most viewed night-time TV series on March 26.

Wang then starred in metropolitan romance drama Ode to Joy, which started broadcasting in April 2016. Although he did not appear until episode 11, Wang in association with the show was one of the most discussed topics on social medias Weibo, Tieba, and Wechat at the time. He then reunited with his co-star Wang Ziwen in the romance crime thriller When a Snail Falls in Love, adapted from Ding Mo's novel of the same name. The drama started airing in October.

Wang then starred alongside Joe Chen in the romance drama Stay with Me, which started broadcasting in December. The same month, he starred in Jackie Chan's action comedy movie Railroad Tigers.

Wang also took apart in various charitable causes during this time, including being a part of Han Hong's charity campaign to provide medical assistance in Gansu and being the 2016 Estée Lauder Companies Greater China's Breast Cancer Awareness Pink ribbon program ambassador. His fans also made news in China for donating various roads in disadvantaged areas in the name of his characters, including Ming Cheng, Xiao Jingyan, Fang Mengwei, Qi Yong, and Liu Chengzhi. He was also appointed the Traffic Safety Ambassador for Beijing in November 2016.

Wang Kai was invited to and performed at the 2017 CCTV New Year's Gala alongside Hu Ge, his co-star from The Disguiser and Nirvana in Fire. The two performed a duet rendition of "At This Moment" from the Chinese drama Young Marshal. A video of their live performance on YouTube has amassed almost half a million views.