Zhou Xun

Zhou debuted in the comedy movie The Pampered Wife (1995).[5] She next starred in Chen Kaige's films, Temptress Moon (1996) and The Emperor and the Assassin (1999).[6][4] But it was not until in 2000 that Zhou received recognition in China. With her role as young Princess Taiping in historical drama Palace of Desire,[7] Zhou received the Audience's Choice for Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards at the 18th China TV Golden Eagle Award.[8]

Zhou achieved breakthrough on the big screen with Lou Ye's Suzhou River (2000), which won her the Best Actress award at the 15th Festival du Film de Paris.[9] That year, she was named one of the Four Dan Actresses alongside Zhang Ziyi, Zhao Wei and Xu Jinglei.[10] She further achieved international recognition when she starred in the Franco-Chinese romance drama film Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002).[11][12]

A string of successful projects followed. In her first Hong Kong film Hollywood Hong Kong directed by Fruit Chan, Zhou impressed critics with her performance.[13] Hollywood magazine Variety praise Zhou saying "Zhou is superb, moving with ease between her various personalities and always convincing in each".[14] Among Zhou's earlier notable works also include television series April Rhapsody (2000), Love Story in Shanghai (2001), Ripening Orange (2002) and The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003).[15]

In 2005, Zhou starred the leading role in the musical film Perhaps Love directed by Peter Chan. For her highly praised performance in this film, she was awarded the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress,[16] in addition to Hong Kong Film Award,[17] Golden Bauhinia Awards[18] and Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award.[19] She next starred in Feng Xiaogang's wuxia film The Banquet (2006), inspired from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Zhou plays the girlfriend of the crown prince, equivalent to Ophelia.[20] This role later earned her Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, which made her the first Mainland Chinese actress to win both Best Actress (2006) & Best Supporting Actress (2007) at the Hong Kong Film Awards in two consecutive years.[21] In 2007, she starred in Susie Au's film Ming Ming, which was highly praised at the 11th Pusan International Film Festival. Zhou played dual roles – twins with absolutely different characteristics and personalities.[22]

She then starred in Cao Baoping's romantic thriller The Equation of Love and Death (2008) as a taxicab driver on the lookout for her missing boyfriend.[23] Critics again praised Zhou, crediting the film's success to Zhou's performance as Li Mi.[24] Zhou went on to receive Best Actress awards at the Asian Film Awards,[25] Shanghai Film Critics Awards,[26] Golden Rooster Film Festival,[27] and Chinese Film Media Awards.[28] The same year she appeared in Gordon Chan's horror-adventure film Painted Skin, a remake of a classic supernatural thriller of the same title.[29] Next came spy thriller The Message (2009), about Japanese invaders in China who try to ferret out a spy among their Chinese collaborators.[30]

In 2009, Zhou was named the Star of the Year at CineAsia exhibition and distribution convention in Hong Kong.[31] Asia-Pacific Producers Network (APN) also honored her as the Asian Star of the Year for her exemplary box office achievements.[32] In an interview with CNN, Zhou was named Asia's 25 greatest actors of all time.[33]

She filmed the wuxia film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011) directed by Tsui Hark.[34]

In 2011, Zhou made her directorial debut with the short film Five Demon Traps, which stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai as a demon killer.[35]

In 2012, she then had a reunion with Tony Leung Chiu-wai in two consecutive films, The Great Magician and The Silent War. For her admirable performances in these two films, Zhou received two Best Actress nominations at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards, becoming the first Mainland Chinese performer to be nominated for two Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actress in the same year.[36] Zhou made her Hollywood debut in the science fiction film Cloud Atlas (2012), playing multiple roles in the film.[37] The same year she filmed Painted Skin: The Resurrection directed by Wuershan, which was a sequel to the original film in 2008. The film grossed over the 700 million yuan ($109.8 million) landmark, becoming the highest-grossing Chinese-language movie of all time then.[38]

In 2014, Zhou returned to television after 10 years in Red Sorghum, based on Nobel prize laureate Mo Yan's 1986/1987 novel of the same name. Zhou's performance in the series was highly praised by the author himself for her immaculate grasp of the character's inner turmoil.[39] Zhou won the Best Actress awards at the Asian Television Award[40] and Shanghai Television Festival.[41]

In 2016, Zhou was set to play the leading role of the Step Empress in historical fiction drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, which was are the sequel to the drama Empresses in the Palace.[42] The series later went on national broadcast in 2018.[43]

In 2017, she made her return to the big screen in Ann Hui's war film Our Time Will Come alongside Eddie Peng and Wallace Huo. The film opened and competed for the Golden Goblet Award at the 2017 Shanghai International Film Festival[44] and later earned her seventh Best Actress nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards.[45]

In 2018, she starred in the romance film Last Letter directed by Shunji Iwai, and was nominated for the Best Actress award at the Golden Horse Awards.[46] The same year, Zhou was set to star in the wuxia film The Weary Poet.[47]

In 2019, Zhou starred in the crime thriller film Remain Silent and family drama film The Eleventh Chapter.[48][49]

In 2020, she starred in webdrama Imperfect Love, which was a remake of the award-winning 2010 Japanese TV series Mother.[50] For her praised performance in this series, she received the Best Actress in a Webdrama award at the 26th Shanghai Television Festival.[51]

In 2021, Zhou starred in fantasy film The Yinyang Master. In the same year, she returned to the small screen with a reunion with director Zheng Xiaolong after 7 years since Red Sorghum in one of eight-part anthology biographical drama Medal of the Republic.[52] In the series, she portrayed Chinese pharmaceutical chemist and malariologist Tu Youyou, a Nobel Prize winner, focusing on her efforts to develop artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin in the 1970s, used to treat malaria.[53] Zhou was recommended for this role by Tu Youyou following Tu's daughter's compliments on Zhou's acting.[54] For her highly acclaimed portrayal, she later received two Best Actress nominations at the 31st Golden Eagle Awards[55] and 33rd Flying Apsaras Awards.[56] Later this year, she played the female lead in the family drama A Little Mood for Love, which was also the second collaboration between Zhou and director Wang Jun after the historical drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace.[57] According to the National Radio and Television Administration, the series was the highest rated prime-time drama in Chinese satellite television channel in 2021.[58]

In 2022, Zhou and director Li Shaohong reunited for the drama film Hero, their first joint project in 13 years.[59] In the same year, she played the leading role in Zhang Dalei's short film All Tomorrow’s Parties,[60] which then competed for "Berlinale Short Films Competition" section at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival.[61]

In 2023, she made a special appearance as Ms. Chen, member of the Communist Party and wife of Tony Leung Chiu-wai's character, in Cheng Er's World War II espionage thriller film Hidden Blade.[62] Additionally, she returned to television in legal drama series Imperfect Victim (2023), which she portrayed as a lawyer defending a victim of sexual assault. The series received positive feedback and topped the rating during its broadcast time on Dragon TV and other platforms.[63] Later, Across the Furious Sea, in which she starred the main role, began filming in 2019 and was licensed for theatrical release in November 2023.[64] This crime thriller drama film marked the reunion of Zhou and director Cao Baoping after more than a decade since the award-winning film The Equation of Love and Death (2008).[65]

Zhou Xun married American actor Archie Kao on 16 July 2014 on stage after a charity event in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.[86] On 23 December 2020, Zhou announced on her Sina Weibo account that they have divorced.[87]

Zhou received Hong Kong citizenship under the "Quality Migrant Admission Scheme" in 2009.[88]

Zhou had underwater phobia due to nearly drowning as a child. However, most dramas that she participated have underwater scenes. For example, during the filming of the film Painted Skin: The Resurrection, she was required to soak in water for half a month.[89]

In an interview with several magazines in 2012, Zhou said that because she was not good at expressing herself and rarely used the Internet, receiving too much information was also a burden, so she did not apply for accounts on popular social networking sites, such as Weibo.