Chinese actor Li Yifeng on his biggest roles yet: Mao Zedong in The Pioneer, patriotic military series The Glory of Youth, and brand ambassador for Panerai and Prada – exclusive interview
- Once nicknamed ‘little fresh meat’, the actor went on to rank above Andy Lau and Angelababy on Forbes’ “China Celebrity List”, and work with top brands Armani, Samsonite, Tencent and Baidu
- He won the Style Icon Asia the same year as Korean stars G-Dragon and Song Joong-ki, and China TV Drama awards for Sunny Happiness and Swords of Legends
It’s surely one of the most formidable of roles for any male Chinese actor to take on: playing Mao Zedong, the most influential and recognisable face in modern China’s history. Still, when 35-year-old Chinese heartthrob Li Yifeng was offered the opportunity, in last year’s blockbuster film The Pioneer, he was more than up for the challenge.
“I’m always looking for innovations and opportunities to transform myself, and I hope I can demonstrate a different character with each role, not being positioned as one stereotype,” says Li.
Premiered on July 1, 2021, the biographical drama’s release celebrated the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party’s birth. Directed by acclaimed director Guan Hu, it depicts the tumultuous period between 1912 and 1927, when the republican Kuomintang ruled China. Concentrating on how the revolutionary Li Dazhao searched for ways to rescue the then-collapsing China, the film also brings to light his formative influence on Mao, the future chairman then still a student.
Mao and Li remain idols for many Chinese, though in distinctly different ways. If anything helped Li Yifeng to understand the epic role, it was the passion of his own dreams. “I’ve never thought of doing anything else except being a star, I’ve always wanted it since a child,” he says.
Li Yifeng was born in 1987 in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, a province most famous for its pandas and spicy food. While attending the Chengdu film and TV academy, majoring in broadcasting, he made his debut on My Hero, a talent show hosted by Shanghai’s Dragon Television, in 2007.
It was the beginning of China’s TV boom, spearheaded by singing contests like Super Girl, hosted by Hunan Satellite Television. The Shanghai show elected prizewinners based not only on their singing, but also their acting and popularity with the audience.
The second edition, which brought Li into the spotlight, also launched several more of today’s celebrities, including Jing Boran, Qiao Renliang and Fu Xinbo. Though Li only finished eighth in the series, he was voted the most popular contestant and he quickly launched a career as a singer, releasing his own EP “Four-leaf Clover” in 2007, then an album, “Little Men”, in 2009.
Shortly after, Li’s appearance in the Chinese-Taiwanese drama Sunny Happiness, and its two companion series, won him a best new actor honour at the 2011 China TV Drama awards, the height of recognition in Chinese TV.