Xu Zheng

{{infobox person | name = Xu Zheng | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = | birth_place = Shanghai, China | alma_mater = Shanghai Theatre Academy | occupation = Actor, director, screenwriter, producer | years_active = 1996–present | spouse = | children = 1 | awards = China Movie Channel Media AwardsFavourite Actor2009 One Night in SupermarketBeijing College Student Film FestivalFavourite Director2013 Lost in ThailandChina Film Director's Guild AwardsBest Actor2014 No Man's LandChinese American Film FestivalBest Actor2015 Lost in Hong KongChangchun Film FestivalBest Actor2018 Dying to Survive| module = }} Xu Zheng (; born 18 April 1972) is a Chinese actor and director best known for acting in comedic roles. Xu directed, co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in Lost in Thailand (2012) and Lost in Hong Kong (2015), two of the highest-grossing films in China. He also co-produced and starred in Dying to Survive (2018). Xu found fame with the TV series Sunny Piggy (2000), co-starring his future wife Tao Hong. He gained further recognition after other comedy TV dramas Li Wei the Magistrate (2001) and Love Through Different Times (2002), as well as comedy films Call for Love (2007) and Lost on Journey (2010). Xu has acted in most of Ning Hao's films including No Man's Land (2013) and Breakup Buddies (2014). Xu ranked 38th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 68th in 2015, 92nd in 2017, 4th in 2019, and 2nd in 2020. Biography Growing up in Shanghai, Xu Zheng performed regularly in Children's Palace theatres. After graduating from Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1994, Xu portrayed mostly minor roles on television and film for years. His big break came in 2000 with the romance TV series Sunny Piggy, in which he portrayed the dimwitted protagonist Zhu Bajie. Sunny Piggy received high ratings nationally, paving way for other popular TV dramas such as Li Wei the Magistrate (2001) and Love Through Different Times (2002). Since appearing in Ning Hao's Crazy Stone (2006), Xu also began to turn more and more to comedy films, starring in Call for Love (2007) and One Night in Supermarket (2009). He also worked with Ning Hao again in Crazy Racer (2009) and No Man's Land (2013).