He is best known for his roles in A Brighter Summer Day (1991), Happy Together (1997), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Three Times (2005), Brotherhood of Blades (2014), The Assassin (2015) and The Soul (2021).

He rose to fame for his role as "Dark Cloud" in the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directed by Ang Lee.

The following year, Chang made his Korean debut in Kim Ki-duk's Breath, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

[5][6] Chang then starred in the historical war epic Red Cliff (2008-2009), portraying the warlord Sun Quan.

[8] In 2014, Chang headlined the wuxia film Brotherhood of Blades, which won commercial success and critical acclaim.

[12] In 2021, Chang played Dr. Wellington Yueh in Denis Villeneuve's epic science fiction film Dune.