His performances were praised by critics and he developed a rebellious image that made him popular among artistic youth and the "Sixth Generation" of Chinese directors.

Jia graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1989,[citation needed] and soon gained fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an actor in films such as The Case of the Silver Snake and A Woman from North Shaanxi.

While rehearsing for a stageplay titled Kiss of the Spider Woman (also directed by Zhang Yang) in the fall of 1992, Jia first became exposed to marijuana and eventually became addicted, while also occasionally using heroin.

Then, in 1995, after filming Weekend Lover, Jia quit acting completely and lived off his younger sister Wang Tong.

On 19 March of that year, after drinking several bottles of beer for the celebration of his twenty-ninth birthday, Jia slapped his father, claiming it was to teach him the "meaning of life".

[citation needed] His struggle with addiction was depicted in 2001's Quitting, in which he, his family and even the patients of the mental institution, play themselves.

In 2000, Jia began a four-year romantic involvement with Zhou Xun, his co-lead star in Suzhou River.

Likewise, Zhang Yang, director of Quitting, stated that he had spoken to Jia about the actor's next film not long before his death.