Nie Yuan (born 17 March 1978) is a Chinese actor best known for his numerous television performances, some of his more notable roles include: Qi Tianlei in Wrong Carriage, Right Groom (2000); Hu Fei in Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain (2006); Li Ke in Carol of Zhenguan (2007); Zhao Yun in Three Kingdoms (2010), Tang Sanzang in Journey to the West (2011) and Qianlong Emperor in Story of Yanxi Palace (2018).
When Nie recalled his adolescent days, he saw himself as a "youth-at-risk" then – he secretly joined the Guiyang Dance Class without informing his parents; when he was around 15 and 16 years old, he smoked, got into fights, and ran away from home.
"[citation needed] In 2000, after graduating from the academy, Nie and his first girlfriend, actress Huang Yi, collaborated in the television drama Wrong Carriage, Right Groom.
[2] Following that, Nie acted in the period dramas Love Legend of the Tang Dynasty,[citation needed] Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story,[3] Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties,[4] Hanxue Baoma,[5] Jingcheng Sishao,[6] Han Women,[7] and Carol of Zhenguan,[8] and experienced a surge in popularity for his portrayal of good-looking young men dressed in ancient Chinese costumes.
That year, producer Zhang Jizhong was searching for someone to portray the lead character Yang Guo in his wuxia television series The Return of the Condor Heroes.
[11] From 2008 onwards, Nie's career took an upturn when he starred in the television series Three Kingdoms (2010) as military general Zhao Yun and Journey to the West (2011) as Tang Sanzang, adaptations of two of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
[12][13] He then acted in the films The Flowers of War as a soldier, The Last Supper as military general Xiang Zhuang, Avalokitesvara as Tang Emperor Li Yi, and Brotherhood of Blades as an eunuch.
[18][19] Nie participated in the period drama series “Legacy” which will premiere exclusively on WarnerMedia’s regional streaming service HBO Go at an unspecified date later in 2021.