Yuan gained attention with his role as Yang Kang in The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008).
His character, traditionally portrayed as an antagonist in previous film and television adaptations, was notably reinterpreted as a morally ambiguous and romantic antihero.
[1] He earned widespread recognition with his role as the thirteenth prince in the hit time-slip historical drama, Scarlet Heart (2011).
[2] Yuan earned positive acclaim for his performance in the period drama, Ordinary World (2015), based on the novel of the same title by Lu Yi; and won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Golden Ox Awards.
[5] Yuan is a close friend of Hu Ge, his roommate at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.