Trained in various wushu techniques, such as Tongbeiquan and tai chi, especially the Chen and Yang styles, Zheng won many national championships while studying at the Beijing Sport University.
After being spotted by Hong Kong filmmaker Corey Yuen,[2] he made his acting debut as the antagonist in the martial arts film Fong Sai-yuk (1993), opposite Jet Li's character.
He went on to play leading roles in many Hong Kong and Chinese films, such as The Blade (1995), Mahjong Dragon (1996), The Blacksheep Affair (1998), Fist Power (2000), and Invisible Tattoo (2019), among others.
In the early 1980s, Zhao was sent to a martial arts academy in Harbin and began to train vigorously, where he started to love the sport.
[6] Zhao maintained high academic standards, and in 1990, he was accepted by Beijing Sport University to study martial arts.
[9] Zhao was often teased for looking too nice and young for the role of the villain, the Governor of Nine Gates,[10] but under the instruction of Yuen and other directors, he learned the easiest way to "look evil".
During the filming of one of the Wong Fei Hung movies, he seriously injured his ankle to the point where it hadn't healed until the year 2012.
He stated that some of the bones in his ankle still hasn't healed yet and that before this injury he was okay with doing the majority of his stunts even jumping from third or second story high buildings.
[citation needed] In 1997, Zhao signed a management contract with China Star, a Hong Kong talent agency, after which he began to work on more films, such as The Blacksheep Affair (1998), Body Weapon (1999) and Fist Power (1999–2000).
[14] Zhao's contract with China Star ended in 1999, and he decided to turn his focus to the mainland Chinese market in hope of making more money (probably due to economic differences), working on television series and films such as The Sino-Dutch War 1661, Wind and Cloud and Seven Swordsmen.
Reviews for Zhao's performance in television series were mixed, and many criticized him for giving up big productions and the silver screen.
"[15]While working on The Master of Tai Chi, Zhao was given a script for a new martial arts film and he accepted the lead role.
[16] He was originally selected to play the lead villain in Rush Hour 3, but the role was eventually given to Hiroyuki Sanada.
[18] Zhao starred alongside Yang Mi, Louis Fan, Xu Jiao and Dennis To in the 2012 martial arts fantasy film Wu Dang that was directed by Patrick Leung, written by Chan Khan, and action choreographed by Corey Yuen.
[19] On 19 January 2012, in a press conference held in Beijing, it was announced that Zhao would be starring with Donnie Yen in the film Special Identity.
[23] Zhao had a son from a previous relationship with a Shanghai college student known as "Xiao Lian" (小连) studying in Canada and a reported pianist in 2001.