20072013: Beginnings and Rising popularity[edit]

Li achieved fame in 2007 after appearing in the talent show competition, My Hero, coming in at 8th
place and winning the Most Popular Contestant award. [3] He released his first single "The One I Love
Hurts Me The Most" on November 11, 2007, and his first EP Four Leaf Clover.
In 2009, Li made his acting debut in the youth drama The Prince of Tennis 2, adapted from the
Japanese anime The Prince of Tennis. His role is the equivalent of Saeki Kojirou in the original
anime.[4] He then released his first full-length album Mr Child.[5]
Li rose to fame in the Taiwanese drama Sunny Happiness, which achieved high ratings in both
Taiwan and China.[6] He received the Best New Actor award at the 2011 Anhui TV Drama Awards for
his performance.[7] The same year, Li made his feature film debut in Lovesick, starring alongside Ariel
Lin and Chen Bolin.
In 2012, Li starred in White Lies, portraying an autistic guy. The drama captured the highest ratings
on its timeslot on Jiangxi TV, and Li received praises for his performance. [8]
Li's popularity continued to rise in 2013, when he played the role of "first love icon" Lin Hao
in Daughter's Return.[9] He received the Best Acting Idol award at the 2013 Anhui TV Drama Awards,
and the Most Popular Actor award at the 2013 LeTV Awards.[10]

20142015: Breakthrough[edit]
Li's breakthrough was in the 2014 hit drama Swords of Legends, where he portrayed the cold and
quiet Bali Tusu. He also contributed to the soundtrack of the drama, with the singles "Sword Wound"
and "Sword Heart". Li experienced a surge in popularity, and he won the Most Commercially
Valuable Actor and Favorite Actor awards at the 2014 Anhui TV Drama Awards.[11] He also became
the first actor to win the Newcomer award at the 2014 Elle Style Awards.[12]
Li further solidified his popularity with two hit dramas in 2015; period drama Legend of
Fragrance and web drama The Lost Tomb, based on the novel of the same name.[13][14]The same
year, Li took on the role of a producer for the first time, taking part in the production of outdoor
variety show Lets Go! Go! Go!, which premiered in November 2015.[15]
Li's next two films; He Jiong's coming-of-age film Forever Young,[16] and romance film Fall in Love
Like a Star co-starring Yang Mi [17] were panned by critics. He bounced back in December 2015 with
a supporting role in Feng Xiaogang's crime blockbuster Mr. Six, where he plays a rebellious youth
who runs away from home because of conflicts with his father and later gets into trouble with
gangsters.[18] The film topped Chinese box office charts and received critical acclaim.[19][20] Li won the
Best Supporting Actor award for his performance at the 33rd Hundred Flowers Awards.[21]
Following his success in 2014, Li entered the 2015 Forbes Chinese Celebrity list for the first time,
placing at 9th with an estimated revenue of 69 million yuan (10.5 million dollars; 9.6 million euros).
[22]
He was also named "Most Commercially Valuable Celebrity" by CBN Weekly.[23]

2016Present: Mainstream popularity and acclaim[edit]

In 2016, Li was appointed the Chinese Spectator Ambassador for the blockbuster film Batman v
Superman: Dawn of Justice.[24] The same month, Li the attended 2016 Style Icon Asia Awards as the
only Chinese representative, and won the 2016 SIA Style Icon Award. [25]
Li starred as the male lead in Noble Aspirations, adapted from popular xianxia novel Zhu Xian. The
drama received positive reviews and surpassed 23 billion views. [26][27] He then starred in Sparrow, an
espionage series set in the 1940s.[28] The drama received critical acclaim for its performance and
storyline, and became the highest rated war drama to date with a peak rating of 2.46. [29] With Li's
small-screen success, he won Most Popular TV Actor and VIP Star of the Year awards at the
Tencent Star Ceremony,[30] and Artist of the Year at the 7th Anhui TV Drama Awards.[31]