Wang Baoqiang is a Chinese actor. His debut role was that of Yuan Fengming in the movie Blind Shaft, for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards. Li ranked 98th on ForbesChina Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 64th in 2014, 71st in 2015, and 91st in 2019.
Early life
Wang Baoqiang was born in Nanhe County, Xingtai, Hebei, on May 29, 1984, to Wang Yinsheng and Liu Huan, both his parents are peasants. When Wang Baoqiang was 8 years old, his village showed the movie Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li, which inspired him to become a martial arts star in movies like Jet Li or Jackie Chan. Wang insisted on going to a Shaolin Temple though his family opposed it, in the same year. He trained in Shaolin martial arts.
Career
Before Wang became famous, he had not been home for more than two years just because he couldn't afford the railway ticket. He was an unskilled labourer who was paid 25 yuan a day. Nobody wanted him to be a part of a scene because he was short. Wang first started working as an extra in Beijing. In 2003, he was cast in the independent film Blind Shaft as a "down-to-earth" guy. For his role in Blind Shaft, Wang received the Best Newcomer award at the Golden Horse Film Festival. Wang then starred in Feng Xiaogang's 2004 film A World Without Thieves as a naïve village boy where he received critical acclaim for his performance. In 2006, Wang starred in the military dramaSoldiers Sortie, playing a soldier who is slow at everything but who wins respect because of his strong faith and untiring efforts. The drama was a huge hit, and gained Wang wide critical acclaim and huge popularity. In 2009, Wang starred in another military drama, My Brother is Shun Liu as the title character. The drama was another huge success for Wang. For his performance in the 2011 comedy filmHello, Mr. Tree, Wang won the award for Best Actor at the 9th Vladivostok International Film Festival in Russia, the award for Best Actor at the 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the award for Best Actor at the New York Chinese Film Festival, the award for Best Actor of the 2011-2012 Chinese Youth Film Handbook, and the award for Best Actor at the Italy Asian Film Festival. Wang's 2012 comedy film Lost in Thailand was a smash hit at the box-office. Wang is also noted for his role in the comedy film series Detective Chinatown and its sequel, Detective Chinatown 2. In 2017, Wang made his directorial debut with the fantasy comedy filmBuddies in India. In 2019, Wang starred in Stephen Chow's comedy film The New King of Comedy.
Personal life
Wang Baoqiang married Ma Rong on 10 February 2010. They have two children. On 14 August 2016, Wang made a post to Sina Weibo announcing he would divorce Ma. He accused her of entering an extramarital affair with his agent, Song Zhe, and transferring/concealing some of the couple's assets. In a later Sina Weibo post, Ma said Wang had abandoned their family, and threatened to sue him for defamation; she filed a case against Wang on August 16. The divorce became a trending topic on Sina Weibo, where posts with the hashtag #WangBaoQiangDivorce were viewed over five billion times. Wang filed for divorce that was accepted by a Beijing Court, and the trial was held in October 2016. Song's wife also filed for divorce.
