1999–2004: Debut and rising popularity

Chen debuted in the 1999 film The National Anthem.^[7] He rose to prominence with a series of hit television dramas Love in Shanghai (2001), Pink Ladies (2002) andThe Story of a Noble Family (2003), the last of which was adapted from the novel of the same name by Zhang Henshui.

Chen gained international recognition in 2002, after starring in Franco-Chinese romance film Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, which was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.^{[citation needed]}

2005–2016: Films and acclaim

Chen then starred in A West Lake Moment (2005), playing a love-seeking and idealistic young man who is not easily satisfied. He was nominated as Best Actor for his performance at the Golden Horse Awards.^[8] He next starred in The Music Box (2006),^[9] which earned him the Best Actor accolade at the Shanghai Film Critics Awards for capturing his screen character's years of arduous life and as well as his struggles and joys.^[10]

Chen rose to international prominence with The Knot (2007). He described the role as a "big challenge" to him, as he had to portray the maturing process of his character over 20 years.^[8] The film was a huge success and garnered 8 nominations at the 16th Golden Rooster Awards, including Best Actor for Chen.^[11] He also won Best Actor at the 2007 Huabiao Film Awards.^[12] He next starred in Gordon Chan's horror-adventure film Painted Skin (2008),^[13] which won him the Best Actor award at the Hundred Flowers Awards.^[14]

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chen participated in the patriotic tribute The Founding of a Republic (2009). He played Chiang Ching-kuo, and was praised by the media and critics alike for his excellent portrayal of a passionate nationalist who was unable to prevent the fall of his party.^[15] He then played his first antagonist role in Jiang Wen's gangster film Let the Bullets Fly (2010).^[16] In 2010, Chen established his own agency K Pictures (Dongshen Tonghua).

Chen starred in wuxia film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate directed by Tsui Hark in 2011. His dynamic portrayal of two distinct characters; the cold and cruel Yu Huatian and the witty and humorous Feng Lidao, won him Best Actor nominations at the Asian Film Awards and Hundred Flowers Awards.^[17] The dual roles marked a turning point in Chen's popularity and acting career, and has become one of his most representative works to date.^[18][19]

Chen played the role of Qian Xuesen in the biopic of the author released in 2012.^[20] He received critical acclaim for his capturing his character's growth from young to old, and was awarded the Best Actor award at the Shanghai Film Critics Awards for the second time.^[21] The same year, he starred in Painted Skin: The Resurrection, the sequel to Painted Skin.^[22] The film grossed over 700 million yuan ($109.8 million), becoming the highest-grossing Chinese-language movie of all time then.^[23]

Chen then starred in Bends,^[24] which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.^[25] Chen won the Best Actor award at the 2013 International du Film de Femmes de Sale held in Morocco.^[26] Chen was crowned as the "Weibo King" at the 2013 Sina Weibo Night for his popularity on the micro-blogging site.^[27]

Chen starred in fantasy epics in 2015; Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal as well as Mojin: The Lost Legend where he played Hu Bayi, the main character of the popular tomb-raiding novel series.^[28] Mojin was a huge commercial success, breaking the box office record for a local language IMAX film in China.^[29]

In 2016, Chen starred alongside Bai Baihe in crime caper film Chongqing Hot Pot.^[30] The film received acclaim and positive word-of-mouth, grossing 152 million yuan in four days.^[31] He also made a special appearance in the romantic comedy Beautiful Accident opposite his Rest on Your Shoulder co-star Gwei Lun-mei.^[32] The same year, Chen co-produced and starred in his first television variety Twenty Four Hours. The first episode was broadcast on January 21 on Zhejiang Television and ranked first in ratings.^[33]

2017–present: Return to television

In 2018, Chen starred in republican spy drama Lost in 1949 (also known as The Double, 脱身) as twin brothers from First Cuts Features' CEO and show runner Tang XiRu (唐郗汝) and Wang QiNan (汪启楠).^[34] He also starred in historical drama The Rise of Phoenixes as a calculating and ambitious royal prince. These two dramas, co-produced by Chen, marked his return to the small screen after a decade, only to mixed reviews and low ratings.^[35][36] He also starred in fantasy film The Yinyang Master (2021), adapted from Ohmyoji game.^[37]

In 2021, he was selected as jury member at 11th Beijing International Film Festival for Tiantan Awards.^[38]